Teddy Roosevelt, aka Uncle Teddy (and played by Larry Parker) charges up San Juan Hill every time he goes upstairs. Sweet but dotty sisters Martha (Marilyn Wolfe) and Abby Brewster (Charlene Buhlert) take in lonely, elderly male roomers who mysteriously disappear. Brother Jonathan (Randall Hickman), who’s had so much surgery he now looks like Boris Karlofff, is on the lam with his surgeon Dr. Einstein (Robert DeLillo.)

Yep, it’s a blast from the past as Broadway Theater in Vista presents Joseph Kesselring’s 1941 warhorse Arsenic and Old Lace through Oct. 29 at Avo Playhouse, directed by Randall Hickman. Meanwhile Broadway’s regular house offers another favorite, Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park.

Arsenic has a few creaky joints by now – overuse of Teddy and his bugle; a police/community relationship rare, if not extinct in Brooklyn today; a romance between Mortimer Brewster (Jon Maxwell) and girl-next-door Elaine (Rachel Dorman) that’s a bit incredible – but the engaging characters and wacky situation keep people laughing and coming back for more.

Wolfe and Buhler anchor the cast with fine performances (though I’m not sure why Wolfe needs to mince when she walks) and despite a few lapses, the rest hold up their end of the bargain.

Better hurry. Only a few performances are left.

Broadway Theater’s production of Arsenic and Old Lace plays through Oct. 29, at Avo Playhouse in Vista. Shows Oct. 24 and 29 at 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 25, at 2 p.m. For tickets, call 760-724-2110 or visit www.premiereforkids.com/index.htm.