All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (98)
See it if you love amazing singing and a moving story; and Silent Night :)
Don't see it if See it!
See it if If you want to see heavenly singing (mostly of Christmas and patriotic songs, British and German alike), and learn of a true event in 1914.
Don't see it if You want a true drama (this more choral piece than play) and would rather not hear well-worn Christmas and other tunes.
See it if you like non-campy musical theater.
Don't see it if just see it! Read more
See it if You want to be deeply moved by real events dec 1914 and hear excellent a cappella singing and to see actors who look like real people
Don't see it if You get annoyed with heavy accents which makes it difficult to understand the spoken words
See it if you want to hear great acapella singing, with beautiful voices telling a heartbreaking story about war.
Don't see it if you don't enjoy acapella singing and would prefer more interaction between the actors. Read more
See it if If you want an historical, uplifting take on humanity and war. Without gimmicks it tells a poignant story. You will think about then and now
Don't see it if You are looking for glitz, glamour and plot.
See it if Great voices, staging, emotional, a wonderful gift at the holidays. Had a tear and goose bumps.
Don't see it if You don't like men singing in beautiful harmony, simple yet powerful staging. Need a big Broadway Disney musical.
See it if You like historical pieces told in a unique and beautiful way.
Don't see it if You want a show with elaborate sets and costumes.
Critic Reviews (14)
“A beautifully moving epistolary oratorio about the remarkable true story of British, French, and German soldiers emerging from their trenches and ceasing conflict on Christmas Eve 1914 to celebrate together. Gorgeously sung by an ensemble of ten men, and keenly structured and staged with gripping immediacy and emotion, this tribute to an unheralded moment in an increasingly forgotten war provides a glimpse of our common humanity at its greatest.”
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"On a simple and stark black stage, with occasional jets of theatrical smoke to evoke the battlefield, the play intersperses popular songs sung by soldiers of the time with actors reading the memories and letters home of real soldiers and famous poets of the era...This fantastic company of actors sing beautifully in harmony and a capella...The superb 'All Is Calm' leaves us mulling the terrible futility and cost of war, while crystallizing a moment of beautiful humanity."
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"Beautifully rendered, heartbreaking...It remains an achingly beautiful choral work and an articulate plea for peace among all nations and peoples...'All Is Calm' portrays this amazing story using songs from the era and actual words of the men involved...The cast of twelve singer-actors do both the dramatization and choral parts, every one of them singing gloriously and reciting with conviction. The spoken and singing parts glide into one another seamlessly."
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"Rothstein’s telling of the tale accurately captures the nave giddiness with which these young men went to war in the autumn and the gut-churning reality that set in when it became clear that they would not, as promised, be home by Christmas Day...The real-life telling gets depth, texture and additional historical context from the songs, which are masterfully delivered by Cantus...A powerful and lovely story about an ugly time in human history."
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"In atmosphere, integration of story and song, mood and dynamics, the story burrows even deeper into the heart with the power of myth, were it not so sadly true...This beautiful jewel has been made brighter, more precious in the best sense of the word. What is unchanged is its quiet power to illustrate peace on Earth."
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"Peter Rothstein, a Minneapolis theater guru and music master who has created a part concert, part narrative and masterful merging of the two to tell the tale...This interspersing of narrative and musical delivery sometimes has an overlay of music behind the spoken word. The effect is quite imposing...Director Charlie Flynn-McIver has overseen all the details with élan."
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