A production of the holiday-themed musical All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914, would probably be effective in any setting. But there’s something special about seeing—and hearing—this piece devoted to a unique moment in time in the intimate confines of the Historic Asolo Theater.

That’s where the current production, an Asolo Rep offering both written by and directed by producing artistic director Peter Rothstein, is playing a short run after first being brought to Sarasota last year.  (It’s played in numerous other theaters as well.) It’s a straightforward piece of work, rendered haunting at times due to its subdued lighting (by Marcus F. Dilliard), its projections by Greg Emetaz that transport us back to the world of December 1914, and to the authentic simplicity of its words—all derived from real soldiers and officers, many at the front when  Germans and British alike laid down their guns one Christmas Eve and exchanged greetings and gifts across No Man’s Land.

It’s a true part of World War I history, albeit one that most of us probably did not know as we grew up. That’s because propaganda supporting the war effort might have been damaged by the notion that Germans were humans and not just the ravaging Huns depicted in posters and advertisements. And it would not have suited the leaders of the military powers to have it known that ordinary soldiers might form their own truce, however temporary.

We first meet the cast of nine men (playing multiple roles) in the days leading up to enlistment and deployment, when the mood was all upbeat and confident that the war would end by Christmas. But patriotic deliveries of “God Save the King” are soon enough replaced by the realities of trench warfare—the cold, the rats, the mud, the barbed wire—and by songs of the period like “I Want to Go Home,” “Keep the Home-Fires Burning” and “When This Bloody War Is Over (What a Friend We Have in Jesus).”

It's impressive that these songs, and many more, are performed by the cast a cappella (under the skillful music direction of Erick Lichte). And it’s a testament to their work that few other sounds—rustling in seats or audience whispering, etc.—disturb the atmosphere created. Switching accents, whether of region, country or class, as easily as they switch hats or jackets to differentiate characters, the actors don’t set a foot wrong. The songs of the truce itself, of Christmas cheer or praise, are all affecting, with “Stille Nacht (Silent Night”) especially moving.

As one soldier remarks, the truce makes you wonder what would happen if all soldiers in the war –any war—put down their guns and refused to fight. He admits that could probably never happen, but still, “It’s a thought.”

I won’t single out any one cast member here, since they work so much as a unit. But their names are Sasha Andreev, Phinehas Bynum, Daniel Greco, Bradley Greenwald, Thomas McNichols, Riley McNutt, Rodolfo Nieto, Andrew Wilkowske and Evan Tyler Wilson. Salutes to all.

All Is Calm continues only through Dec. 19; for tickets, call  (941) 351-8000 or visit asolorep.org.