George Bernard Shaw’s ‘Arms and the Man’ to Run Feb. 2-11 at WWU

The Western Washington University Department of Theatre and Dance will present George Bernard Shaw’s classic anti-romantic comedy “Arms and the Man” in the DUG Underground Theatre in the WWU Performing Arts Center from Feb. 2-11.

Set against the back-drop of the 1885 Serbo-Bulgarian war, the play pokes fun at the futility of war and the conventions of romantic love.

Director Evan Mueller – who also directed 2016’s “As You Like It” at WWU – said this production of the popular Shaw play will be “witty and accessible – more like candy than medicine.”

Though the play takes place amidst a war, the action and characters take apart a number of social conventions, such as traditional gender roles and stereotypes. Writing 50 years after the original production, author George Orwell said of the play: “It is probably the wittiest play [Shaw] ever wrote, the most flawless technically, and in spite of being a very light comedy, the most telling.”

“Arms and the Man” will be staged Feb. 2-4 and 8-11 at 7:30 p.m., with a second show on Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12-16, ($7-11 for students) and are available at the WWU Ticket Office in advance or at the door. Tickets can be ordered online at tickets.wwu.edu.

Metered parking is available, and pay-in-advance instructions for parking can be found at wwu.edu/ps/parking. Disability accommodations are available by contacting the ticket office at 360-650-6146 or at boxoffice@wwu.edu. Please note that there will be gun shots during the performance.