Acadia troupe’s ‘Arms’ would make Shaw proud

George Bernard Shaw was embarrassed by the premier performance of “Arms and the Man” in 1894. He called it a “pleasant play,” but apparently thought it was flimsy. When an audience member booed in an otherwise cheering hall, Shaw stood and exhorted: “I quite agree with you, my friend, but what can we two do against a whole houseful of the opposite opinion?”

History has defied Shaw and his sympathizer by making “Arms and the Man” one of the Irish playwright’s most often performed scripts. Perhaps if Shaw could see the spunky production playing through Aug. 8 at Acadia Repertory Theatre in Somesville, he would at least feel some sense of pride in creating the vehicle for a most charming night of entertainment.

That’s charming in the best sense of the word, too. Director Wayne Loui’s approach is nearly cinematographic in its scope, while at the same time he presents a warm and amusing operettalike drama.

The story itself is a satire on the romantic ideals of war and heroism. Set in the hunting lodge of the wealthy Petkoff family in wartime, the fun begins when Capt. Bluntschli, a battle-weary Swiss mercenary fighting for the Serbian army, flees the front line and ends up in the bed chamber of the lofty Petkoff daughter, Raina.

With no small amount of feisty petulance, she agrees to hide him, and the two exchange opposing definitions of life, and set the stage for Shaw’s acerbic views on war, class and love. To Raina, heroics are noble. To Capt. Bluntschli, they are ridiculous.

She praises the valiance of her fiance, Sergius, in a recent calvary charge.

He explains that Sergius triumphed because the Serbs had no ammunition.

She dubs Bluntschli “the chocolate-cream soldier” because he carries bonbons rather than ammunition in his cartridge case.

And he falls quietly in love.

The two don’t admit to their love until Act III, after Sergius has proved himself unfaithful and the servant girl Louka has been busy scheming behind the scenes. But it all works out in a nearly Dickensian wrap-up.

Still, this production never feels schmaltzy largely because Kristen E. Williams, as Raina, goes right to the edge of parody but keeps her character believable. When she breathlessly utters “My hero!” or expounds, “It really is a glorious world!” Williams is the naive embodiment of a patriot. Like a heroine in an old black-and-white movie, she juts her chin into the air and strikes patrician poses. It’s fair to say she has the sweet pugnacity of a young Katharine Hepburn, and her portrayal of Raina is winning even at its most extreme. You can’t help but admire Williams’ performance.

Ralph Petrarca, as Bluntschli, is a gentler actor and, at first, it wasn’t clear that he would deliver the captain in all his complexity and modernism. By and by, Petrarca brings out Bluntschli’s true colors in a performance that forgoes dashing overtures in favor of reason and humor.

Douglas Rainey, as Sergius, wears a laughably silly mustache and is a parading buffoon. So is Ken Stack, as Maj. Petkoff, but his character is also quite lovable and robust.

As if his tornadolike performance weren’t enough, Stack has designed an ingenious set that morphs from a bedroom to an ivy-covered garden to the library of a Balkan hunting lodge. The opulent textures and deep colors of Marilee Marchese’s costumes add the show’s Slavic tone.

The rest of this frisky cast includes Alison Cox (Catherine), Hilary Redmon (Louka), Joshu Weiss (a Russian officer) and Adam Jortner (Nicola). And by the way, Shaw was right. “Arms and the Man” is a “pleasant play,” made even more enjoyable at Acadia Rep because it is swiftly performed, expertly directed, and good-naturedly presented.

Acadia Repertory Theatre will present `’Arms and the Man” 8:15 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday through Aug. 7 and 2 p.m. Aug. 8 in the Masonic Hall in Somesville. For tickets, call 244-7260.