Sandy Arts Guild presents ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’

The first major Sandy Arts Guild theater production of the season is coming to a theater near local residents.

“Arsenic and Old Lace,” a black comedy based on a classic movie, will be staged during the last two weekends in February at the Chamber Theater in Sandy City Hall,10000 South Centennial Parkway.

Sandy Arts Guild Production Office Coordinator Karla Marsden said the play will feature an interactive set design to draw viewers into the action.

The seating area will be transformed into the Victorian-style drawing room, with an attic and cellar space to the front and rear of the audience.

“The audience is part of the set,” Marsden said. “We have no trap doors or extra elevation. It’s very challenging. We have to create that illusion.”

The cast will include 13 experienced actors from across the Salt Lake Valley who will be directed by local radio personality Laura Bedore Heugly, a disc jockey for radio station KOZY 101.3 FM.

The play is based on the classic movie of the same name. The script and staging will faithfully follow the original movie plotline about a crazy family living in a boarding house.

The Sandy Arts Guild, a nonprofit organization, puts on about four major productions a year at local venues and is supported by Sandy City, grant funding and donations.

In past years, the guild has hosted musicals at the Sandy Amphitheater, youth productions in schools and summer plays for audiences to enjoy in an outdoor setting.

SAG has been putting on shows for more than 20 years in Sandy.

Marsden said “Arsenic and Old Lace” is appropriate for an audience of all ages and the whole family is welcome to attend.

She said that although the play deals with themes of madness and murder, the play is a comedy with a happy ending, Marsden said. “Everything resolves itself in a happy way.”

“Arsenic and Old Lace” will be playing on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays on Feb. 17, 18, 20, 24, 25, and 27. Doors open at 7 p.m. each evening.

Ticket prices had not yet been determined at press time, but that they should cost about $10.

More information on purchasing tickets is available by contacting the Sandy Arts Guild at 801-568-2787 (ARTS) or online through the Sandy Arts Guild website, www.sandyarts.com..