Springfield Little Theatre announces auditions for its upcoming production of ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, the second production of the 2026–2027 Mainstage Season at the historic Landers Theatre.

AUDITION WORKSHOPS

Springfield Little Theatre will offer audition workshops for performers interested in auditioning for ARSENIC AND OLD LACE. Participation in an audition workshop is not required to audition.

Monday, August 10, 2026
7:00 – 9:00 PM

The Judith Enyeart Reynolds School of the Performing Arts for Springfield Little Theatre
237 South Florence Avenue
Springfield, Missouri

REGISTER NOW

AUDITION DATES

Monday, August 17 and Tuesday, August 18, 2026
7:00 PM

Auditioners only need to attend one evening.

The Landers Theatre — Fourth Floor Rehearsal Studio
311 East Walnut Street
Springfield, Missouri

CALLBACKS

Wednesday, August 19, 2026, at 6:00 PM

Callbacks will be held by invitation. Additional information and materials will be provided to those requested to attend.

The Landers Theatre — Fourth Floor Rehearsal Studio
311 East Walnut Street
Springfield, Missouri

CREATIVE TEAM

ARSENIC AND OLD LACE will be directed by Beth Domann and Marni Erwin.

WHAT TO PREPARE

Auditions will consist of readings from the script. A prepared monologue is not required.
Additional readings, character work, or physical comedy may be requested during auditions or callbacks.

REHEARSALS

Rehearsals begin Sunday, August 23, 2026, and will generally be held Sunday through Thursday evenings from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM.

Minimal conflicts may be accommodated, but availability for the majority of the rehearsal process is required. All performers must be available for all technical rehearsals and performances. A complete list of conflicts must be provided at auditions.

PERFORMANCES

• Thursday, October 15, 2026; 7:30 PM — Preview Performance
  Friday, October 16, 2026; 7:30 PM
  Saturday, October 17, 2026; 7:30 PM
  Sunday, October 18, 2026; 2:00 PM
  Thursday, October 22, 2026; 7:30 PM
  Friday, October 23, 2026; 7:30 PM
  Saturday, October 24, 2026; 7:30 PM
  Sunday, October 25, 2026; 2:00 PM

CASTING

All roles are available. Springfield Little Theatre welcomes performers of all ethnicities, identities, backgrounds, and body types to audition.

Unless otherwise noted, listed ages describe the approximate age of the character and not necessarily the age of the performer.

AVAILABLE ROLES

ABBY BREWSTER

Character age: 60+

A sweet, charming, and deeply hospitable woman who lives in Brooklyn with her sister Martha. Abby is generous, proper, and beloved by the neighborhood, though her kindness conceals a hilariously unsettling secret.

MARTHA BREWSTER

Character age: 60+

Abby’s equally warm and well-mannered sister. Martha is gentle, gracious, and devoted to her family, with an innocent cheerfulness that makes the sisters’ shocking hobby all the more darkly comic.

MORTIMER BREWSTER

Character age: 30–45

A theatre critic and nephew to Abby and Martha. Intelligent, anxious, romantic, and increasingly frantic, Mortimer spends the play trying to manage his family’s chaos while keeping his own life from falling apart.

ELAINE HARPER

Character age: 20–35

Mortimer’s fiancée and the daughter of the local minister. Elaine is bright, spirited, charming, and more than capable of standing her ground as Mortimer’s family complications become harder to ignore.

TEDDY BREWSTER

Character age: 35–55

Mortimer’s brother, who believes he is President Theodore Roosevelt. Teddy is enthusiastic, endearing, and fully committed to his presidential duties, charging up the stairs as if taking San Juan Hill.

JONATHAN BREWSTER

Character age: 35–55

Mortimer’s sinister brother, recently returned home after years away. Threatening, intense, and dangerous, Jonathan brings a darker kind of trouble into the Brewster household.

DR. EINSTEIN

Character age: 40–65

Jonathan’s nervous accomplice and plastic surgeon. Dr. Einstein is reluctant, weary, and often caught between fear and self-preservation, bringing sharp comic tension to Jonathan’s menace.

REVEREND DR. HARPER

Character age: 50+

Elaine’s father and the minister who lives next door to the Brewsters. Respectable, kind, and dignified, Dr. Harper is fond of the Brewster sisters and protective of his daughter.

OFFICER BROPHY

Character age: 25+

A neighborhood police officer who is familiar with the Brewster household. Friendly, practical, and good-natured, Brophy helps establish the everyday world of the neighborhood.

OFFICER KLEIN

Character age: 25+

A police officer and colleague of Brophy. Klein is helpful, observant, and part of the comic rhythm of the police presence in the Brewster home.

OFFICER O’HARA

Character age: 25+

A police officer with dreams of becoming a playwright. Eager, talkative, and theatrical, O’Hara is especially excited to discover that Mortimer is a theatre critic.

LIEUTENANT ROONEY

Character age: 40+

A commanding police lieutenant. Rooney is authoritative, impatient, and determined to bring order to the confusion unfolding inside the Brewster home.

MR. GIBBS

Character age: 50+

A prospective roomer who visits the Brewster house. His brief encounter with Abby and Martha places him very close to the sisters’ dangerous hospitality.

MR. WITHERSPOON

Character age: 50+

The superintendent of Happy Dale Sanitarium. Professional, polite, and unsuspecting, Witherspoon becomes unexpectedly involved in the Brewster sisters’ plans.