Casting has been completed for the production of Joseph Kesselring's Arsenic and Old Lace which opens Mar. 3 at the Falcon Theatre, directed by William S. Bickley.

Jane Morris and Joan Darling star as the Brewster sisters, the old biddies who get their jollies knocking off lonely old men with poisoned elderberry wine.

Morris has been seen recently on "The Drew Carey Show." Darling is a four-time Emmy nominee -- three times for directing and once for acting. Shaun O'Hagan plays the goody-goody nephew Mortimer, Rob Monroe the delusional Teddy Roosevelt. Kathleen Ward Marshall, a founding member of the Falcon Theatre, assumes the role of Elaine. Ken Lerner is Jonathan. Other cast members include Eric Lange (Officer Brophy), Bill Applebaum (Officer O'Hara), Jesse Levy (Mr. Gibbs), Andrew Ascione (Officer Klein) and David St. James (Mr. Witherspoon).

Arsenic and Old Lace was first produced on Broadway in 1941 by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse. Given the dark humor of the text, it was a risky and nerve-wracking venture for the two men and their backers. Lindsay told his co-producer before the rise of the curtain, "We'll either have a hit or we'll be run out of town." Needless to say, they were not run out of town. The play was later sold to Hollywood which turned it into a classic Frank Capra film, starring Cary Grant as Mortimer.

The Falcon Theatre is located at 4252 Riveride Drive; call (818) 955- 8101. -- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent