“;Shaw is so difficult,”; I overheard someone say during intermission at the opening of “;Arms and the Man”; last Friday at Hawaii Pacific University. “;The writing is so outdated.”;

I spent much of the second half of the performance listening to the self-appointed critic laughing heartily at the “;outdated”; writing of George Bernard Shaw.

The story begins amid the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885. A Swiss officer fighting for Serbia takes refuge in the bedroom of a young Bulgarian woman and persuades her to hide him. He then persuades her to loan him a coat to wear while he makes his escape. Never mind that the woman is a patriotic Bulgarian with a highly romanticized view of modern warfare, or that her fiance is the hero whose cavalry charge routed the Serbian unit the Swiss officer was serving with! She and her mother help the Swiss officer escape.

The war ends in a Bulgarian victory. Major Petkoff (Gerald Altweis) returns home accompanied by his daughter's fiance, Major Saranoff (David Albert), and recount the story of the Bulgarian women who sheltered an enemy officer — little do they know that the women were Petkoff's wife, Catherine (Hester Lewellen), and daughter, Raina (Lacey Perrine Chu). Next to arrive is the Swiss officer, Captain Bluntschili (Troy Apostol), who has come back to return the coat.

The women are horrified, but it turns out that Major Petkoff invited the captain to stop by and help plan the demobilization of the Bulgarian army.

Director Joyce Maltby's talented cast handles all the comic twists and turns with impeccable timing.

Albert does an outstanding job playing a pompous stuffed-shirt type who is aware of his faults but sees no immediate need to address them. Altweis is delightful as the bemused head of the house who is concerned about the dangers of frequent bathing and dubious about newfangled ideas, such as using an electric bell to summon servants instead of yelling for them.

Apostol adds another impressive entry to his resume as a professional soldier who holds that a cavalry charge on the modern battlefield reflects “;sheer ignorance of the art of war”; unless the other side is out of ammunition.

Chu gives a convincing portrayal of a naive and idealistic young woman acquiring a more realistic perspective on life, love and modern warfare. Local theater veteran Tim Dyke (Nicola) provides solid comic support as a long-suffering family servant. Hester Lewellen contributes to the comic impact of several key scenes involving mistaken motives or misplaced items, and Erica Best (Louka) adds spice elsewhere as a sassy young woman on the make.