Playwright: George Bernard Shaw
At: City Lit Theatre, 1055 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. Tickets: City:Lit.org; $32. Runs through: Oct. 21
This 1894 comedy is one of George Bernard Shaw's most frequently-produced works, part of a group of early dramas published as "Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant." It's one of the pleasant plays owing to its happy ending, fast pace and light tone, none of which means it isn't filled with Shavian satire, sarcasm and ideas.
It's set during a 1880s war between Bulgaria ( backed by Russia ) and Serbia ( backed by Austria ). As the play opens, the wealthy Petkoff family is celebrating a final Bulgarian victory, brought about when a suicidal old-fashioned cavalry charge succeeded because the enemy's machine gun jammed. Capt. Bluntschli ( Adam Benjamin ), a mercenary Swiss soldier for Serbia, escapes slaughter by taking refuge in the bedroom of the Petkoff's daughter, Raina ( Scottie Caldwell ), the fiancée of dashing Sergius Saranoff ( Martin Dias-Valdes ), the Serbian officer who led the cavalry charge. Bluntschli shocks Raina by pointing Sergius's stupidity and the unromantic realities of battle which, he says, military professionals avoid at all costs.
Shaw quickly has introduced his life-long anti-war ideas, and goes on to downsize romantic love, material aspirations, social pretensions and the idea that ability has anything to do with wealth or position. Bluntschli and Raina end up together, once he leaves military service to take command of his family's luxury hotels ), while Sergius—in what might have shocked Shaw's 1890s audiences—proposes to the servant girl, Louka ( Chelsee Carter ).
Bluntschli is the catalyst for change, the practical Man ( or Person ) of Action found in all Shaw plays, who challenges others to look beyond artificial barriers of social class, wealth, gender, false romanticism and moral or intellectual cant, if you're to get anything done in the world. Practical individuals also can be self-serving, but Shaw always ignores that!
Arms and the Man is half comedy of ideas and half farce, an unusual blend for Shaw, who spends the play's second half untangling fairly standard late-19th century plot complications. This gives directors two general approaches: emphasize comedy and let ideas fend for themselves ( which they can ), or just the opposite. For City Lit's first Shaw play, director Brian Pastor has taken the comedy approach, guiding his actors to very broad characterizations with large reactions to things. The style works, but it will be a matter of taste for audience members with fixed notions of Shaw's dry wit and serious discussions. After all, Shaw's characters—mostly talking points—rarely are completely convincing, which led the great Laurence Olivier in the 1940s to revolt when playing Sergius.
Completing the generally competent cast are Eleanor Katz ( Mrs. Petkoff ), Adam Bitterman ( Major Petkoff ) and Linsey Falls ( Nicola ). Ray Toler ( set ) and Tom Kieffer ( costumes ) contribute suitable, colorful designs and a good wig for Ms. Caldwell.
