Dark comedy makes murder merry

Nutz-n-Boltz opens ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ Friday

By Garth Guibord

The Sandy Post, Feb 27, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Jonathan (Justin Lazenby) creeps through a doorway during a scene from "Arsenic and Old Lace."

Jessica Gregg / The Sandy Post

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For Matt Moffat, getting cast in the Nutz-n-Boltz Theater Company’s production of “Arsenic and Old Lace,” by Joseph Kesselring, didn’t just mean it would be his first opportunity with the theater. It’s his first opportunity in theater, ever.

“I’ve never been in a play before, and it was one of those things I’ve always wanted to try,” said Moffat, 46, who plays the role of Officer Brophy. “People have those bucket-list things to do; I had to run a marathon, I had to climb Mount Hood – which I haven’t done – and I had to be in a play. I just thought I’d try it out.”

Moffat joined a handful of new faces and some theater veterans on the theater company’s newest play, opening Friday, Feb. 29, at the Boring Grange, 27861 Grange St. in Boring. The dark comedy centers on a homicidal family in Brooklyn, and Mortimer Brewster – a theater critic engaged to the local minister’s daughter – deals with their murderous machinations.

Steve Miller, who plays the role of Mortimer and co-directs with Justin Lazenby, noted that the audition for the play brought out more actors than any other adult production the company has done. Miller, who played the role of Mortimer before, has found greater depth in the character this time around.

“When you do it with a new cast, you get to grow again and discover new things that you didn’t get to discover the first time,” Miller said.

Lazenby, who also played the role of Mortimer once in high school, now performs as Mortimer’s brother, Jonathan, and enjoys diving into the sinister side of the play.

“As I’ve grown up, I’ve kind of gotten more of the villain in my blood; I’ve found how much fun a villain can be,” Lazenby said. “Both parts are great, but Jonathan is a hoot because I can just sit up there and be mean.”

Lazenby and Miller have also enjoyed directing together, something they have not done before.

“We almost got that married couple kind of thing going, where we can finish each other’s sentences,” Miller said. “It’s kind of like this bucket that we’re trying to fill, and we take both our talents and dump it in and see what works best.”

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