Four Seasons' "All is Calm" is Very Bright Indeed
Photo Credit: Eric Schwierske.
Aside from the Santa Claus stories filled with presents and the Biblical story of Christ’s birth in Bethlehem, one of the most common themes during the holidays is a wish for “peace on earth, goodwill toward men.” This sentiment is gloriously embodied by Four Seasons Theatre’s December offering, All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914, running in the Playhouse at Overture through December 15.
A thematic follow-up to the music and multimedia performance The Greatest War: World War One, Wisconsin, and Why it Still Matters, which Four Seasons co-produced in November, All is Calm also focuses on the “war to end all wars.” Specifically, it illustrates a Christmas truce initiated by low ranking soldiers on both sides — a well-documented moment of transcendence and peace that took place in the trenches on the Western Front in the first months of the devastating conflict.
Developed by Minnesota’s Theater Latté Da co-founder Peter Rothstein, with musical arrangements by Erick Lichte and Timothy C. Takach, the à cappella musical blends patriotic songs from the early twentieth century with traditional French, Flemish, English, Scottish, and German carols and first-person accounts of Christmas during wartime, from more than three dozen soldiers. Under the direction of Brian Cowing and musical leadership of Randal Swiggum, the Four Seasons production is both transformative in its beauty and simplicity and heartbreaking in its purity of spirit, within a dire historical context.
Photo Credit: Eric Schwierske.
Appropriately, the program begins on a literal melancholy note, with Micheal Brunner leading a ponderous version of the Scottish call to battle, “Will Ye Go to Flanders?” Emerging slowly out of the darkness, the cast of ten vocalists joins in the eerie invitation to war. Mimicking the aesthetics of the original production, the men are dressed in plain black pants, shirts and boots. They add a variety of black hats and coats to their ensembles when they receive uniforms, after formally enlisting in the British forces, singing songs like “Come on and Join,” “God Save the King,” and “Good-Bye-Ee.” The caps and coats deliver historically accurate silhouettes of Tommy uniforms (design by Nancy Horns) but dispense with rank and other insignia so the ensemble members can play multiple roles. Metal helmets easily distinguish German soldiers from the Allied forces. Clad all in black instead of shades of khaki, they offer a striking contrast to the glowing background of the lit scrim. (Simple but effective lighting design by Tom Littrell.)
The 75-minute show moves briskly between beautifully orchestrated songs, many that start with one voice and then gradually branch out into four-part harmony. There is barely a beat between short narrative speeches and the next number, with each of the performers creating specific, compact characters denoting nationality, age, rank and outlook in only a few lines and occasionally with a small prop, such as a letter or a pipe. Elijah Edwards, Keith Christianson and Michael Chiaverini stand out particularly in these passages, connecting immediately with the audience while reciting snippets of letters home, often while the rest of the cast is humming the first few bars of a song behind them. With many nations and regions represented, the soldiers’ accents vary wildly in accuracy, but the intent is noted.
Cowing uses only a few benches and wooden crates to create both vivid scenes and sound effects as soldiers journey by ship across the English Channel, encounter their first battles, and huddle together in trenches. Emotionally, the lads also move quickly from the jaunty “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary,” to bawdy camp songs ridiculing the food and the folly of their superior officers, to the somber longing of “Keep the Home-Fires Burning.” With each change in song there is a new formation that the cast naturally falls into, as they fill the Playhouse, creating a wide variety of stage pictures. Even with limited set pieces Cowing uses levels effectively, from performers jumping up on benches to sitting on the edge of the stage.
As the story moves to the night of the Christmas truce, audiences are treated to a gorgeous collection of Christmas carols, both in English and in German. A delicate and complex version of “Stille Nacht (Silent Night)” evokes both chills and awe. And as a French opera singer/soldier who happens to be posted in the trenches on Christmas Eve, Dan Jajewski’s clear baritone nearly stops the show as he sings “Minuit Chrétiens (Oh Holy Night),” jumping to the upper notes with confidence and ease.
Conversely, when a musical cacophony erupts after the war resumes, our collective hearts sink.
While the staging, storytelling and the subject matter for the piece are all extraordinary, perhaps the greatest accomplishment for All is Calm is the cohesion of the ensemble, exhibited in close vocal harmonies in one song after another. The show was first performed by an existing men’s choir that had a long history of singing together. By contrast, this cast was assembled locally this fall, and sang together for the first time during the show’s first rehearsal. Their uniformly rich sound is blended so perfectly and they are so attuned to one another, that it’s difficult to pick any individual voice out, except in solos. This comes from careful listening, expert musicianship and exacting coaching from music director Randal Swiggum. That it sounds so easy is a credit to the entire, extremely talented cast.
A musical about a fragile ceasefire in the middle of a war zone may sound like a strange choice for Christmas entertainment. But the reminder that peace is possible, even in the darkest, most desperate places, even temporarily, is a much needed message — now and throughout the year.
*Note: Though most performances of All is Calm are already sold out, Four Seasons has added one more performance on Sunday, Dec. 15 at 4:30 pm. For ticket information, visit overture.org or call the Overture ticket office at 258-4141.