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Overview

Synopsis

Arms and the Man takes place during the 1885 Serbo-Bulgarian war. Raina Petkoff, a wealthy young woman with a taste for melodrama, is engaged to Sergius Saranoff, a dashing major in the Bulgarian army. On the night of her fiance’s triumph on the battlefield, a soldier in the Serbian army -- a Swiss professional, with no national interest -- bursts into her bedroom, and begs her to hide him so that he will not be killed. Raina complies, though she thinks the man a coward, especially when he tells her that he carries chocolates instead of pistol cartridges. Raina’s mother, imperious social climber Catherine, helps her smuggle the soldier away, but not before Raina has lost a bit of her heart to this pathetic specimen. When the menfolk return from war, Raina prepares to worship her victorious Sergius… until Captain Bluntschli, her “chocolate cream soldier”, appears to return a borrowed housecoat, and is invited to stay -- and incidentally, to help with regimental transport -- by hospitable Major Petkoff. Meanwhile, noble Sergius, disgusted with the practical realities of war, is more interested in flirting with Louka, the defiant housemaid who scorns to have “the soul of a servant.” As the Petkoff family, their servants, and the soldier, himself, struggle to hold on to their secrets and preserve their ideals, they are forced to question their romantic notions about social class, identity, war, and love. George Orwell once called Shaw's Arms and the Man "the wittiest play he ever wrote... and in spite of being a very light comedy, the most telling."

Show Information

Category
Play
Age Guidance
Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
Number of Acts
3
First Produced
1894
Genres
Comedy
Settings
Period, Multiple Settings
Time & Place
1885, 1886, 1880s, bulgaria, the balkans, a small town, the petkoff home
Cast Size
medium
Licensor
None/royalty-free
Ideal For
College/University, Community Theatre, Ensemble Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Young Adult, Adult, Mature Adult, Late Teen Characters, Medium Cast

Context


Plot


Characters

Name Part Size Gender Vocal Part

Captain Bluntschli

Lead

Male

Spoken

Raina Petkoff

Lead

Female

Non-singer

Catherine Petkoff

Supporting

Female

Spoken

Major Paul Petkoff

Supporting

Male

Spoken

Major Sergius Saranoff

Supporting

Male

Spoken

Nicola

Supporting

Male

Spoken

Louka

Supporting

Female

Non-singer

A Soldier

Featured

Male

Spoken

Songs

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A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.

Monologues

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Scenes

All scenes are the property and copyright of their owners. Scenes are presented on StageAgent for educational purposes only. If you would like to give a public performance of this scene, please obtain authorization from the appropriate licensor.

Key Terms

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Videos

Quizzes

Themes, Symbols & Motifs

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Quote Analysis

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