Once upon a Christmastime, singing stopped a war. While it might sound like the stuff of Christmas miracles, it’s a true story – one that inspired Vanguard Milwaukee’s All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914.
It was Christmas Eve, 1914, in the trenches of World War I. Across No Man’s Land, British soldiers heard the voices of the enemy singing “Stille Nacht” (“Silent Night”). Soon followed white flags – a Christmas truce.
On Christmas Day, German and British soldiers laid down their arms, gathering peacefully, even celebrating, in the space between trenches.
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This chorale piece, written by Peter Rothstein with vocal arrangements by Erick Lichte and Timothy C. Takash, made its debut on Minnesota Public Radio in 2007, then evolved to a staged production. The docu-musical is now on its way to becoming a holiday tradition at Vanguard Milwaukee.
Founded in 2022 by George Lorimer, Vanguard is dedicated to creating works of thought provoking theatre with local artists at the helm. What started as a sold-out concert in 2022 grew to a fully-staged show in 2023, and now, Vanguard is staging All is Calm for the fourth year running.
All is Calm doesn’t fit squarely into any one genre. It was commissioned for a vocal ensemble as a radio drama before finding a home on stage. Featuring over thirty songs performed completely a cappella with a cast of 10 male voices, the music has a choral sound. This year, the piece is under the direction of Jill Anna Ponasik of Milwaukee Opera Theatre.
“I would call it a theatricalized concert,” says Ponasik. “It’s 65 minutes of continuous singing for the ensemble – a Herculean musical endeavor.”
The characters in this theatrical concert are pulled from history – real people who, when they speak, often state their name and wartime company. The highly-researched text is taken from actual letters and other accounts of the time.
“This was very important to the creative team,” Ponasik shares. “There was a real determination to make sure that these stories got told. These are mostly lower-level soldiers who aren’t part of the typical narrative of World War I. All is Calm honors these humans as individuals.”
The carols chosen, from “Silent Night” to “Auld Lang Syne,” are also true to the time period.
Vanguard Milwaukee’s All is Calm is staged at Calvary Presbyterian Church – a space that’s built for this kind of experience.
“The church amplifies the beauty of this piece,” Ponasik says. “It’s a natural fit for these a cappella arrangements that are ten voices singing in very close harmony with each other. You’re hearing it un-amplified, and we sort of joke that the space does the sound mixing for us.”
The church space also invites contemplation – something All is Calm inspires much of.
“People describe it as a moving experience,” says Ponasik. “To me, the central mystery of the piece is: what makes us tilt toward aggression or tilt toward peace? The Christmas Truce happened in an organic way from the bottom – it didn’t come from those in power. It was hundreds of soldiers exchanging carols from trench to trench. One of the ideas that’s posited is that the truce wouldn’t have happened if music hadn’t been a means of connection.”
All is Calm runs December 11 through December 22, 2025 at Calvary Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee (935 W Wisconsin Ave, 53233). The performance runs for approximately one hour and fifteen minutes with no intermission and is suitable for audiences ten and older. More information on the show and tickets can be found here.
