Photo courtesy of hedgerowtheatre.org

The Hedgerow Theatre near Media, Pennsylvannia produces a successful production of “Arms and the Man.”

BY ANNE COLEMAN

In print | Published March 19, 2009

George Bernard Shaw was a satirist by definition, but his play “Arms and the Man” is gentle in its commentary, proving that you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. The title is the only thing in the play that harkens to the heroes of yore (it’s a reference to the start of Virgil’s “Aeneid”), and the Hedgerow Theatre’s new production is no epic poem, but a simple delight for easy consumption by audiences of any age.

Raina (Jessica Dal Canton) is an idealistic and deliberately naïve Bulgarian girl who believes, contrary to abundant evidence, that her fiancé, Major Sergius Saranoff (Steve Kuhel), is a war hero. He is quite the opposite — possibly one of the worst soldiers in history, at least according to Captain Bluntschli (Brian Gallagher). The introduction of the Swiss Bluntschli into Raina’s uncomplicated life is the catalyst for a major shift in her world view and creates chaos in a group of people with far too much time on their hands. Shaw’s story studies the nature of war, patriotism, aristocracy and idealism, and does it all while keeping a playful, indulgent eye on the protagonists.

Prepare yourself for some truly peculiar facial expressions and physical comedy, in addition to a few well-placed political jokes that read as well now as when Shaw first set pen to paper. (When asked if he is the emperor of Switzerland, Bluntschli says he holds the highest rank in Switzerland: a free citizen.)

Kuhel is magnificently foolish as Sergius, providing the perfect counterpart to Canton’s sticky-sweet Raina. Sergius and Raina are both excessively proud characters, and Kuhel and Canton relish acting out that pride. The actors may just be competing for who can hold their chin the highest. Raina’s perpetual posing and Cheshire-cat smile come in second place, though, to Kuhel’s outlandish shifts from self-righteous to passive-aggressive.

Kuhel is a real scene-stealer in his first show with the Hedgerow Theatre, but he is not the only one to leave an impression. Gallagher, as Bluntschli, provides an agreeable straight man in the second and third acts, and wins enough credibility with his comedic performance in the first act to keep his pragmatic character relatable in the world of the batty Petkoff family. The servants also nicely contrast the mayhem. One of this year’s apprentices, Maggie Cogswell, shows real promise as Louka, and while she doesn’t always own the scene, she is, in her own way, just as winsome as Canton. Greg Bell, as Nicola, is convincing as a servant satisfied with his lot in life, despite an abundance of lines that would challenge any actor’s believability.

Raina’s parents, Catherine Petkoff (Betty Lou Roselle) and Major Paul Petkoff (Zoran Kovcic), are under-realized, but nonetheless sufficiently doddering to work as the parties responsible for Raina. When the play brings their characters to the foreground, Roselle and Kovcic give just enough energy and spin to get a laugh, but neither offers much independent of the script.

The staging occasionally complicates scenes. In the first private encounter between Louka (Maggie Cogswell) and Sergius, several shifts seem more arbitrary than interesting. Director David O’Connor’s final act, however, is pleasing and inventive, providing enough variety in Sergius’ and Raina’s bouts of fury to keep the audience engaged and to ensure that the characters live up to the erratic silliness of Shaw’s final scenes.

The Hedgerow has made several wise choices this season, and “Arms and the Man” is a part of that success. The first ever production at the Hedgerow was Shaw’s “Candida,” in 1923, so the revival is a bit of a homecoming for the company, some of whom have been with the Hedgerow for over 20 years. The real reward for doing “Arms and the Man,” however, is the discovery of Kuhel. The company is keeping him for the season’s next production, Nagle Jackson’s “The White Room,” and will no doubt be the better for it.

“Arms and the Man” is playing through April 5. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling the box office at (610)565-4211.

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