Arsenic and Old Lace (play) Arsenic and Old Lace (play) Arsenic and Old Lace is a play by American playwright Joseph Kesselring, written in 1939. It has become best known through the subsequent film adaptation starring Cary Grant and directed by Frank Capra. The play was directed by Bretaigne Windust, and opened on Broadway at the Fulton Theatre on January 10, 1941. On September 25, 1943, the play moved to the Hudson Theatre. It closed there on June 17, 1944, having played 1,444 performances. Of the twelve plays written by Kesselring, "Arsenic and Old Lace" was the most successful, and, according to the opening night
Arras lace old patterns. Arras lace Arras lace refers to a form of pure white bobbin lace that was made at Arras, France, from the 17th to 19th centuries. It is similar to, but stronger than Lille lace. Arras also produced gold lace and a lightweight lace called mignonette. "Orris" is another term for gold or silver bobbin lace, derived from the word Arras. The lace of Arras reached its peak during 1804 to 1812 and then declined. In 1851, there were 8,000 lace-makers in a radius of eight miles round the city. By 1881, only one house was making a speciality