“Arms and the Man” with City Lit

Arms and the Man – City Lit

 

City Lit has opened their 2018-2019 season with “Arms and the Man,” directed by Brian Pastor, who has appeared in several shows at City Lit himself (The Body Snatchers and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow). “Arms and the Man” is a comedy written by George Bernard Shaw, first performed and published in 1894, and considered to be his first commercial hit.

On the large scale “Arms and the Man” concerns the hypocrisies found in human nature and therefore mirrored in societal norms and politics. On the smaller scale, the story concerns Raina Petkoff, a Russian woman living a life of ease, engaged to a holier-than-thou Sergius Saranoff, and romanticizing about her fiance’s glory and her upper-class piety. After a chance encounter with cynical and dissatisfied mercenary soldier Captain Bluntschli, her whole world view is thrown up in the air. While her expectations come crashing down, all characters start to fall into new people’s arms, in true elite-comedy style.

In a show that can fall into the trope of “here is a man to show the young ingenue the way of the world,” Pastor rightfully made sure to give voice and power to the women of the show. Chelsee Carter (as the servant Louka) strutted and smoked about the stage while Linsey Falls (Nicola, the male servant) endearingly scurried to and fro, while mother and daughter Catherine and Raina (played by Eleanor Katz and Scottie Caldwell respectively) communicated and plotted with one another across the stage with bulging eyes to hide their secrets from the men present.

Our ingenue was played by Scottie Caldwell, of crystalline voice, porcelain skin, and statuesque face and posture. All of these attributes lent themselves very well to the sophistication and delicacy of the character, however they ceased to help when the character was supposed to drop her manners and grandeur while in the presence Captain Bluntschli. The basis of their relationship was the shift of decorum with which she treated her different suitors. There needed to be a bigger shift m from when she was speaking with Bluntschli alone to when she was with her fiance, Sergius, who even expressed a tiredness in courting Raina because of the pageantry that they had to put on for one another.

The romantic lead was played by Adam Benjamin with astute intellect and obtuse energy. In the first two acts, when Bluntschli was famished and fatigued from life in the army, Benjamin excelled in the physical comedy. He was erratic, at times pacing with adrenaline, and then struggling to remain standing upright, and all of this seemed believable. Then, by the third act, after his character had had a couple good nights of rest and food, he displayed a wit and subtlety that was equally as hilarious as when he was “three-stooging” across the stage earlier.

As previously mentioned, the cast was rounded out by Chelsee Carter as Louka, a very modern minded servant, who perhaps was a bit too modern in her swagger and eye rolling, but we can forgive this seeing as the whole show was nearly a farce. Linsey Falls as Nicola could convey whole internal lines to the audience merely through his eyes and when he would crisply turn on his heels to obediently exit the stage. Adam Bitterman was outrageous (in a good way) as father Petkoff, with a booming voice as he stretched his lithe body to the fullest physical and comical extent. Eleanor Katz as mother Petkoff reminded the audience who was really master of the house with her grounded demeanor, cutting voice, and backbone of steel. Lastly, but not leastly, Martin Diaz-Valdes somehow made the audience love a foppish, effervescent, and privileged man who contradicted himself within a single line. Even though the character is absolutely ridiculous, Diaz-Valdes played him without close-minded judgment and did not comment on his frivolity. This allows the audience to see their own frivolity and laugh at it, as opposed to hating the character or feeling like the production is shaming the audience for their faults.

Some areas that were lacking were in the props, costuming, and set design. To accommodate later scenes, Ray Toler designed Raina’s bedroom in what appeared to be a hexagonal shape. This was not only unlikely for the time period, but also ended up spreading the action too wide across the stage. Tom Kieffer’s costumes were beautiful and time-period appropriate for the most part, but were too long on some performers and too short on others. Lastly, Jeremiah Barr (props design) supplied envelopes that were already opened, or had never been sealed in the first place, to the actors on stage when they had to open a letter, read it for the first time, and act like it was new and previously unknown information.

For a piece of art that was first written and performed over one-hundred years ago, this production proves that there is commentary hidden within that is still pertinent today. Pastor highlighted these by directing the farcical moments of Shaw’s biting social commentary at break-neck speed so that the characters and the audience could slow down for the respites of honest, human investigation. This comedy is most definitely anti-war, pointing out that the glorification of war mirrors our glorification of our potential lovers. The most patriotic thing a citizen can do is analyze their country with clear eyes, and the most romantic thing a person can do is love a person despite their faults, instead of claiming that both government and lovers have no faults.

 

Recommended

Reviewed by Sophie Vitello

 

Additional information about this and other area productions can found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.