"All Is Calm," a musical portrayal of the famous Christmas truce of 1914, will play at Willits Community Theatre from Dec. 9 through 18.
The song-centered drama written by Peter Rothstein is directed by Michael A'Dair, with musical direction by Janice Hawthorne Timm and costumes by Kathy Vellis.
The play is based on an amazing occurrence during the first Christmas eve of World War I, when the Allied and German troops in the trenches along the Western Front in Belgium laid down their arms, and sang themselves across no man's land into an unsanctioned truce.
Drawn from journals, letters, radio broadcasts, songs of the era, and even gravestones, the story of the truce is told through the voices of the people who were there and experienced it.
Musical director Janice Timm says, "It was the power of singing and music that first brought these soldiers together and caused them to lay down their arms. They discovered what they had in common."
Timm refers to the saying that holds, "People who make music together cannot be enemies." That is what happened there, she says. The show features 27 songs, including several traditional Christmas carols–all sung a cappella.
"We hope that the performances of "All Is Calm" will help do the same for our own community: bring people together and give us a respite from the hectic pace of the holiday season and the demands of our world," says Timm.
Starring in the production are Eddie Haehl, Bhavvy Ducharme, Andante Joseph Silveira, Jeff Shipp, Eric Ward, Lisa Wilcox, David Strock, Kevin H.C. Moore and Pat Nunes.
The show opens Friday, Dec. 9, and will play for only two weeks, with additional performances Dec. 10, 11, 15, 16, 17 and 18. Tickets are $20 for all shows except the Thursday, Dec. 15 show which is $15. Tickets are available online at: www.wctperformingartscenter.org, or at the door.
No comments:
Post a Comment