“All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914,” December 13 through 22

Friday, December 13, through Sunday, December 22

The Black Box Theatre, 1623 Fifth Avenue, Moline IL

Lauded by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as "a beautiful present for theater-goers" and by The Daily Beast as "a brilliant show that you should see immediately," a historical a cappella musical drama All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 returns to Moline's Black Box Theatre December 13 through 22, this landmark show also praised by the New York Times as "a beautiful musical recounting of a World War I cease-fire of gifts, poetry, and melody."

With the musical written by Peter Rothstein with vocal arrangements by Erick Lichte and Timothy C. Takach, All Is Calm sets its tale on World War I's Western Front during a 1914 Christmas. Out of the violence there is a silence, and then a song, as a German soldier steps into No Man’s Land singing “Stille Nacht.” Thus begins an extraordinary night of camaraderie, music, and peace is this remarkable true story told in the words and songs of the men who lived it, and performed a cappella by a cast of nine.

Describing the inspiration for his musical, Rothstein stated, "I studied World War I in high school and college, but I don’t remember reading about the Christmas Truce in any of my textbooks. This extraordinary event took place in 1914, the first year of the war, and was never repeated. Thousands of men put down their guns and left their trenches to meet their enemies in No Man’s Land. They exchanged gifts of tobacco, rum and chocolates; even photographs of love ones. They sang songs, played a game of soccer, and buried each other’s dead. Upon orders from above, they eventually returned to their trenches and re-instigated a war that would last four more years. So why did I not learn of this remarkable event?

"The propaganda machine of war is powerful," Rothstein continued, "and news of soldiers fraternizing across enemy lines would put a human face on the Germans and readily undermine public support for the war. The heroes of this story are the lowest of the ranks – the young, the hungry, the cold, and the optimistic. Those who acted with great courage to put down their guns, overcoming a fear that placed a gun in their hands in the first place. Their story puts a human face on war, and that’s the story I hope to tell."

Serving as director for her theatre's production of All Is Calm is Black Box co-founder and artistic director Lora Adams, who also directed her venue's 2022 rendition of the musical, as well as this year's presentations of The Truth, Murder in the Studio, and Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story. Area favorite Ron May is again on hand as the show's music director, with Reader theatre reviewer Alexander Richardson the musical's lighting designer and lighting by Alexander Richardson, and Adams designing the sets and costumes.

With the production presented in partnership with Opera Quad Cities and made possible by a grant from Quad City Arts- Arts Dollars, the All Is Calm cast includes (from the original production) Thayne Lamb, Kirsten Myers and Jorge Mendez; Opera Quad Cities singers Greg Etzel and Evan Gagliardo; new cast members Tyler Henning, Paul Holland, and Michael Hall; and guest singers George Andrew Wolff and Larry Adams. “We had so many people say they wanted to see it," says Adams of her new presentations, "that we are bringing it back, two years after the original production."

All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 will be staged at the Moline venue at 7:30 p.m. from December 13 through 15 and 19 through 22, with an added 2 p.m. performance on Sunday, December 22, Admission is $16, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)284-2350 and visiting TheBlackBoxTheatre.com.