Money, Gunpowder, And The Salvation Army

Hubby and I have season tickets to The Shakespeare Theater Company in Washington, DC. Last night, we had the pleasure of seeing George Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara. It was brilliant!

Previously at the Sydney Harman Hall Theater, we had experienced complete and utter discomfort. However, we've been personally assured by Michael Kahn, the Artistic Director, that the poor seating problem will be solved in the near future. Meanwhile, we've been moved to the first row of the mezzanine. Boffo. Also, the set was magnificent. I found the use of optical illusion on an already large stage quite remarkable. I also really liked the subtleties, like the red buckets outside the armory sheds (where you're supposed to relinquish any incendiaries) looked astoundingly similar to those the Salvation Army uses for money collection on the street. The following is my review of the play itself, summarized by the roles of the three main characters....

Major Barbara takes place in early 20th century, London, England. Specifically, the play opens "after dinner on a January night in the library at Wilton Crescent." However, for my purposes, that really doesn't matter. I'm not writing a synopsis, I'm blogging about my impressions of the play. Besides, if you get a chance to see it, you should.

Admittedly, I don't know much about Shaw. According to the playbill and Wikipedia, he was a socialist (ah, college!), which seemed odd to me considering his most eloquent and convincing character is an ardent capitalist. Not only is Andrew Undershaft a capitalist, he's a producer of Weapons of Mass Destruction™ and the estranged father of Major Barbara Undershaft, a soldier in the Salvation Army. Often referred to as a silver-tongued devil or Mephistopheles, Mr. Undershaft has the ability to persuade other characters (eventually) and certainly the audience of the importance of war and capital gain in the history of humanity. Salvation, to Undershaft, is in wealth and political power that surpasses all governments. Sin is found in monetary poverty.

Major Barbara Undershaft, on the other hand, has relinquished her comfortable income in order to micromanage the West Ham Shelter for The Salvation Army. Jesus' Army: "Saving souls one piece of bread at a time." In addition to her adamant belief in God and Salvation™, idealism makes her blind to the real social ills of humanity and the recognition of her own exploitation of the financially poor.

Barbara's fiancee, Adolphus Cusins' views represent the middle ground of sorts. Adolphus (Dollie) seems to know right from wrong on a social level, but when it comes to religion and salvation, he has a relativist morality. His participation in the Salvation Army is purely out of love for Barbara, and he is much more inclined to quote Greek philosophy than linger on anything that links his Soul™ to God and Salvation™. He also believes that if One *must* control the world through waging war, at least One can make sure the good guys win.

The catalyst -- in the form of Andrew Undershaft's generous donation to the Salvation Army -- causes Barbara much dismay as she vehemently despises the means by which it was earned. It is enough to send her into a soul searching spiral of self doubt. Of course, that is generally how the catalyst works. Her thirst for saving souls, in the end, outweighs her moral scruples with her father's business, and she agrees to marry Dollie and run the company by his side. This by no means deters her from her higher purpose. On the contrary, Barbara is determined that she will be tested more deeply by saving souls who are physically well fed and spiritually starved.

Conclusion: War happens, people fall on hard times, evangelicals MUST save souls, and morality is relative.

One hundred years later, this play, in my opinion, still has clout. GB Shaw has been immortalized by his spot on observations of humanity and his profound wit. I recommend seeing this play, and particularly this production. Unfortunately it doesn't run for much longer, so see it soon.

I absolutely enjoyed every bit of it!

Credits for Major Barbara:
Directed by Ethan McSweeny
Set Designer, James Noone
Costume Designer, Robert Perdziola
Stage Manager, James Latus

Major Barbara Undershaft, Vivienne Benesch
Adolphus Cusins, Karl Kenzler
Andrew Undershaft, Ted van Griethuysen
... and many others