All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 at Pantages Theatre on 12/17/09

By: John Olive

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Photo credit - Rick Spaulding, courtesy Hennepin Theatre Trust

What is it about a naked human voice? Unaccompanied, unfancied up, pristine. There is something in it that goes to the pure essence of what it means to be human. Thus, when the nine members of Cantus take the stage in All Is Calm (produced by Theater Latte Da at the Pantages Theatre, 710 Hennepin Ave, through Dec 20) and start singing, a capella, you can vividly feel an "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh" galloping through the house: this is going to be good. 

And it is. All Is Calm tells the story of the astonishing and spontaneous Christmas Truce of 1914, when a small group of British and German soldiers defied the war-mongers and, in the absence of any formal agreement between King and Kaiser, came out of their muddy trenches and turned no-man's-land into a place for carols, camaraderie, beer-drinking and soccer. Cantus is onstage throughout, wearing black WW1 greatcoats and singing carols (many scored by the great Ralph Vaughn Williams), traditional tunes ("God Save The King"), war ditties ("Pack Up Your Troubles", "It's A Long Way To Tipperary""), all deftly arranged by Erick Lichte and Timothy C. Takach. Wait till you hear "Silent Night/Stille Nacht". Beautiful.

Juxtaposed against the music are three excellent actors, John Carron, David Roberts and Alan Sorenson. They perform "found material", i.e., selections from contemporary diaries, letters home, published memoirs, etc. Much of this material is by unsung soldiers but some of it, for example writing by the poets Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon, is quite famous. All the pieces are short, pithy, evocative. All Is Calm's creator/director, Peter Rothstein, wisely refrains from glitzing up the show, with fully developed scenes, solo songs, etc. He avoids fakey sound effects; we hear no machine gun fire, no falling artillery. He stays focused on the sweet evanescence of what these brave young soldiers are doing. Indeed, our knowledge that in a few hours the front will again erupt with sickening violence gives All Is Calm astounding resonance. 

The stage is almost completely bare – a riser and a few wooden soapboxes make up the entire set. The lighting designer (the inimitable, and busy, Marcus Dilliard) and the costume designer (Christine Richardson) aid the singers and actors enormously. The emphasis is where it should be, on the music. 

This is a short run, so make your rezzies soon. Bear in mind that downtown Minneapolis hops during the Christmas season – shopping, the Holidazzle Parade, First Avenue, the teeming bars and restaurants – so give yourself plenty of time. This isn't a gooey feel-good Christmas show, but it's wonderful.

Highly recommended.

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Location Info: Pantages Theatre
Artist Info: Theater Latte Da

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