WORCESTER — On Christmas Eve 1914 during World War I, both German and allied troops fighting along the Western Front laid down their arms, and came together in no man’s land, where they sang Christmas carols, put up Christmas trees in the trenches, exchanged gifts, and even played a game of soccer. 

The Christmas Truce of 1914 exemplified the true strength of the Christmas spirit; and this holiday season, the Greater Boston Stage Company is bringing this historic moment to light. 

From Nov. 26-Dec. 23, the company will be showing the documentary musical All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914. 

“German soldiers decided to put out a Christmas tree and one brave soul started singing ‘Silent Night’ and went into no man’s land. The allied troops followed him and they had an evening of Christmas carols, gift giving, soccer, football games, and getting to know one another. It sounded magical, but unfortunately it ended,” said Ilyse Robbins, the musical’s director who hails from Worcester.

All is Calm was written by Peter Rothstein with vocal arrangements by Erick Lichte and Timothy Takach. 

“It was originally arranged for a vocal group called Cantus,” explained Robbins. “There were nine singers and three actors. I changed it. I did it with 10 actors/singers, so all 10 of my men have an even amount of work in this piece and everybody is sharing the responsibility of honoring these men.”

Dubbed a “documentary musical” All is Calm is not your typical musical theater. According to Robbins, the musical underscoring is vocal rather than orchestral. 

“It’s an acapella musical, there’s no musicians on stage other than vocalists. It starts with song and most of the speaking is underscored with the voices of the other nine men as one man is speaking. It’s almost all sung through with the dialogue happening on top of it,” Robbins explained.

Lunenburg resident Bryan Miner, who plays the role of “man” in the ensemble, said the musical arrangements are unlike any he’s ever experienced.  

“The show is comprised of so many stunning musical arrangements, both patriotic numbers and standard holiday songs, but arranged beautifully and in ways I have never heard before,” said Miner, who added that the material for the musical was pulled directly from letters, journal entries and poems written by the soldiers involved in the actual truce. 

“Our tagline for the show is ‘the first step to peace starts with a single person,’ and this really is all about that,” said Miner. “It’s a night of camaraderie and music and peace and, yes, it’s commenting on what happened during the war, but all it took was one soldier to make that move.”

For tickets, go to: https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/34731.