Lora Lee Gayer, Kerstin Anderson and Adam Chanler-Berat in “Unknown Soldier.” (Teresa Castracane/Arena Stage)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — “Unknown Soldier,” a new musical surrounding a love story that’s told across generations, gets a second chance at life at Arena Stage.
The musical ran for 10 performances at Playwrights Horizons in New York in March 2020 before production was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fast-forward four years, and “Unknown Soldier” takes new root with a new cast in the nation’s capital.
Taking place between three time periods, the musical centers around Ellen Rabinowitz (Lora Lee Gayer), an OB/GYN from New York, as she delves into finding the true identity of a World War I soldier photographed with her grandmother in a recently rediscovered newspaper clipping. As she was told by her grandmother, Ellen’s grandfather was killed in action after a whirlwind one-day date-turned-marriage mere hours before he shipped out.
The audience is whisked between middle-aged Ellen in 2003, young Ellen in 1973, and young Lucy, Ellen’s grandmother, in 1918. The period changes are interlaced throughout the show in a way in which time and memories occur all at once.
Though the title may lead some patrons to assume the musical is a somber war story, playwright Daniel Goldstein says theatergoers should prepare for laughs, vaudeville numbers and romance.
Young Ellen (Riglee Ruth Bryson) delivers funny quips left and right, while Nehal Joshi’s performance as ‘the Doctor’ steals the show. A young Lucy played by Kerstin Anderson dazzles the audience with showstopping belts and edge-of-your-seat moments. And of course, four-time Tony Award nominee Judy Kuhn, best known for her work on Broadway in “Fun Home,” and for lending her voice to the titular role in Disney’s animated “Pocahontas,” is not to be missed as an older Lucy.
Goldstein said Arena Stage was a no-brainer to be selected as the host for the musical’s rebirth.
“The show really addresses national themes of memory, regret and history,” Goldstein said. “The original idea came from a World War I soldier who was found in France, but we immediately transported it to America because there’s an enormous amount of grief and loss that Americans don’t know what to do with — with soldiers lost in this country every year.”
From left, Judy Kuhn, Riglee Ruth Bryson, Kerstin Anderson, and Lora Lee Gayer in “Unknown Soldier.” (Teresa Castracane/Arena Stage)
From left, Adam Chanler-Berat, Taylor Witt, Candice Shedd-Thompson, Nehal Joshi, Sumié Yotsukura, and Ronald Joe Williams in “Unknown Soldier.” (Teresa Castracane/Arena Stage)
From left, Sumié Yotsukura, Perry Sherman, and Taylor Witt in “Unknown Soldier.” (Teresa Castracane/Arena Stage)
As a young Ellen states in the show’s opening song, “The Great War,” “Sometimes you see a picture … and a person that’s forgotten becomes alive for a moment. They can tell you what happened.”
The show delivers its message of remembrance both onstage as well as in a more meta sense. Goldstein’s production partner, Michael Friedman, died at age 41 in 2017 — before ever seeing “Unknown Soldier” realize its full potential.
Responsible for the music and lyrics, Friedman’s personal touch comes alive with each performance as soaring melodies weave a dreamlike patchwork quilt of stories and memories for the audience to piece back together.
“Michael was the smartest person I will ever know,” Goldstein said. A brilliant composer, Friedman wrote “verbatim texts,” where he’d conduct interviews with people and then turn the dialogue into songs. “He’d find the music in how people spoke,” Goldstein said.
Goldstein said he hopes showgoers will be able to hear Friedman’s music and find solace in their own grief for people they have lost.
“I hope people can find forgiveness and grace for the people that might have challenged them in their lives, especially those who are older than us,” Goldstein said. “We find grace in other people, always.”
“Unknown Soldier” is performing at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., through May 5. The musical runs approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes with no intermission. Tickets are available at arenastage.org.
