Arms & The Man
An Anti-Romantic Comedy
Written by George Bernard Shaw
Directed by Andy Millard
March 20-23, 2025
7:00 PM, Thursday-Saturday
2;30 PM & 7:00 PM, Sunday
Shakespeare & Friends returns to Roger’s Park for a classic play from a master playwright. We are pleased to offer this rescheduled show following Hurricane Helene’s interruption!
Rogers Park
55 West Howard St
Tryon, NC
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Catherine Petkoff: Christine O’Connor
Russian Officer: Andy Booth
Louka: Kaitlyn Essel
Raina Petkoff: Kelly Casteel
Paul Petkoff: Mark Sawyer
Bluntschli: Chandler Peveto
Sergius Saranoff: Mackenzie Raub
Nicola: Jess Holderbaum
Musician: Doug Hurlbert -
Director: Andy Millard
Stage Manager: Darlene Cah
Set Designer: Jim Solberg
Costume/Props Designer: Pam Solberg -
Performances will be held in Tryon’s beautiful, outdoor Rogers Park amphitheater. We’ll have blankets and heaters on hand, but dress warmly!
House opens 30 minutes prior to showtime. Each performance offers open seating; come early to select your seat.
There is ample free parking available along the street near the entrance to Rogers Park.
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New for this show, we’re proud to offer premium seating! A few lucky folks will watch the show from a private table for two with the best seats in the house, complimentary hors d’oeuvres, and glassware to BYOB to enjoy during the performance. Be sure to purchase these tickets in advance.
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Additional photos, b roll, and interviews with the cast or director are available at any time. Please text or call Production Manager Michelle Newman at 828-817-2897 for arrangements.
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If you require additional details, please contact us.
Director Andy Millard has assembled a dynamite cast for Shakespeare & Friends’ upcoming production of George Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man, to be performed in Rogers Park one weekend only, March 20-23.
Written in 1885 by the renowned Irish playwright, Arms and the Man is a brilliant classic comic play set in the fancy but shabby home of the Petkoff family in 1885 Bulgaria.
The story follows Raina Petkoff (Kelly Casteel) as she chooses between her fiancé, the handsome but rather stupid war hero Sergius (Mackenzie Raub), and a cynical mercenary from the opposing army, Captain Bluntschli (Chandler Peveto), whose surprise arrival in Act 1 sets the action in motion and whose radically pragmatic views toward just about everything drive the plot through to the end.
Raina’s fiery maid Louka (Kaitlyn Essel) chafes against her servitude. She knows that she’s every bit as worthy as her supposed betters, and it shows in her behavior — so much so that she might just steal Sergius away from Raina. Nicola (Jess Holderbaum), the Petkoffs’ head servant, is the model of discretion and responsibility, but being engaged to the sassy Louka might be more than he can handle.
Raina’s parents Major Paul Petkoff (Mark Sawyer) and Catherine Petkoff (Christine O’Connor) are lovable and responsible, but they’re so enmeshed in their traditions and social paradigms that the changes surrounding the family throw them for a loop.
Shaw’s script is written with a light touch in language accessible to modern audiences. Using satire and irony, he lays bare the absurdities of war, social expectations and self-importance. When the audience laughs, it's not at jokes but at the ridiculous world we humans take so seriously. Every character provides juicy opportunities for our excellent ensemble. So much fun!