WAR, LOVE, AND LAUGHS: Maggie Gronenthal as Raina in George Bernard Shaw’s “Arms and the Man,” on stage January 16-25 at the Kelsey Theatre on Mercer County Community College’s West Windsor campus.

George Bernard Shaw’s comedy Arms and the Man comes to the stage of Mercer County Community College’s Kelsey Theatre January 16-25.

Arms and the Man follows a hunted soldier who, seeking refuge in the company of a young lady, starts in motion a series of unlikely comedic events. The soldier’s unusual philosophies about life in general open up a world of thought his protector never previously entertained, and certainly not in the company of her dashing war-hero fiancée, who arrives unexpectedly. This early work of Shaw’s is an examination of romance, sex, love, political maneuverings, war, hope — and chocolate.

The first Broadway production of Arms and the Man opened in 1894, with six subsequent revivals. In the words of George Orwell, the play “is probably the wittiest (Shaw) ever wrote, the most flawless technically, and in spite of being a very light comedy, the most telling.”

Dates and showtimes are Friday, January 16 and 23, and Saturday, January 17 at 8 p.m., with matinee performances Saturday, January 24 and Sunday, January 18 and 25 at 2 p.m. Performances are at the Kelsey Theatre on Mercer County Community College’s West Windsor Campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road.

Tickets are $22 and $24. Visit kelseytheatre.org.