Charge!

I am getting to be quite the gadabout. Last evening my wife and I attended a performance of Arsenic and Old Lace at the historic Sandwich Opera House. I haven't been there in a while, in fact, since I've been in a wheelchair, and I had forgotten what a gorgeous and intimate art deco theater it is. The play was presented by a local theater troupe, and although the lead was not Cary Grant, the audience was enraptured by the brilliant script, and the rafters rang with laughter. There were even a few hilarious ad libs as the actors encountered miscues on the set. (And the actress, Kristen Lehner, who played Elaine - Mortimer's fiance - was HOT!)

Actually, I had the privilege of seeing Arsenic and Old Lace 33 years ago in downtown Chicago. In the lead role as Mortimer Brewster was James MacArthur (Hawaii 5-0); the Brewster sisters were played by Marion Ross (Happy Days) and acclaimed actress Maureen Stapleton (Airport); and Jonathan Brewster, the evil brother, was played by Jonathan Frid (Dark Shadows). That was a show!

As old as the Opera House is, it is handicapped accessible. There is parking right out front, a ramp up into a side entrance, and a small elevator, that accommodates one chair at a time, up to the seating area, but with an actual elevator operator! When was the last time you saw that?

All in all, it was a delightful Halloween event, and we are now looking forward to the Opera House's next production, in early December, by the same guild, of "Miracle on 34th Street"!