Arms and the Man

Love is not lost in Shaw’s romantic comedy

Comments (0) By Lee Williams Thursday, Jan 8 2009

More About

George Bernard Shaw

War and love — is there any better combination for a comedy? If George Bernard Shaw is the one putting the two together, then the story is bound to be both funny and smart. Arms and the Manis an old-fashioned romantic comedy of the very best sort — it asks you to think even as you’re laughing. It starts during the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885 and follows a young woman who must choose between two men. One is a Bulgarian officer, the other a Swiss soldier she meets one night when he asks her to hide him. She thinks she loves the heroic officer and passes over the cowardly Swiss soldier. By the time she realizes her officer is a twit, the Swiss soldier is gone — and he’s taken her heart with him. Everything gets happily sorted out, but not before a few laughs and witty zingers. Complicated stories filled with characters who must negotiate their own feelings in a strange world are what make Shaw’s century-old tale still so appealing. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Through February 14. Company OnStage, 536 Westbury Square. For information, call 713-726-1219 or visit www.companyonstage.org. $12 to $15.
Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m. Starts: Jan. 9. Continues through Feb. 14, 2009