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Silver Spring Stage presents George Bernard Shaw’s
Arms and the Man, directed by Scott Bloom and produced by
Toni Carmine, the classic hilarious and surprising satire on war,
ideas, romance and idealism when a soldier from one side is revealed
hiding in the bedroom of a daughter and fiancé from the other side.
Arms and the Man will perform weekends January 9 to February
1.
Silver Spring Stage is located in the Woodmoor
Shopping Center, lower level (next to the CVS) at Colesville Road
and University Boulevard. Ticket prices range from $13 to $18. Performances
are Friday and Saturday at 8:00 PM and Sunday matinees on January
18 and February 1 at 2:00 PM. Tickets can be purchased at www.ssstage.org.
Information is also available by calling (301) 593-6036.
In nearly a century of a lifetime, George Bernard
Shaw, cleverly dissected the enduring social conditions of religion,
education, marriage and class tempered by an ironic wit that would
be later dubbed “Shavian.” The only winner of the Nobel Prize and
an Oscar, his political fervor imbued all his work, especially the
plight of the working class. In Arms and the Man, Shaw turns
his pointed pen at war, class, romance and marriage. The title is
derived from the opening words of Virgil’s epic war poem the Aeneid:
“Arma virumque cano” or “Of arms and the man I sing.” The play was
his third and first produced in 1894. It was one of his first commercial
successes, in a string that ran for 57 more plays. He was called
onto stage after the curtain, and when one audience member booed,
he replied: "My dear fellow, I quite agree with you, but what are
we two against so many?" Revivals of the plays have featured such
prominent actors as Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Lee Grant,
Kevin Kline, Raul Julia, Helena Bonham Carter. The play satirically
addresses the senselessness of war – he set the play in the historically
combative Balkans which would later prove prophetic for World War
1 and the 1990’s. He also skewers the romantic illusions of marriage.
Shaw never loses his impeccable sense of humor and makes Arms
and the Man as deliciously tasty as a chocolate truffle.
Arms and the Man takes place during the
1885 Serbo-Bulgarian War. Raina Petkoff (Katie Kendall), is a young
Bulgarian woman engaged to Sergius Saranoff (Dennis Chapoval), one
of the heroes of that war, whom she idealizes. One night, a Swiss
voluntary soldier in the Serbian army, Captain Bluntschli (Bob Kleinberg),
bursts through her bedroom window and begs her to hide him, so that
he is not killed. Raina complies, though she thinks the man a coward,
especially when he tells her that he does not carry pistol cartridges,
but chocolates. When the battle dies down, Raina and her mother
Catherine Petkoff (Toni Carmine) sneak him out of the house. The
war ends and Sergius returns to Raina, but also flirts with her
insolent servant girl Louka (Lynda Bruce-Lewis), who is engaged
to the loyal house servant Nicola (Jim Lathan). Raina begins to
find Sergius both foolhardy and tiresome, but she hides it. Bluntschli
unexpectedly returns so that he can see her. Raina and her mother
are shocked, especially when her father Major Paul Petkoff (Eric
Henry) and Sergius reveal that they have met Bluntschli before and
invite him to stay for lunch and to help them with troop movements.
Later, left alone with Bluntschli, Raina realizes that he sees through
her romantic posturing but that he respects her as a woman, as Sergius
does not. She tells him that she had left a portrait of herself
in the pocket of the coat, inscribed "To my chocolate-cream soldier."
What follows are antic twists and turns with lost portraits, challenges
to duel, inheritances and declarations of love in a true Shavian
delight not to be missed!
The cast also features Jeff McDermott as a Russian
Soldier. The production team includes Bob Thompson and Mary Seng
(Set Design/Set Construction), Jim Robertson (Light Design), Scott
Bloom (Sound Design), Flo Arnold (Costume Design), Gretchen Jacobs
(Props/Set Dressing Design), and Brian Dettling (military materials).
The Stage's 2008-2009 “Find Yourself” season continues
with the drama of 1950’s McCarthy era A Bad Friend (Feb.
20-Mar. 15), provocative expose on the 10th anniversary of the school
massacre columbinus (Apr. 3-26), comic romp As Bees in
Honey Drown (May 15-Jun. 7), and classic Agatha Christie suspense
The Mousetrap (Jun. 26-July 26).
Silver Spring Stage is grateful for support from
the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County and the Maryland
State Arts Council.
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