Joseph Otto Kesselring (July 21, 1902 – November 5, 1967) was an American playwright who was best known for writing '' Arsenic and Old Lace'', a hit on Broadway from 1939 to 1944 and in other countries as well.

Biography

He was born in New York City to Henry and Frances Kesselring. His father's parents were immigrants from Germany. His mother was an English Canadian. Kesselring spent much of his life in and around the theater. In 1922, he began teaching vocal music and directed stage productions at Bethel College, a

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

school in North Newton,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

. After two years, Kesselring left teaching and returned to the stage, working for two years with an amateur theatrical group in Niagara, New York. He began working as a freelance

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

in 1933, completing 12 original plays, of which four were produced on Broadway: '' There's Wisdom in Women'' (1935), "Cross-Town" (1937), ''Arsenic and Old Lace'' (1939), and ''Four Twelves are 48'' (1951). '' Arsenic and Old Lace'' was his masterpiece. It ran for 1444 performances on Broadway and 1337 performances in London, and became a staple in high school and

dinner theater Dinner theater (sometimes called dinner and a show) is a form of entertainment that combines a restaurant meal with a staged play or musical. "Dinner and a show" can also refer to a restaurant meal in combination with live concert music, where pat ...

circuits. The 1944 movie adaptation was also a comedy hit. ''Arsenic and Old Lace'' appeared at a time of strong isolationist sentiment regarding European affairs, of the sort that was very strong where Kesselring went to college. The play suggested that the elite running America had a murderous heritage. Kesselring lived in a college house that would later be the basis of the set of ''Arsenic and Old Lace'', and locals have tried to identify who were some of the character models he used. Kesselring was an Episcopalian who did not fit in well with the strait-laced college. Bethel replaced him in 1924.

Death and legacy

Kesselring died on November 5, 1967, in

Kingston, New York Kingston is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany, New York, Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grouped with t ...

, at the age of 65. In 1980, the National Arts Club created the Joseph Kesselring Prize for up-and-coming playwrights. It was funded by Kesselring's

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word ...

, Charlotte. Among the playwrights who have won the prize are

Tony Kushner Anthony Robert Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Lauded for his work on stage he's most known for his seminal work ''Angels in America'' which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. At the turn ...

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, David Auburn,

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Jo Carson Josephine Catron Carson (October 9, 1946 – September 19, 2011) was an American playwright, poet, fiction writer, and actor, as well as the author of three children's books. Her best-known play is ''Daytrips'' (1991), and her poetry is collecte ...

Nicky Silver Nicky Silver is an American playwright. Formerly of Philadelphia, he resides in London. Many of his plays have been produced off-Broadway, and also at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. Biography Early life Silver was born in ...

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, José Rivera,

Naomi Wallace Naomi Wallace (born 1960) is an American playwright, screenwriter and poet from Kentucky. She is widely known for her plays, and has received several distinguished awards for her work. Biography Naomi Wallace was born in Prospect, Kentucky, to ...

Philip Kan Gotanda Philip Kan Gotanda (born December 17, 1951) is an American playwright and filmmaker and a third generation Japanese American. Much of his work deals with Asian American issues and experiences. Biography Over the last three decades Gotanda h ...

Tracey Scott Wilson Tracey Scott Wilson is an American playwright, television writer, television producer, and screenwriter. She graduated from Rutgers University with a BA in English and from Temple University with an MA in English Literature. Early life Born in ...

, and

Marion McClinton Marion Isaac McClinton (July 26, 1954 – November 28, 2019) was an American theatre director, playwright, and actor. He was nominated for the Tony Award for ''King Hedley II''. He won the 2000 Vivian Robinson Audelco Black Theatre Awards, Direc ...

References

1.NY Birth certificate June 21, 1900; WWI draft-card June 21, 1900; WWII draft-card June 21, 1900; 1925 NY State Census as of June 1, 1925 Joseph O. Kesselring age 24

External links

Joseph O. Kesselring writings, 1932-1970
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kesselring, Otto 1902 births 1967 deaths American people of German descent Vaudeville performers People from Kingston, New York Writers from New York City Bethel College (Kansas) faculty 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American people of Canadian descent