‘All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914.’ – Written by Peter Rothstein with vocal arrangements by Erick Lichte and Timothy C. Takach. Directed by Arthur Gomez. Music Direction by Lea Peterson. Original direction and choreography by Ilyse Robbins. Scenic Design by Erik Diaz. Lighting Design by Jeff Adelberg. Costume Design by Bethany Mullins. Sound Design by David Remedios. Properties Design by Sarajane Mullins. At GBSC, 395 Main Street, Stoneham, through December 23, 2023.
When GBSC announced their 2023-24 season earlier this year, with All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 – winner of the Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Musical – returning to fill the holiday slot, I had mixed emotions. Having absolutely adored last year’s Little Women the Musical, which was also directed and choreographed by Ilyse Robbins (and which garnered Norton nominations for Liza Giangrande as Jo March, and Amy Barker as Marmee, for Outstanding Leading and Featured Performances in a Musical, respectively), I was hoping the Company would be mounting another new musical that was familiar, family-friendly, and full of big feels. Yet being all-too-aware of the economics of producing musical theater (high ticket prices/attendance/revenue that exceeds high costs), a risky business that has become even more risky in these highly uncertain ‘post’-pandemic times – I was relieved they were making a sensible choice. And having missed seeing the highly-touted production two years ago, I was especially excited for the chance to see it.
What I didn’t anticipate was that all would not be quiet on the Western front this holiday season, and that the production might have heightened relevance. All is Calm tells the true but relatively unknown story of British, French, and German soldiers, on opposing sides in WWI, who agree to cease conflict on Christmas Eve. They lay down their arms, emerge from their trenches, fraternize across enemy lines, and celebrate as a unified, multi-national brotherhood. To recreate the story of that magical night in the words of the men who experienced it, writer Peter Rothstein gathered snippets of narrative and song references from the soldiers’ diary/journal entries, letters, gravestones, and other primary and secondary sources. With vocal arrangements by Erick Lichte and Timothy C. Takach, Rothstein describes their theatrical work as a play with music, a story told through words and song, not a musical.
GBSC’s remount of All is Calmis directed by Arthur Gomez and music-directed by Lea Peterson. Featured (and familiar) songs, including ‘Stille Nacht’ (Silent Night in German), ‘Auld Lang Sayne,’ ‘Angels We Have Heard on High,’ ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas,’ and ‘It’s A Long Way to Tipperary’ are gorgeously sung a cappella by the ten member ensemble. Theatergoers will likely be familiar with the impressive vocal and acting skills of Caleb Chew, Christopher Chew, Alexander Holden, David Jiles Jr., Zachary McConnell, Michael Jennings Mahoney, Stephen Markarian, Bryan Miner, Gary Ng, and Phil Tayler, who have portrayed leading and featured characters in other plays and musicals at GBSC and other professional stages. As an ensemble, they complement and work with each other beautifully, and at the same time, as individual, wondrous stars, they shine bright.
All I want for Chanukah/Christmas is cease-fire – or a glimmer of hope that peace and unity is possible – so an evening of music and human connection was a perfect holiday gift. For information and tickets, go to: https://www.greaterbostonstage.org/
