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The Three Musketeers (2009) >
Amador Ledger-Dispatch|Sacramento News and Review|Calaveras Enterprise
A fresh, fast-paced, and funny adaptation of one of literature’s most thrilling romantic adventures: the dashing musketeers - and one plucky kid sister - swashbuckle their way through nefarious villains, international intrigue, and exotic ladies. It's "all for one and one for all!" in an action-packed update of this beloved classic. "[A] slick, swashbuckling romp that cleverly updates the Dumas novel ... Ken Ludwig’s new version of the story simply refreshes it, distilling its energy and strengthening its timeless appeal." - The Guardian
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Amador Ledger-Dispatch
The Three Musketeers' a swashbuckling delight
By Bethany A. Monk, Amador Ledger-Dispatch
Rating: 3.75 out of 4 stars
(6.26.09) Who says being a girl in the 17th century isn't fun?
Sabine the tomboy does. But that's before she follows her brother D'Artagnan to Paris where they meet the famous musketeers, Athos, Porthos and Aramis. In this theatrical version of Alexandre Dumas' classic "The Three Musketeers," audience members get to enjoy the feisty younger sister and a slew of adventures as they follow the duo from Gascony to Paris.
Main Street Theatre Works has created a delightful work of art in its version of this famous tale. Written by Ken Ludwig and directed by Susan McCandless, this production is rich with physical comedy, skillful sword-fighting and a talented ensemble who plays quite well together on stage.
The play, set in 1625, begins with an up-tempo sword fight. This gives the audience a few moments to enjoy the acumen of swashbuckling and the chance to take in the immaculate set. The Kennedy Mine Amphitheatre sits on a hill surrounded by trees with leaves that invite snippets of evening sunset. This, coupled with the two-story castle, is a treat for the eyes. It also allows for variegated places for the actors to do their thing - scenes take place on the regular stage in front of the terra-cotta color castle, but also atop the second story "balcony." It's fun not knowing when or where the actors will appear - in this sense, the set design really adds to the play's sense of wonderment and surprise. Many accolades to the set construction crew, headed by Ken Stefferud.
Scene changes are the smoothest I've seen in any play yet. Prop masters are dressed in period clothing, and music plays as they slide, move, prepare items for the next scene. Kudos to stage manager Joanne Shugart and her crew, as well as props person Jan Jordan for these savvy transitions.
Costume designer Cathy McClelland should win an award of some sort for her attention to detail and outstanding eye for color - actors look engaging and alluring the entire play. A long list of seamstresses, as noted in the program, contributed to these fantastic creations. Excellent work.
Colby Salmon as D'Artagnan plays the part of the noble Frenchman with youthful valor and a relaxed sense of comedic timing. D'Artagnan and the three musketeers work well together - the ensemble is comfortable and confident on stage. Brent Randolph as Aramis is endearing in his quest to become a man of the church in light of certain challenges. When Sabine first meets him, she is immediately smitten. Her crush on him runs through the play and the two have no trouble drawing laughs from the audience.
Carissa Meagher, the actress who plays Sabine, is no stranger to the stage. This fact is obvious in her stellar performance as the younger, albeit tenacious, sister. She plays the part with impeccable energy. Her character is gutsy and driven, and Meagher gives the audience a fun, believable, victorious Sabine.
Tension heats up the play when D'Artagnan and the three musketeers join to defend the honor of the Queen of France. D'Artagnan finds himself face-to-face with some bad guys - Cardinal Richelieu, played with enjoyable mischievousness by Dean Shellenberger; even scarier is Milady, played flawlessly by Dale Lisa Flint. Flint was so good - let's just say she'd make a perfect Lady Macbeth.
Definitely worth mentioning is Shawn O'Neal's portrayal of the king. He does a good job creating a flamboyant, almost modern-day character that works surprisingly well in this period piece. He owns his lines and knows how to make a crowd laugh.
Both Kristine David, who plays the queen and Jessicah Neufeld, who plays Constance, the beautiful and serene love interest of D'Artagnan, also play various ensemble roles. Though it was hard for me to tell who played which ensemble role (a testament to good acting), I must say that the performances of the nuns were show stealers.
There was one scene in the play that I wasn't able to see. From where I was sitting, the king's easel and canvas blocked my view of D'Artagnan. This means that the people sitting in front of me and in back of me probably could not view the scene either.
The most impressive aspect of this show has to be the authentic sword fights with real swords and daggers. Actors and actresses began working with fight choreographer John Ernoehazy in April. It can't be easy, but these actors pull it off brilliantly, and create memorable theater.
This ensemble knows how to work together. Wait, sort of like "All for one and one for all." Yes, this crew is awesome and the play makes for a most wonderful summer evening in the heart of Amador County.
