what's the meaning of Arsenic and Old Lace Arsenic and Old Lace Arsenic and Old Lace Arsenic and Old Lace Arsenic and Old Lace Arsenic and Old Lace is a play written by Joseph kesselrink that premiered on Broadway in 1941. the title refers to the two elderly ladies who live together in Poison lonely old men with arsenic-laced Elderberry wine the comedic plays centers around the Newlywed Mortimer Brewster who discovers his ants dark secret and attempts to hide it from his family while dealing with the arrival of his criminally insane brother the play has been adapted into movies television shows and Stage Productions becoming a classic in American Theater