THEATER : Bit of Cartoonishness Gets in ‘Arms” Way

In one of George Bernard Shaw’s mock newspaper interviews to drum up advance word for the 1894 premiere of “Arms and the Man,” the playwright was asked whether his new comedy was a skit.

“The question proved a most unfortunate one,” the reporter noted. “Mr. Shaw positively ground his teeth with rage.”

After going on at length in fulsome praise of his eminent players, Shaw finally answered with a rhetorical question of his own: “Do you suppose I am asking them to waste their talent on what you call a skit?”

The fact that Shaw wrote the unsigned interview himself, as he commonly did, makes his point seem rather disingenuous.

Moreover, viewed from a distance of almost a century, “Arms and the Man” feels like nothing so much as a well-made skit stretched over three briskly entertaining acts--an impression reinforced by the earnest, sometimes cartoonish, but always ambitious production at the Vanguard Theatre Ensemble.

The play, which unfolds with the energy of a farce, takes place in 1885 during a war between the Serbs and the Bulgarians and is filled with anti-war satire. Ironically, Shaw never had the Balkan conflict in mind when writing his first draft. He filled in all the local color only later, after asking a friend’s advice on what war to pick, according to biographer Michael Holroyd.

The title comes, with typical Shavian slyness, from the rhymed couplet that begins John Dryden’s 17th-Century translation of Virgil’s Roman epic, “The Aeneid”: Arms, and the man, I sing, who, forced by fate / And haughty Juno’s unrelenting hate . . .

The plot centers on Raina Petkoff (Wendy Abas), the beautiful daughter of a Bulgarian parvenu, and the two soldiers under her spell. One is Capt. Bluntschli (Steven Opyrchal), a Swiss mercenary for the Serbs who has climbed the drainpipe to her bedroom while trying to avoid capture. The other is her ludicrously heroic Bulgarian fiance, the swashbuckling Maj. Sergius Saranoff (Bernard Hamel).

Set in the round, the production is capably staged by Vanguard artistic director Terry Gunkel and nicely costumed by Ulises Alcala. Although the performances tend to lack the sort of finesse that adds warmth and human dimension to the dialogue’s polished Shavian wit, this “Arms and the Man” does possess a respectable share of intensity and nuance.

Opyrchal, in particular, has personal charm. He delivers a likable, soft-spoken, articulate portrayal of Bluntschli that carries the production over rough spots. At the same time, Abas fills her role with grace and delicacy as well as the requisite beauty. And Hamel completes the triangle as Sergius with the controlled comic bluster befitting a Byronic caricature.

Dark Strindbergian overtones creep into Jennifer Seifert’s performance as Louka, the defiant serving girl who changes the romantic geometry. As a result, her character seems overdrawn and the performance forced.

But Tom Dudley provides solid support as the self-abasing Nicola, lifelong manservant to the Petkoff family, as does Melissa Rivers in the role of Raina’s mother. Not so Michael David, whose shrill depiction of Raina’s father as a doltish fussbudget gets on the nerves.

Gunkel paces each of the three 30-minute acts at an unflagging tempo. Even so, the play’s momentum as a whole is broken by a punctilious insistence on two 15-minute intermissions. Shorter breaks would make a more seamless evening, especially because the technical crew takes less than 10 minutes to change the set each time.

Meanwhile, with “Arms and the Man” as its second production, the Vanguard seems nothing if not serious about becoming a force on the county’s theatrical scene. The venue itself, a warehouse space in an industrial mall, has been enlarged to 68 seats (from 45) since opening in March with Michael Brady’s “To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday.”

And Vanguard executive producer Kevin Aratari says he and Gunkel will introduce a series of staged readings of new plays, beginning Monday. They also plan to select one of those scripts for production next season, along with the expected revivals.

‘Arms and the Man’

Wendy Abas: Raina Petkoff

Melissa Rivers: Catherine Petkoff

Jennifer Seifert: Louka

Steven Opyrchal: Capt. Bluntschli

Tim Vandahey: Russian Officer

Tom Dudley: Nicola

Michael David: Maj. Paul Petkoff

Bernard Hamel: Maj. Sergius Saranoff

A Vanguard Theatre Ensemble production of George Bernard Shaw’s play. Directed by Terry Gunkel. Executive producer: Kevin Aratari. Costumes designed by Ulises Alcala. Lighting designed by Virginia Lynn Rudolph. Stage manager: Tonya Steele. At the Vanguard Theatre Ensemble, College Business Park, 699-A N. State College Blvd., Fullerton. Performances continue through May 17, Thursdays to Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 5 p.m. $12 to $14. (714) 526-8007.