Vanguard Milwaukee Presents All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914

Vanguard presents their fourth annual production about the World War One Christmas Truce.

Milwaukee, WI: Vanguard Milwaukee (formerly Vanguard Productions) presents their fourth annual production of All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 by Peter Rothstein with Vocal Arrangements by Erick Lichte and Timothy C. Takash, playing 12/11/25-12/22/25 at Calvary Presbyterian Church. All is Calm tells the incredible, true story of the World War One Christmas Truce, in which English, German, and French soldiers laid down their arms, met in No Man’s Land, and celebrated the holidays together. The piece features over thirty songs, and is performed completely a cappella, with dialogue drawn from letters, diary entries and first hand accounts of the Truce.

All is Calm features a cast of ten local singers including:

• Ryan Cappleman
• Tomás Dominguez
• Hugo Dums
• Seth K. Hale
• Daniel Kerkman
• Adlai Kim
• Nicholas Lin
• Eddie Lupella
• Joe Picchetti
• Zachary Thomas Woods

This year’s production will be directed by Jill Anna Ponasik, best known for her work as Artistic Director of Milwaukee Opera Theatre. Music director Paula Foley Tillen returns for this year’s production. AntiShadows, LLC will provide lighting and scenic design, Cassandra Gherardini will costume design the production and Katie Kowbel will serve as voice and text coach.

This is Vanguard Milwaukee’s fourth production of All is Calm. Beginning as a sold out concert production in 2022, All is Calm has grown receiving a fully staged production in 2023 and has quickly become a Christmas tradition for many in Milwaukee and southeast Wisconsin. All is Calm has become the cornerstone of Vanguard’s mission of presenting grounded and contemplative works of theatre that address the social and political questions of our time.

All is Calm runs December 11th through December 22nd, 2025 at Calvary Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee (935 W Wisconsin Ave, 53233). The performance runs 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 at vanguardmke.com/tickets.

About Vanguard Milwaukee

Founded in 2022 by Milwaukee actor George Lorimer, Vanguard Milwaukee is dedicated to creating excellent works of thought provoking theatre with local artists. Previous productions include All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914, LUNGS, and My Name is Rachel Corrie. More info can be found at vanguardmke.com and at @vanguard_milwaukee on Facebook and Instagram.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.