A DELIGHTFUL LITTLE SCRIPT—FOR SHAW!

Best known for Pygmalion (which was adapted into My Fair Lady), Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw challenged people’s views on social issues, including class structure. In his Arms and the Man, there’s a clear message of celebrating the letting go of putting on airs, as well as a hard look at who we choose to put on our pedestals. But all of that is subtext to a fun story of interpersonal chemistry, fibs and secrets, and budding romance.

Melissa Fernandes and Manny Fernandes

It’s 1885 in Bulgaria. Raina Petkoff (Megan Carmitchel) and her mother, Catherine (Melissa Fernandes), celebrate news that Raina’s fiancé, Major Sergius Saranoff (the dashing Spencer Gerber) has led a heroic cavalry charge against the Serbians. That night, a weary and disheveled Swiss mercenary, Captain Bluntschli (MJ Sieber), climbs into Raina’s bedroom, seeking refuge from Bulgarian soldiers who would kill him for having fought with the Serbians. Though frightened, Raina and her servant Louka (Katie Karel) hide him, discovering he carries chocolate instead of ammunition—earning him the nickname “the chocolate cream soldier.” His cynical view of war clashes with Raina’s romantic ideals, yet his honesty fascinates her. Catherine helps conceal his escape, while Louka observes everything with shrewd curiosity. The next morning, Major Petkoff (Manny Fernandes) returns home, proud of Sergius’s supposed heroism, unaware that the fugitive Bluntschli has been sheltered under his roof—setting the stage for comedy, intrigue, and a little bit of moral confrontation.

Shaw’s language is certainly more flowery than contemporary writing, but not the challenge to follow that, say, Shakespeare can be. He uses the extravagant wording at times to contrast it with the more plain speech of Bluntschli and Louka, whom he seems to respect more than the other characters—compared to the likes of Saranoff and Raina, who hide their true selves behind much pomposity. The trick in this show is to allow the humor and meaning to shine through the verbiage. Not enough vibrance and the show would fall flat; too much and it becomes clownish. Fortunately, this show has Deborah Gilmour Smyth at the helm, and the balance she leads the actors to is right on the mark. Through a number of characters—especially Saranoff—Smyth wrings out the laughter without throwing out all that the script is grounded in.

The show is something of a Who’s Who of local talent. Carmitchel killed as Cygnet’s Sally Bowles in Cabaret, Sieber was chilling in Backyard Renaissance’s The Dark Heart of Dooley Stevens, Karel charmed as Patsy Cline in North Coast Rep’s charming Always Patsy Cline, and Mr. and Mrs Fernandes never seem to catch their breath before appearing in yet another cast. The only actor new to me was Gerber, who will indeed be on my radar now, possibly giving the most memorable performance of the evening; Smyth rightly gives him the most permission to be borderline ludicrous in his pretentiousness.

Mike Buckley once again produces a terrific period set for the program, with a rotating centerpiece that serves as French doors to Raina’s bedroom balcony in the opening scenes and then as an interior set of room doors for most of the play. Jemma Dutra does a lovely job with varied uniforms and dressing up the society ladies.

Keep in mind that 1885 Bulgaria wasn’t a period piece for Shaw (1856–1950); it was current events. This 1894 play was Shaw’s first big public success. For a script that’s 130 years old, the humor holds up surprisingly well. Yes, there’s one relationship in there that seems pretty darned unlikely (maybe it’s just a bit of the feminist in this twenty-first-century reviewer), but it’s easily forgivable. The successful longevity of the piece is certainly due to all the cleverness in Shaw’s writing—but, regarding this production, it’s also due to the many little moments Smyth gives each player to milk a line, a gesture, or a pause for all it’s worth, keeping Shaw’s endeavor fresh and entertaining by today’s standards.

Megan Carmitchel and MJ Sieber

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photos by JT MacMillan

Arms and the Man
Lamb’s Players Theatre
1142 Orange Ave. in Coronado
Wed at 2 & 7; Thu & Fri at 7; Sat at 2 & 7; Sun at 2
ends on November 16, 2025
for tickets, call 619.437.6000 or visit Lamb’s Players

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