Shanel Bailey, Karen Ziemba & More to Star in Bernard Shaw's ARMS AND THE MAN at Gingold Theatrical Group

Gingold Theatrical Group will present a new production of Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw. Arms and the Man will play Theater Two at Theatre Row (410 W 42nd St, New York, NY 10036) from October 17 through November 18, 2023. Opening night is set for October 26. Tickets are on sale now at tinyurl.com/ARMS2023
 
Arms and the Man by Bernard Shaw is one of Shaw’s most enduringly popular comedies. The plot follows a hunted soldier who, seeking refuge in a young lady’s boudoir, starts in motion a series of highly engaging and unlikely comedic events. His unusual philosophies about love, war and life in general open up a world of thought she’d never previously entertained--certainly not with her dashing war-hero fiancée who also arrives unexpectedly. This early work of Shaw’s is remarkably pithy. 
 
“Arms and the Man is one of those infamous Shaw plays ready for some deep-dive re-examining,” said director David Staller. “It’s a blissfully streamlined and funny little play that allows seven disparate characters in Bulgaria during an incredibly brief war (yes, there’s rarely not been a war in Eastern Europe) who, by coming together en masse are able to challenge everything they’ve been and plant a foot on a new life. Although it’s often all too easily diminished as an anti-war play, it’s so much more than that in keeping with all of Shaw’s 65 plays reminding us to take an active and enlightened part in our own journey. ‘Challenge everything’ was Shaw’s mantra to become the person you want to be.”
 
The play’s title, Arms and the Man, references the first line of the epic Virgil poem, The Aeneid, in which we’re reminded of how foolish humans can be by fighting each other and struggling against the best of human nature: “Arms and the man I sing, who, forced by fate / And haughty Juno's unrelenting hate, / Expelled and exiled, left the Trojan shore.”
 
The cast of Arms and the Man will feature Shanel Bailey (“Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies”), Delphi Borich (Camelot), Ben Davis (New York New York), Keshav Moodliar (Queen), Thomas Jay Ryan (Uncle Vanya), Evan Zes (The Kite Runner), Tony Award winner Karen Ziemba (Prince of Broadway). Understudies for this production are Mazvita Chanakira (Gap Year), René Thornton Jr (The Tempest), and Matthew Zimmerman (A Midsummer Night’s Dream).
 
Arms and the Man will be directed by David Staller. The production will feature set design by Lindsay Genevieve Fuori, lighting design by Jamie Roderick, costume design by Tracy Christensen and sound design by Julian Evans. Prop design is by Emmarose Campbell. Production management is by Allie Posner. Hair design is by Cassie Williams, and Stephanie Yankwitt of tbd Casting Co. is the Casting Director. Logan Gabrielle Schulman is the Assistant to the Director and Ariel Kregard is the Assistant to the Costume Designer. The production stage manager is April Ann Kline and Jade Doina will serve as assistant stage manager.
 
The performance schedule for Arms and the Man is as follows: Tuesday–Thursday at 7pm; Friday at 8pm; Saturday at 2pm & 8pm; Sunday at 3pm. Cast and guest-moderated talkbacks will take place after each Sunday performance.

For more information, please call 212-355-7823, email info@gingoldgroup.org, or visit gingoldgroup.org.
 

ABOUT GINGOLD THEATRICAL GROUP
 

Gingold Theatrical Group, now in its 18th year, creates theater that supports human rights, freedom of speech, and individual liberty using the work of George Bernard Shaw as our guide. All of GTG’s programs are inspired by Shaw’s humanitarian values. Through full productions, staged readings, new play development, and inner-city educational programs, GTG brings Shavian precepts to audiences and artists across New York, encouraging individuals to breathe Shaw’s humanist ideals into their contributions for the future. Shaw created plays to inspire peaceful discussion and activism and that is what GTG aims to accomplish. GTG’s past productions include Man and Superman (2012), You Never Can Tell (2013), Major Barbara (2014), Widowers’ Houses (2016), Heartbreak House (2018), and Caesar & Cleopatra (2019).  
 
Founded in 2006 by David Staller, GTG has carved a permanent niche for the work of George Bernard Shaw within the social and cultural life of New York City, and, through the Project Shaw reading series, made history in 2009 as the first company ever to present performances of every one of Shaw's 65 plays (including full-length works, one-acts and sketches). GTG brings together performers, critics, students, academics and the general public with the opportunity to explore and perform theatrical work inspired by the humanitarian and activist values that Shaw championed. All comedies, these plays boldly exhibit the insight, wit, passion and all-encompassing socio-political focus that distinguished Shaw as one of the most inventive and incisive writers of all time.
 
Through performances, symposiums, new play development, and outreach, as well as through our discussion groups and partnerships with schools including SUNY Stony Brook, Regis, the De La Salle Academy, and The Broome Street Academy, GTG has helped spark a renewed interest in Shaw across the country, and a bold interest in theater as activism. Young people are particularly inspired by Shaw’s invocation to challenge the strictures society imposes, to embrace the power of the individual, to make bold personal choices and to take responsibility for these choices. GTG’s new play development lab, Speakers’ Corner, created to support playwrights inspired by Shaw’s ideals, is now in its second cycle. Through monthly prompts and feedback, writers develop work inspired by or in response to a specific Shaw text. Plays developed through Speakers’ Corner will be nurtured in workshops and readings with the expectation that GTG will publish or produce them. GTG encourages all people to rejoice in the possibilities of the future. All of GTG’s programming is designed to inspire lively discussion and peaceful activism with issues related to human rights, the freedom of speech, and individual liberty. This was the purpose behind all of Shaw’s work and why GTG chose him as the guide toward helping create a more tolerant and inclusive world through the exploration of the Arts.
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT:
www.gingoldgroup.org
 
 

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