BWW Reviews: OH! WHAT A LOVELY WAR from ACT 1 at Darkhorse Theatre

With clever and imaginative staging by director Rick Seay, Oh! What A Lovely War - the season-ending production from ACT 1 at Darkhorse Theatre - offered a jaunty, musical history lesson wrapped up in a beautifully designed package, brought engagingly to life by a terrific cast.

A revival of a much-earlier production during ACT 1's first 20 seasons, which was also directed by Seay, the cast featured some returning favorites including Riley Bryant, Caroline Davis, Douglas Goodman and Jordan Keller. The presence of these Nashville stage veterans made the production all the more appealing and, when supplemented by a talented group of newcomers, ensured that audiences would walk away humming a sprightly tune while contemplating the horrors of World War I. Who knew mustard gas could be so darn much fun?

Okay, that sounds completely bizarre, I admit, but at its most basic that is sort of what you get when you see Oh! What A Lovely War, Joan Littlewood's episodic look at the effects of World War I on the people of Great Britain and how that horrific conflagration was ignited by burgeoning world tensions and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Using many of the best-known songs of the period (performed effortlessly and with panache by music director Jane Kelley Watt on piano and percussionist Kevin Fogarty), along with some long-lost gems that perfectly capture the tenor of the times, Oh! What A Lovely War presents a world history lesson with great style. It might be a subversive trick, but clearly it works: The average American probably knows very little about The Great War and by gussying it up with bright colors and memorable tunes, the audience member finds themselves learning while being terrifically enteratined in the process.

Obviously it's a show that Seay knows well and his creative eye for the show's presentation results in a revue that moves quickly, stealthily telling its story in words and pictures that will linger long in the collective memory of the audience. With his capable cast performing the songs and enacting the various scenes that tell the story of The Great War in two well-paced acts, Seay has given contemporary audiences an added pleasure: The inclusion of Gregg Colson and Nick Caprioli's multimedia presentation of the sights and sounds of World War I. It's an alternately moving and amusing manner in which to present history in a more palatable fashion for a war-weary public. And the story's relevance is perhaps felt more strongly as a result of this shared artistic vision among the collaborators in this production.

The cast's veterans - the aforementioned Bryant, Davis, Goodman and Keller - are confident and possessed in their performances, all four faring well throughout the show. The cast's newcomers - Savannah Crafton, Rachel Gabriel, Chris Goodrich, Emily Mowry, Matt Moynihan, Rebecca Nelson, Daniel Sadler and Jennifer Whitcomb-Oliva - give fresh reading to their roles, with particular notice given to Sadler's beautiful voice (earlier in the season, he gained notice for his wonderfully sung role in The Mikado) and the youthful exuberance of Goodrich and Moynihan, who more than hold their own with their older, more experienced counterparts.

In addition to his superb work on the multimedia presentation during the show, Colson also contributed the beautifully conceived and executed set design that provides an ideal backdrop for the play's action, while Maggi Bowden and Gloria Morrissey's costume designs clothe the actors in Pierrot-inspired styles and colors.

- Oh! What A Lovely War. By Joan Littlewood. Directed by Rick Seay. Music direction by Jane Kelley Watt. Presented by ACT 1 at Darkhorse Theatre, May 14-28. For further information on the company's upcoming 2010-11 season, visit the website at www.act1online.org.

Jordan Keller, Caroline Davis and Douglas Goodman in Oh! What A Lovely War

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