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A CurtainUp Phildelphia Review
Gentlemen Volunteers

"
In 1917 American troops join the war. . . No telling who'll be left standing in the end.— Vincent
The General got the Croix de Guerre, The son-of-a- bitch was never there.— Mademoiselle from Armentieres
The acting torch has passed from old line Pig Iron regulars to a new generation of players. When Gentlemen Volunteers debuted in 1998 at St. Mary's Church in Philadelphia, and then when it went to Edinburgh in 1999, Dan Rothenberg directed. He directed tours and the 2006 production at the Drexel Armory. Now, twenty years after Pig Iron's founding, Rothenberg picks up Gentlemen Volunteers again, this time directing along with old hands Quinn Bauriedel and Dito van Reigersberg — and they introduce a whole new cast.

In 1916, the year before America enters WWI, two Yalies join the American Field Service, becoming Model T Ford ambulance drivers. Their commitment is idealistic, and they search for adventure and romance in France. They encounter two attractive nurses. You can bet someone's going to fall in love.

Although there is spoken dialogue, much is conveyed through mime as actors create locations by drawing invisible doors, windows and furniture in a characters' immediate vicinity. With great economy of movement they also gesture everything from hospital work, dead bodies, and car cranking, to psychological states. The idea seems to be to keep it simple, without props and distractions, in order to address the heart of the story and elicit an emotional response from the audience. Rather than pulling us in, however, miming the circumstances keeps us at a distance as we work to decipher all the things quickly created through mime. Although truly fascinating and well acted, with spirited performances by Bryant Martin, Scott Sheppard, Melissa Krodman, and Lauren Ashley Carter, the play is watched, not felt by the audience.

Trey Lyford's lighting aesthetic relies on hanging lights with pull strings. Actors turn the lights on and off to move the action from one area to another, focus attention, and set a pervasive mood. Jill Keys's artful period costumes lend a nostalgic and sentimental atmosphere of the 1917 war in France.

With James Sugg's impressive sound design, specific sounds tightly attach to precise mute actions. L'Homme d'Orchestre (Michael Castillejos) can be seen providing the Foley synchronization. He also plays the accordion and sings. In fact, the whole cast sings, and sings well. One featured song is Irving Berlin's 1911 dance craze song, "Everybody's Doin' It Now." And Melissa Krodman performs a solo in French. In fact, much is sung and spoken en francais, although many in the audience may not parlez-vous.

The promenade format (the audience troops after the players) provides neither a terribly comfortable nor optimally view-able experience. In the play's earlier days the choice of moving the audience around might have been innovative. Now some of the very things that made the show different and remarkable, like using the distancing technique of miming and having the audience move about, make it more difficult to bond with the humanity of this sweeping story. So the emotional hit is tempered. Scanning the audience periodically, I saw no tears.

However, themes of bravery, adventure, danger, old times, wartime loves, and loss have tremendous theatrical appeal. Gentlemen Volunteers may come down a bit on the precious side --Pig Iron was very young when this was written. But it launched the nascent company on their amazing run, pointing to their emerging depth and range and anticipating their ability to create singular and soaring theatrical experiences. Now the old guard is turning over the acting to a new generation.

Note: The original cast will reprise their Gentlemen Volunteers roles in two special benefit performances on December 19th and 20th.

Pig Iron
Bryant Martin (Photo: Lindsay Browning)
Gentlemen Volunteers
Text by Suli Holum and Pig Iron Theatre Company
Directed by Dan Rothenberg. Co-Directors: Quinn Bauriedel, Dito van Reigersberg

Cast: Bryant Martin, Scott Sheppard, Melissa Krodman, Lauren Ashley Carter, Michael Castillejos
Original Sound Design: James Sugg
Original Lighting Design: Trey Lyford
Costume Design: Jill Keys
Running time: 75 minutes
Christ Church Neighborhood House, 20 N. American St.
Reviewed by Kathryn Osenlund based on 12/11/15 performance.
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