I last saw Arsenic and Old Lace back in 1992, when I stage-managed a college production. It had a reputation for being over-performed at the time. Now, thanks to director Dale Westgaard's finely calibrated revival at Lakewood Playhouse, it's a pleasure to welcome it back.

We were ushered in with jubilant fanfare, as this was the premier performance of LP's 75th-anniversary season. Joseph Kesselring's script is likewise approaching its diamond jubilee. A few of its then-pop-cultural references whiff, but that's to be expected. What surprises after all these decades is how gleefully amoral the play is. Without giving too much away, let's say it features a pair of charming old aunties, the Brewster sisters, who welcome potential boarders with something more than a casual drink.

Arsenic's plot is such an intricate dance it's a wonder it fits into three busy acts. Add a slamming door or two; it'd qualify as farce. There's already one cadaver stashed in Amanda Sweger's beautiful set at rise, with another inbound. The latter arrives in the company of escaped homicidal maniac Jonathan Brewster, played here by Chris Cantrell, and his weak-willed accomplice Dr. Einstein. Tony Onorati's work as the sidekick pays not-so-subtle homage to Peter Lorre, the Austro-Hungarian actor who played him in the movie. As for Cantrell himself, despite frequent assertions to the contrary, he looks nothing like Boris Karloff - but then again, which local actor would? (Don't answer that.) He plays Jonathan with more belligerence than menace; we find ourselves concerned for the glassware on stage.

The only sane Brewster appears to be Mortimer, our tux-clad protagonist, who's played by Jacob Tice. Tice is really on point here. He serves as the center of gravity for this production's heightened "style acting" by reflecting and grounding it. The guy never leaves a laugh on the table. Bully also for Jeffery Weaver as Mortimer's delusional brother, Teddy. Rebecca Lea McCarthy and Diana George are delightful if brazenly cartoonish as the aunties, and stellar Brooklyn PD support arrives throughout. If the script underserves any character amidst all its plentiful mayhem, it's probably Elaine, Mortimer's fiancée. Ana Bury is both attractive and forceful in the role, but since Elaine arrives and leaves sane, Bury never gets a full-on opportunity to run with the lunatic bulls.

I continue to be inspired by Lakewood Playhouse, a community troupe so aspirational it merits being judged by professional standards. This show launches LP's anniversary season with confidence and wit. Arsenic and Old Lace remains as riotously funny as ever, at both structural and joke-by-joke levels. It even manages to score half a dozen laughs at the expense of theater critics, a species it regards as pretentious killjoys. That's offensive and crazy, I know, but no one ever claimed this show was realistic.

ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, through Oct. 13, Lakewood Playhouse, 5729 Lakewood Towne Center Blvd., Lakewood, $19-$25, 253.588.0042