Comedy 'Arms and the Man' Deals with Serious Subjects

"Arms and the Man," the latest production at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, offers plenty of laughs as well as some food for thought about the true nature of love and war.

Joe Discher, who directed the George Bernard Shaw play, said it takes a more realistic look at what war is like—tragic and absurd as well as glorious and heroic–and also asks the audience to compare a romanticized "candy and flowers" view of love with a practical assessment of what two people need to build a life together.

The play, first produced in 1894 and Shaw's first commercial success, begins with an offstage battle during the two-week-long Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885. The audience witnesses the war from the luxurious bedroom of Raina Petkoff, a young woman who agrees to hide a soldier named Bluntschli after he climbs through her window to escape the army of her father and fiancé.

Raina is full of romantic ideas about war and love, some inspired by the operas she has attended. By contrast, Bluntschli, a professional soldier from Switzerland, knows the reality of war and therefore carries food, rather than ammunition, in his pack.

Bluntschli, who returns to the Petkoff home later in the play as a guest of Raina's father, also expresses his practical philosophy about love and life in general.

Discher pointed out that Raina's conversations with Bluntschli are far longer than those with her fiancé, Sergius Saranoff. And Sergius spends more time with the maid Louka because they feel comfortable with each other.

Discher, who directed "The Tempest" and "The Grapes of Wrath" last year in Madison, said he was looking to direct a less serious play this year.

He noted that soldiers often acted out "Arms and the Man" for other troops during World War II because of its comedy and its view of war.

During rehearsals, the director and actors discussed the themes of the play and why each character does what he or she does to make every action specific. "The comedy comes from the reality of the situation," he said.

Discher said Bonnie Monte, who is celebrating her 20^th year as artistic director, chose "Arms and the Man" because she wanted funny and enjoyable shows to entertain audiences this season amid one of the worst recessions in recent decades.

With a cast of eight, rather than the typical cast of more than a dozen for Shakespeare and other classical plays, "Arms and the Man" also was cheaper to produce, he noted. The theater had to cut its main-stage season to six shows from seven this year as donations declined.