Review: Lamb’s Players charms with satiric ‘Arms and the Man’

by Pam Kragen

In George Bernard Shaw’s 1894 satire “Arms and the Man,” romantic notions of soldiering smack into the violent reality of combat. And the same goes for romance itself, where idealized, good-on-paper relationships are no match for compatibility and true love.

Lamb’s Players Theatre in Coronado first produced the Shaw comedy in 1982, starring company member Deborah Gilmour Smyth as the heroine Raina Petkoff. On Wednesday, Lamb’s opened a new production of the play, this time with Gilmour Smyth in the director’s chair. Her experience and comfort with the material shows in the clear, swift-paced and charming staging.

Melissa Fernandes and Manny Fernandes as the Petkoffs in Lamb's Players Theatre's "Arms and the Man. (J.T. MacMillan) — Melissa Fernandes and Manny Fernandes as the Petkoffs in Lamb’s Players Theatre’s “Arms and the Man. (J.T. MacMillan)

In “Arms and the Man,” Raina is the naive daughter of a well-off Bulgarian family in 1885. She’s betrothed to Sergius Saranoff, a pompous Bulgarian major who is fighting with the Russian forces in a turf war against the Serbs.

Raina is ecstatic at the news that Sergius has impulsively led a cavalry charge that resulted in heavy losses on his side. She doesn’t understand the human cost of such actions until Captain Bluntschli, a war-weary Swiss soldier fleeing with the Serb forces takes refuge in her bedroom. He tells Raina the truth about Sergius’s catastrophic decision and explains that he’d rather eat chocolate cream candies than fight.

Like all Shaw plays, “Arms and the Man” is packed with witty dialogue and social-class skewering, but the 2-hour play is not as speech-heavy as some of his later works.

Instead, through the course of this play, the artificiality of 19th-century marital courting and the exaggerated heroism of war are gradually stripped away, allowing the characters’ true voices, true callings and true partners to eventually emerge.

Megan Carmitchel’s Raina is girlish and rambunctious as the age-defying Raina, and she shares great chemistry with MJ Sieber, whose big, soulful blue eyes are a window into his gentle and sensitive character’s heart.

Making an impressive professional theater debut, Coronado-raised Spencer Gerber is hilarious as the vain and preening Sergius, who ultimately realizes both the futility of war and the unexpected joy of romantic sparring with Louka, the Petkoffs smart, outspoken servant girl, played with fierce energy by Katie Karel.

It’s a treat to see married San Diego actors Manny and Melissa Fernandes onstage together as Raina’s endearing and loving parents, Major Paul and Catherine Petkoff. John Rosen stars as the Petkoffs’ aging and forlorn servant Nicola. And Jordan Miller plays an Bulgarian soldier.

Mike Buckley designed the simple but effective Bulgarian home scenery, Nathan Pierson designed lighting, Jemima Dutra designed costumes, Gilmour Smyth designed sound and Patrick Duffy was sound engineer.

“Arms and the Man” marked its 131st birthday in April. Strangely it feels very timely here in the U.S., where the aggressive warrior ethos is now being celebrated at the recently renamed U.S Department of War.