George Bernard Shaw’s Major Barbara as performed by the UA Theatre department is an insightful display of its era’s progressive attitudes toward social reform.  Written in 1905, during a period in which people were beginning to question their moral, religious, and political beliefs, Shaw managed to create distinct characters to display the prevailing attitudes of the people on the subjects of socialism, war, religion, and reform.  The conflicting themes of the play were the idealism of Major Barbara Undershaft and the realism of her father, ammunitions dealer Andrew Undershaft.  The clashing views of Barbara and Andrew about the state of society and the role of the poor as well as the need for reform created the main plot, pushing the action forward.  Major Barbara, of the Salvation Army, is a bright character performed beautifully by junior Sonequa Martin in her UA Theatre debut.  Martin has the ability to capture the “rose-tinted glasses”-like view of Barbara with superior facial expression and careful intonation, and projected her character with vivacity throughout the performance.  Steve Ray, performing the role of Andrew Undershaft, was excellent as well, commanding the stage dynamically with every line he delivered.  Mother and Son, Lady Britomart and Stephen Undershaft, played by Alicia Grubb and Jason Keef, provided humorous performances to lighten the mood of several tense moments.  Grubb seemed to struggle a little bit with the British accent, but remained entertaining in interaction with her children, and Keef, excellently cast, gave an outstanding comedic performance.  Allison Moy and Jon Chapman, a wonderful comedic duo as well, played the roles of daughter Sarah Undershaft and her fiancé Charles Lomax, respectively.  With excellent timing, Moy and Lomax, though not characters central to the plot, were hilarious and added to every scene.  By far, the most impressive was Adolphus Cusins, played by Thomas Azar.  Azar had the most convincing British accent, and played the part incredibly.  He created a multi-dimensional character that, to me, was believable and more honest than any other. 
       Technically, the show was outstanding.  I was impressed by Brian Bailiff’s intricate set design of turning wheels, chains, and sprockets all working simultaneously.  Although I felt the lighting was a bit severe at times, especially in the latter portion of the play, it achieved its goals and was successful, especially in the first half.  Costuming was exemplary, giving each character a style of his or her own.  Overall, the play was enjoyable, despite its various flaws.  I would recommend this play to most anyone because it appeals not only to one of comedic taste, but a philosophically minded individual as well.