Hazelwood Central High School - Torch Yearbook (Florissant, MO)

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en Martinj e problem Jasement. Facing what lies ahead, Jonathan iRandy Beltj is taken away to jail by Officer Brophy lRyan Cookj and Officer Klein fRob Prestonj. Mr. Witherspoon lMark Smithl looks on. Catching her finance's eye, Elaine tSue Stein- metzj shows off her legs to Mortimer tDave Horst- mafll- Little do they realize the problems they will later encounter. Murder and laughs mix for Fall Play AfSeI'liC S G killer The lonely, elderly gentlemen enters the Brooklyn home expecting to rent a room. Two kind, warm-hearted old la- dies greet him, take him in, and offer him a glass of elderberry wine. Little does he realize that his drink is laced with arsenic! This was the setting of the fall play, Arsenic and Old Lace, a comedy by Joseph Kesselring. The show was pre- sented on the nights of November 19, 20, and 21. A total audience of 1,096 at- tended the show. Many of the cast and crew felt the show was a challenge. For example, Sue Stein- metz t11j, who por- trayed Elaine Harper, got to try acting. Sue explained, I had just been dancing and singing instead of say- s 9' ing lines in past shows. Student Director Becky Reid t12j also said that her exper- iences with the show were rewarding. 'Ar- senic' gave me a chance to work backstage. The satis- faction of knowing that l had a major part in producing the final outcome of the show was all the recognition I needed. The outcome was in the form of the story about Mortimer Brewster, a New York play critic. Brewster's life is not 'inormal to say the least. He comes home from work to find his aunts are poisoning people and his deranged brother Jonathan has come f-on, so you kind of think he's want- minutes SO we wOUldn't ed, huh? questions Lieutenant skip two pages, Karen Rooney iJohn Herbergerj as he tries to identify an unconscious Jonathan. home to stay. On top of this, his cousin Teddy thinks he's Teddy Roosevelt and he has recently become engaged to Elaine. As with other productions, Arsenic and Did Lace did have its tense mo- ments. David Horstman f12j, who played Mortimer, recalled closing night when Randy Belt i12j, who played Jonathan, missed being on stage for a cue. David explained, l looked at Tom Ouintas f9j and we al- most cried! Then Randy came running out and after the show he ex- plained to us that he 'felt that his character would have come out later. ' Antoinette Verhaeg f11j, who was cast as Abby Brewster, one of r Mortimer's aunts,-had a similar experience when Kelly Taylor i12j forgot to come onstage. She recalled, We had to im- provise for two or three Martin i12j and I made up an excuse about get- ting food in the kitchen. That's the funniest time l've ever had on stage. ln all cases, the cast persevered and kept the show moving. In summing things up, Mr. Pisar- kiewicz, the director, concluded, The cast and crew of the fall play proved once again that the main ingredient for success is determination, hard work, and dedication. You can't go wrong with a combination like that. Uenni Maxfieldj Fall Play