Songs of solidarity: 'All is Calm' to air on PBS

Local entertainment luminaries will light up living rooms around the country when “All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914” broadcasts on PBS this holiday season.

"It's been quite a wonderful experience," writer, producer and director W.J. Lazerus said Tuesday. "We’re very proud."

Lazerus, of Coeur d'Alene, served as the executive producer and television director of the PBS production of "All is Calm," which Laura Little, also of Coeur d'Alene, produced off Broadway in 2018 as a Laura Little Theatrical Productions and Theater Latté Da show. Spokane-based Jim Bolser, vice president of operations/director of photography at Peak Media, served as editor. Flying Mammals frontman and longtime Coeur d'Alene musician and producer Aaron Birdsall mixed the sound.

Lazerus said it's exciting to have so many local people be a part of the project.

"It’s so great to bring people from this area into the fold to work on something everybody feels strongly about and is a profound work of art," he said. "Laura Little did a great job getting this musical to New York for an off-broadway production where it was seen by PBS, so that was wonderful."

Based on a true story, "All is Calm" tells of World War I soldiers on opposite sides of the battlefield who set aside their differences on Christmas night 1914 to come together as friends and brothers for one extraordinary moment in history.

"They are the heroes. They rose above the conflict swirling around them," Lazerus said. "And yet, they were willing to put their hearts on their sleeves and embrace their enemies on the other side in heroic gesture, sing songs, bury their dead and learn about each other and exchange gifts.

"It's an amazing story of people rising above politics," Lazerus continued, "rising above conflict and embracing the personality of the person across from you in a trench who’s trying to kill you."

Little and her crew began collaborating with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and WNET New York Public Media in 2018. Filming took place late last year in Minneapolis, where "All is Calm" was first brought to the stage as a radio musical drama under the direction of Theater Latté Da co-founder Peter Rothstein, who also penned the powerfully moving musical.

The TV movie was filmed over four performances with additional pick-up shots.

"I am ecstatic that our nation will share this story and the message that surrounds it, but I am most excited for the actors," Little said. "This is their reward for communicating an extremely honest performance. Many of them have worked on this production for years and they have perfected their pitch, their dialect and they represent the soldiers in such a truthful way.

"The momentum created by one decision, by one brave individual, can affect an entire army in the most unexpected way," Little said. "Unity and peace, is a beautiful concept — this story taps into the good part of the universe."

This powerful story continues even after the show finishes.

"Please don’t turn off the TV as soon as the 65-minute show concludes, as there is a 21-minute behind-the-scenes piece that talks about the making of both the stage production and the film," Little said. "It covers the challenges of making 'All Is Calm' an a cappella show and how the writer Peter Rothstein chose to use the real words and names of the soldiers so they would always be remembered."

The TV movie of the theatrical production of "All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914" will air on IPTV on Dec. 6 at 9:30 p.m. and KSPS on Dec. 26 at 8 p.m. or it can be streamed starting Dec. 15 at www.video.idahoptv.org, PBS.org and the PBS Video app.