Theater Latté Da Announces The Off-Broadway Cast Of ALL IS CALM: THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE OF 1914

Theater Latté Da announces the cast of ALL IS CALM: THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE OF 1914, the poignant musical theatre work about the World War I Christmas truce, to receive an off-Broadway debut at the Sheen Center for Thought & Culture in New York City, presented by Laura Little Theatrical Productions. Created by Peter Rothstein, the production combines period songs and firsthand accounts of this remarkable event and has become an annual holiday classic. Since its premiere in 2007, the a capella production is brought to life by a cast of 10 actor/singers and beautifully blends iconic WWI patriotic tunes, trench songs, medieval ballads and Christmas carols from England, Wales, France, Belgium and Germany with texts written by more than 30 World War I figures. This moving ode to peace is directed by Theater Latté Da's founding Artistic Director Peter Rothstein with vocal arrangements by Erick Lichte and Timothy C. Takach. ALL IS CALM premiered in a live radio broadcast on Minnesota Public Radio on December 21, 2007.

ALL IS CALM recalls an astounding moment in history when Allied and German soldiers met in "No Man's Land" and laid down their arms to celebrate the holiday together by trading carols, sharing food and drink, playing soccer and burying the dead. In some places the truce lasted only a night, in others it endured until New Year's Day. Rothstein believes that music, an important part of life in the trenches, helped create a context that made the truce possible.

"Music was the common language, and as winter set in, the men began to hold impromptu concerts, singing to each other across the battle fields, creating trust and a camaraderie," says Rothstein.

Rothstein conducted research for two years to develop ALL IS CALM. "I wanted to tell the story in their own words, I created the drama by stringing together letters, war documents, autobiographies, World War I poetry, gravestone inscriptions, even an old radio broadcast," says Rothstein. "For decades, the truce was considered a romantic fable, fiction, and I wanted to give legitimate voice to this remarkable moment that had somehow been denied its rightful place in history. I cannot express how gratifying it has been to share the story of these heroic men, in their own words, across the country and around the globe."

Since ALL IS CALM had its world premiere in a live broadcast on Minnesota Public Radio in 2007, the show has enjoyed global success with broadcasts on five continents through American Public Media and the European Broadcasting Union. The program has won awards including the Gold World Medal at the 2010 New York Festivals and the 2010 Gabriel Award, which honors works of excellence in broadcasting that serve audiences through the positive, creative treatment of concerns to humankind.

ALL IS CALM has toured the United States for ten seasons, reaching more than 50 cities playing prestigious venues such as The Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), Cal Performances (Berkeley, CA) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York). The work has also been licensed and performed by theater companies and choruses across the US and Canada.

Theater Latté Da is an award-winning Twin Cities musical theater company that combines music and story to illuminate the breadth and depth of the human experience. The company seeks to create new connections between story, music, artists, and audience by exploring and expanding the art of musical theater. www.latteda.org

About the Sheen Center for Thought & Culture

Located in the NoHo/East Village section of downtown New York on historic Bleecker Street, the Sheen Center for Thought & Culture is an vibrant new arts organization that presents over 75 events a year specializing in theatre, music, film, and talks. A project of the Archdiocese of New York, the Sheen Center complex encompasses the 270-seat Loreto mainstage theatre, a 90-seat Black Box Theatre, four rehearsal studios, and an Art Gallery. ALL IS CALM will be performed in the Loreto Mainstage Theater. www.sheencenter.org

About Laura Little Theatrical Productions

Laura Little Theatrical Productions brings vision and passion to producing exceptional theater. Broadway credits include co-producer of the Tony-award winning productions of Come From Away and Peter and the Starcatcher. Other producing credits include: First Date starring Zachary Levi, Johnny Baseball, Traditions of Christmas and a reading of The Giver featuring Patty Duke. Laura Little has also produced concerts featuring Doug Webster, pianist/vocalist Kevin Cole, and singer Cami Bradley. She is looking forward to her role as lead producer in the off-Broadway production of Theater Latté Da's All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914.
www.lauralittletheatricals.com

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