Ozaukee Living local
  • Home
  • Stories
  • Events
  • #LiveMusicLove
  • Wisconsin Theatre News

#EditorOfOzReviews Wisconsin Live Theatre 

The theatre is the only institution in the world which has been dying for four thousand years and has never succumbed.  It requires tough and devoted people to keep it alive.
John Steinbeck                    

​Be sure to subscribe to Ozaukee Living Local's weekly newsletter to get the latest in Wisconsin Theatre News!

Vanguard Productions presents ALL IS CALM: THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE OF 1914

12/4/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture

By Mary Boyle

Last season, a brand new theatre company popped up in Milwaukee called Vanguard Productions.  They staged a reading of  All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 by Peter Rothstein, and it was such a hit that they remounted a full production inside the beautiful Calvary Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee for this season.  There are only eight performances and, by the time of this review, there will only be one weekend left.  For those of you looking for a new and moving holiday theatre experience, this is your ticket.

Directed by Joshua Pohja, with music direction by Adam Qutaishat, All is Calm is based on the true story of a Christmas truce between the Germans and English on the frontlines in WWI.  The production is fast-paced, with period music sung by the actors on the stage interspersed with quotes from the actual soldiers who wrote about it in letters home after the event. 

The church makes for a beautiful setting with good acoustics, which is important, because these performers can really sing.   
Dan Kerkman, F. Marvin Hannah, Jr., King Hang, Tomás Domínguez, Kai DeRubis, Elliott Brotherhood, Jake Badovski, Joe Picchetti, 
Joe Nolan , Jared Brandt Hoover, and George Lorimer come together in stunning harmony.  Many of these performers were in the original reading by Vanguard.

This story, which tells the tale of men who chose to disobey their commanders, lay down their arms, and celebrate the season for one night; to see each other as fellow human beings and not as enemies or others, is the ultimate example of the spirit of Christmas, of peace on earth, and of goodwill toward men, and it is a story that needs to be told right now.  This production deserves to be a part of the holiday theatre standards in Milwaukee, right along with A Christmas Carol and The Nutcracker ballet, and a yearly production is the goal for Vanguard.  I strongly encourage you to attend All is Calm and to give what you can so we might see it again next year, and for many years to come.

ALL IS CALM: THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE OF 1914 runs through December 10, 2023, at Calvary Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee, located at 935 W. Wisconsin Ave.  Tickets may be purchased online at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/all-is-calm-the-christmas-truce-of-1914-tickets-722955337877.





0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Mary Boyle

    Reviewing live theatre in Wisconsin since 2014.  Proud member of the American Theatre Critics Association.

    americantheatrecritics.org

    #OzTheatre

    Memories Dinner Theater 
    Cedarburg Cultural Center 
    Cedarburg Performing Arts Center
    Cedarburg Children's Theater 

    Port Summer Musical Theatre 
     

    Dance
    Pommersche Tanzdeel 

    Music
    ​Lakeshore Symphonic Band 
    Ozaukee Chorus

    ​Port Washington City Band

    #MkeTheatre

    Milwaukee Repertory Theater 
    Milwaukee Chamber Theatre
    Skylight Music Theatre 
    Florentine Opera 
    Milwaukee Opera Theatre
    First Stage Children's Theater
    Next Act
    Renaissance Theaterworks 
    Theatre Gigante 
    Vanuard Productions 
    Secret Handshake Productions
    The Constructivists 
    Boulevard Theatre 
    Optimist Theatre

        Shakespeare in the Park 
    ​Bombshell Theatre Co.  
    Kith & Kin Theatre Collective
    Pink Umbrella Theater Co.
     
        Accessible Theater for All
    Morning Star Productions 
    Kids From Wisconsin 
    ​Milwaukee Youth Theatre


    Dance 
    Milwaukee Ballet 
    Danceworks
    Kho-Thi Dance Company 
    Water Street Dance Company 
    Wild Space Dance Company 
    Warped Dance Company 


    Music
    Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
    Festival City Symphony 
    Present Music 
    Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra - MYSO 
    The Milwaukee Choristers

    #WITheatre

    American Players Theatre
    Spring Green, WI
    Fireside Theatre
    Fort Atkinson, WI
    Door Shakespeare
    Northern Sky Theater
    Peninsula Players Theatre
    ​Third Avenue PlayWorks

    Door County, WI 
    Summit Players Theatre
        Shakespeare in State Parks
    Forward Theater Company
    Madison Shakespeare 
    Children's Theater of Madison 
    ​Madison Opera

    Madison, WI
    Sunset Playhouse
    Elm Grove, WI
    Wilson Center
    Brookfield, WI
    Waukesha Civic Theatre
    Lake Country Playhouse

    Hartland, WI 
    West Bend Theatre Co.
    Musical Masquers 
    Spotlight Productions
    West Bend, WI
    Lakeshore Productions, Inc.
    Random Lake, WI
    Kettle Moraine Playhouse
    Slinger, WI
    Sheboygan Theatre Co. 
    TYA, Sheboygan
    Weil Center
    Sheboygan, WI
    ​Falls Patio Players 
    Menomonee Falls, WI
    Schauer Arts Center
    Hartford, WI
    Ghostlight Theatre Co.
    Fond du Lac, WI
     Fond du Lac Community  Theatre
    Fond du Lac, WI
    In Tandem Theatre
    Fond du Lac, WI

    Music
    Kettle Moraine Symphony
    ​
    Umbrella Groups
    United Performing Arts Fund 
    Milwaukee Theatre Alliance
    Imagine MKE
    World Premier Wisconsin
    Mad Stage 
    Wisconsin Dance Council
    ​
    Wisconsin Arts Board  

    Small Arts & Culture Cohort
    ​

    Categories

    All
    Broadway
    Broadway At The Marcus
    Digital
    EditorOfOzReviews
    First Stage
    Forward Theater Co.
    Holidays
    Madison
    Milwaukee
    Milwaukee Chamber Theatre
    MkeTheatre
    Musical
    Renaissance Theaterworks
    Theatre
    The Rep
    Youth Theatre

    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022

    RSS Feed

Published By:

Picture

Ozaukee Living Local
A Community Supported Publication

OLL is always looking for Contributing Writers and Photography, which is an excellent way to highlight what your business or organization is doing in Oz.  Not a writer but have a Story Idea or Event Submission?  Just contact us at:
 [email protected]  

Contact Us

[email protected]

Join our mailing list today!  One email newsletter a week, every Friday, with everything you need to know about what's happening in Oz.  
Subscribe Now
  • Home
  • Stories
  • Events
  • #LiveMusicLove
  • Wisconsin Theatre News