Off-Beat Officers Moll and Reinke Add Comic Relief to Dark Arsenic

Dave Reinke (Lt. Rooney), Jim Moll (Officer O'Hara), and Jared Kovach (Officer Brophy) Lay Down the Law

In the Farmington Players production of Arsenic and Old Lace, the Brewster sisters literally get away with murder right under the noses of unsuspecting police officers.  Jim Moll (Officer O’Hara) and Dave Reinke (Lt. Rooney) play two of the cops, and this dynamic duo seems more concerned with self-promotion than crime fighting. 

Moll plays the “oh-so-affable and somewhat dim-witted police officer, Officer O'Hara.  He's well intentioned and a long time friend of the Brewster sisters -- especially Martha who likes to cook for him.  Playing him gives me the opportunity to unleash my hokey Irish accent and bumble around the stage in search of an audience for the play that he is writing -- in spite of what is occurring around him.”  Jim calls Arsenic “a classic, and a mainstay of theatre companies.”  In fact, this is the second time it has been performed at the Barn.  As he says, “It's fun to be in such a well known show and add my own twist on the character and to be in a show that has characters that rely so much on one another.”  

One of the characters that he relies on is Lt. Rooney, played by Dave Reinke. Dave describes Rooney as “the man in charge at the local police precinct. Very early on in the show we gain a pretty strong understanding of the caliber of men he has to manage under his watch. As such, he’s forced to run a pretty tight ship. Rooney has very little patience for blunders and mistakes, most of which deems inexcusable. He has a strong, commanding presence. He’s loud, decisive, and clearly in charge of every situation in which he finds himself.  It's a fun role as I have a lot of interaction with many different characters while having a commanding presence.  It's a lot like Stage Managing.”

In a bit of role reversal, Reinke and Moll are switching who’s the boss.  As Dave says, “I was last seen on stage at the Barn in 2012's production of 1940's Radio Hour, where Jim Moll played my boss.  Now I get to play his boss, which has been a lot of fun.”   Regardless of who is in charge, Arsenic is a sure-fire crowd-pleaser.  Jim thinks it is “because the twist in plot is so delightful.  This is especially true when the sisters play things straight and earnestly, as our two ladies do.  Seeing the delight that the two little old ladies take in performing their ‘service’ to the lonely old men is great fun if it is believable.  Mary Ann Tweedie and Cynthia Tupper do a great job of conveying this.  And, since they've been onstage quite a bit together at the Barn in other shows, their chemistry together goes a long way to sell the humor.”   Dave also thinks “audiences will enjoy the show because of the chemistry of the cast and the humor.  The show is not your typical farce but a black farce where the humor relies on distasteful ideas, such as death by poisoning, in a way that the audience forgets to be appalled.”

When they’re not busy “policing” the Barn stage, Moll and Reinke each have a very full slate.   Jim recently retired as public school educator after 40 years.  He and his wife Denise celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary this summer by going to NY and taking in several Broadway shows.  Jim has been quite busy on the Barn stage lately, appearing in the last three Barn shows (Assassins, Rumors, and now Arsenic).   Dave has either appeared on stage with, or stage-managed, most of his fellow cast members. His stage managing credits at the Barn include Noises Off, State Fair, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Producers, Proof, Dracula, and Rumors. Dave is current 50/50 chair at the Farmington Players and serves on the Board of the Rosedale Community Players.  However, his says his “best role is being Dad to three wonderful children, Adam, Hailey, & Brianna.”

The Farmington Players' production of Arsenic and Old Lace runs September 26 through October 18.  The show is proudly sponsored by Mall, Malisow & Cooney, P.C.). Tickets can be purchased online at www.farmingtonplayers.org or by calling the box office at 248-553-2955.