Arms and the Man (2000) Production Files

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Identifier: ARMS2000
Inclusive Dates: 1999 - 2000
Extent:
Roundabout Theatre staged George Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man at the Gramercy Theatre, with first previews on January 15, opening night February 10, and closing night April 30, 2000. Henry Czerny won the 2000 Theatre World Award for his portryal of Captain Bluntschli. Critics focused on director Roger Rees' too farcical approach to the work. John Simon, writing for New York Magazine, said "outlandish concepts, cheap jokes, extreme exaggeration, cavalier disregard of Shaw's intentions turn this feathery creature of a play into badminton played with a lead shuttlecock." (New York, February 2000)

Directed by Roger Rees, with set design by Neil Patel, costume design by Kaye Voyce, lighing design by Frances Aronson and sound design and original music by Donald DiNicola.

Katie Finneran played the part of Raina Petkoff, Sandra Shipley played the part of Catherine Petkoff, Robin Weigert played the part of Louka, Henry Czerny played the part of Captain Bluntschli, Mark Deklin played the part of Russian Officer, Michael Potts played the part of Nicola, Tom Bloom played the part of Major Paul Petkoff, and Paul Michael Valley played the part of Major Sergius Saranoff. Understudies: Mark Deklin, Julie Lund, Jonathan Bustle, Barbara Sims and Matthew Montelongo.
Arms and the Man was Shaw's fourth play and his first 'pleasant play' (Shaw's term for his writings with happier endings), focused on Bulgaria with its romantic ideals and heroic myths. Written in 1894, Shaw incorporated the battle of Slivnitsa and the Bulgarian people in order to critique the romantic view of war and national struggles. Shaw saw the Bulgarian people as a naive nation, having only recently acquired some sense of independence. "They were a nation of plucky beginners in every department," Shaw wrote. [Taken from education study guide]

First produced at the Royal Avenue Theatre (now known as The Playhouse Theatre) in London's West End in April 1894.
Production files span one Hollinger box containing 13 folders, one Playbill and one black and white cast and crew photo. 

Oversize plans include lighting plot.

Digital holdings include the following folders:

Education (PDF of study guide)
Media (MP4 broll recording; MP3 discussion on Shaw)
Playbill (jpeg scans of select pages from the Playbill)
Press (Archive-scanned selects)
Production Photographs (select black and white jpgs and TIF files)
Opening Night Photographs (5 scanned black and white contact sheets)
Show Art (mock ups and poster art)

There is a related collection of marketing materials containing mock ups, ad placements and other promotions. See, Marketing A.
Access Restrictions: Open and available for research by appointment only.
Preferred Citation: Arms and the Man (2000), Roundabout Theatre Company Archives
Related Staged Production

Arms and the Man (1989)


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