All is Calm:The Christmas Truce of 1914 blends the sentiments of Christmas with the memorial of Remembrance Day, so director Fran Rude is  excited to bring the show back to the Yates Theatre, Nov. 19-21.

 

“It’s been on the books since 2020, but because of Covid, we couldn’t do it, so I’m excited to  finally get a chance to bring it back to stage,” said Rude, choking up with the emotion of finally being able to do live theatre again.

 

“ Artists were hit so hard by Covid. we couldn’t do anything,” she said.

 

 This production will be a fundraiser for the Lethbridge Seniors Organization (LSCO) as was the last production in 2019.

 She recruited a top notch cast of actors and singers including John Conlon, Dan Hall, Tyler Leavitt, Jonathan Northcott, Ken Rogers who is also musical director for the show, Don Robb, Josh Sherwood, Brenton Taylor, Tony Zappone, Stephen Graham, Devin Law and Jeff Steed, who play 39 different characters performing 34 a capella songs in four different languages. They have been rehearsing since mid-September.

 

“These are all classically trained singers,” Rude enthused.

“Three days is enough because all of the actors have jobs,” she said.

 

  The Peter Rothstein penned  “All is Calm: The Christmas Truce on 1914” (Erick Lichte and Timothy C Takach composed the musical arrangements) is inspired by an actual event which happened on Christmas Eve, 1914 in the middle of the First World War.

 

“It’s a miracle. A German soldier waving a white flag proceeded to walk across No Mans Land abut 50 miles outside of Ypres, Belgium, singing ‘Silent Night.’  It’s a miracle he wasn’t killed. A British officer met him and shook his hand. They soldiers ended up singing  Christmas carols and exchanging gifts. But the truce only lasted until the end of Christmas Day,” Rude summarized, noting all of the dialogue in the production comes from the journals, letters and poetry written by the soldiers, which makes the story all the more poignant.

 

 The dialogue is in English, German, Flemish and French. The cast includes seven veterans of the 2019 performance and five newcomers.

 

“ The only thing different is the prepositions. It’s all in the war archives in London,” she enthused.

“It‘s very educational and non-violent. There’s no blood and gore. It’s a plea for peace,” Rude said adding students from the schools are attending the dress rehearsal on Thursday.

 

“The lighting and set are beautiful. I think it is exactly what the author envisioned,” she said.

Though the set will look the same as in 2019, they had to rebuild it from scratch.

 

“At the end of the production we struck the whole set, everybody, including the cast helped. We didn’t think we‘d be asked to do it again. Though Mary-Lynn Muhly kept some of the props,” she said, adding in addition to the 12 cast members, there are another 30 volunteers working behind the scenes and  others from  the LSCO will be doing other jobs like front of house.

 

Rude is excited to support the LSCO again.

 “I’m retired. I only come out of the woodwork when there is a good cause to support,” she chuckled.

 

“The LSCO never stopped working throughout Covid. They had meals on wheels and they were driving people to their appointments. And they always have physical education and educational programming,” she said, adding she also has a personal connection to the play.

 

“My father was 15 and a half when he enlisted in the army during the First World War. And they took him. He served from 1916 to 1918.There were a lot of kids who enlisted,” she said.

 

All attendees must have proof of double vaccination and be masked throughout the 80 minute production.

Tickets are $44 for the performances, which are at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 19 and 20 and a matinee on Nov. 21 at 2 p.m. They are available at the Yates Theatre and Enmax Centre  Box Office.

— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor