Photo Flash: First Look at ARSENIC & OLD LACE at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre

Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre opens its 2013 season with the famous killer comedy, Arsenic & Old Lace! This hilarious classic kicks off the theatre's year-long 40th Anniversary celebration, and is on stage through Feb. 3. Get a first look at the production in the photos below!

Brewster sisters Martha and Abby are charming and innocent ladies who have taken it upon themselves to help lonely men. With a little arsenic, strychnine and just a pinch of cyanide in a glass of homemade elderberry wine, their guests are unburdened of their unhappy lives. Quietly the bodies of these socially and religiously "acceptable" roomers begin to populate their cellar, with the unwitting assistance of their loony nephew Teddy, who thinks he is Theodore Roosevelt digging locks for the Panama Canal.

Their charity continues smoothly until being discovered by their nephew, Mortimer. A theatre critic who is preparing to marry, Mortimer is shocked to learn the truth - and he only becomes more frantic when his maniacal brother Jonathan makes a surprise visit!

Made popular by the 1941 Frank Capra film starring Cary Grant, Arsenic & Old Lace proves things are not always what they seem.

David Schmittou, last seen at Beef & Boards as Cornelius Hackl in Hello, Dolly!, returns in the role of Mortimer. Karen Pappas, popular with Beef & Boards audiences from her portrayal of the hilarious Mavis in the Church Basement Ladies series, plays Abby Brewster, while newcomer Gerri Weagraff plays her sister, Martha. Several more Beef & Boards favorites round out the cast with Douglas E. Stark in the role of loony Teddy Brewster, Jeff Stockberger as the sinister Jonathan Brewster and Eddie Curry as Jonathan's sidekick, Dr. Einstein. Lisa Ermel makes her Beef & Boards debut in the role of Mortimer's fiancée, Elaine Harper.

There are 37 performances of Arsenic & Old Lace scheduled in the intimate setting provided by Beef & Boards. Tickets range from $37.50 to $62.50 and include Chef Odell Ward's dinner buffet, fruit & salad bar, and select beverages. Discounts are available for children and groups of 20 or more. Parking is free.

For reservations call the box office at 317.872.9664. Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays. For complete show schedule, visit www.beefandboards.com.

Mortimer Brewster (David Schmittou), left, is shocked to hear his aunts Martha (Gerri Weagraff), center, and Abby (Karen Pappas) describe the cocktail they use to relieve lonely gentlemen of their lives.

Teddy Brewster (Douglas E. Stark), who believes he is Teddy Roosevelt, blows his bugle before charging up "San Juan Hill" (the staircase).

Gerri Weagraff is Martha Brewster, left, and Karen Pappas plays her spinster sister Abby Brewster.

Jonathan Brewster (Jeff Stockberger), right, demands that plastic surgeon Dr. Einstein (Eddie Curry) give him a new face.

Sisters Martha (Gerri Weagraff) and Abby Brewster (Karen Pappas) look at each other helplessly as their nephews Mortimer (David Schmittou) and Jonathan (Jeff Stockberger) refuse to get up from the window seat.

Jonathan Brewster (Jeff Stockberger), left, prepares to give his bound and gagged brother Mortimer (David Schmittou) a murder "worth remembering".