MSTW's "The Three Musketeers" runs at the Kennedy Mine Amphitheatre in Jackson Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. through July 18. Gates open at 6:30 p.m. for picnicking. Tickets cost $16 for general admission and $12 for students 18 and under. Suggested items to bring include: a picnic dinner, wine, jacket (for cool summer evenings), blanket, low-back chair (provided by MSTW for season ticket holders), and mosquito repellent.
For more information, visit www.mstw.org or call 295-4499.
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Sacramento News and Review
Buff guys, plucky girls and swordplay
By Jeff Hudson, Sacramento News and Review
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
(7.09.09) Summer’s the season when many community-theater groups offer diverting, festive productions, staged outdoors at twilight with a large cast, lots of costumes and a bit of physicality onstage.
The Three Musketeers, a youth-oriented action-adventure tale penned in the mid-1800s by Alexandre Dumas, embodies the heroic and melodramatic notions of that era by focusing on four seemingly invincible swordsmen who have more kinship with comic-book superheroes than any character found in Shakespeare.
The script (in the case of this Main Street Theatre Works production) was penned in 2006 by Ken Ludwig (who’s developed a portfolio of similarly brisk literary adaptations, including Treasure Island, done last year by the Sacramento Theatre Company). Ludwig works in more swordfights than you’ve got fingers and toes, and he makes up for the Dumas novel’s lack of "girl power" by adding Sabine (played by the energetic Carissa Meagher), who is D’Artagnan’s plucky sister. She’s good with a sword (better than he is, to hear her tell it) and disguises herself as a boy when she accompanies him to Paris. (As any English major knows, the girl passing as a boy is a common device in Shakespeare comedies.)
Director Susan McCandless has recruited four limber 20-somethings as her leading men: Colby Salmon as brash D’Artagnan (displaying his trim torso during his entrance in a shirtless fight scene), David Campfield as the thoughtful Athos, James Ellison as the clothes-obsessed Porthos and Brent Randolph as the religiously inclined Aramis. Jessicah Neufeld plays Constance, the pretty lady at court who is the object of D’Artagnan’s affections.
The bad guys - and this is a show in which even a child can tell the good guys from the bad guys at a glance - are Cardinal Richelieu (Dean Shellenberger, basically doing Darth Vader in red vestments), Dale Lisa Flint (deliciously chilly as the female assassin Milady) and the hapless henchman Rochefort (Gregory Smith). They are outwitted almost every time through the lucky intervention of those four hunky swordsmen, with their heroic cry "All for one, and one for all!" (This is a marked contrast to Much Ado, in which the evildoers are accidentally nabbed by dimwitted constables who mangle the language so badly that they’re among Shakespeare’s funniest creations).
The Three Musketeers has broad appeal. The show’s mix of action and derring-do with a smidgen of romance will satisfy the preteen set, and the humor (while less bawdy than Shakespeare) is just sophisticated enough to keep the adults onboard. The play’s language - basically contemporary - won’t rattle Bard-phobic theatergoers still recovering from a negative experience in high-school English.
This production is better staged than many summer amphitheater productions by community groups. The microphones are hung on a wire overhead, which makes for better sound pickup, without those clunking footsteps when the mics are taped to the stage. The lighting and other technical aspects are likewise better executed than most.
And the Kennedy Mine Amphitheatre, while a bit off the beaten track, is a lovely place to see a show. Don’t forget to bring a picnic basket and some low-slung lawn chairs.
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Calaveras Enterprise
Can costumes and swords save the show?
By Mike Taylor, Calaveras Enterprose
(6.30.09) It’s something to see the work of 23 seamstresses on the stage; it’s
something else when the writer of the play leaves the production
dangling like a loose thread.
Such is the case for "The Three
Musketeers," which a talented troupe of players from Main Street Theatre
Works is performing at the Kennedy Mine Amphitheatre outside Jackson.
The production is wonderful, the actors on their marks and the theatrics
exciting [...].
I was ready for the swashbuckling
adventure that mere mention of the musketeers brings to mind and the
first act of this Ken Ludwig adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ novel
plays like a spectacular page-turner. D’Artagnan almost plops into the
front row of spectators as he tumbles onto the stage at the opening.
Colby Salmon is fantastic in this role. He’s capable with his sword
(all of the fighters are and it’s a treat) and able to act better than many who
have tackled the role onscreen in Hollywood films.
That opening tumble is with his father, played most effectively by
John Ernoehazy, who, by the way, choreographed all the fighting in the
show. I was especially impressed to see he could act, but his swordfights
are exciting and energetic.
D’Artagnan is leaving home, off to
find adventure where his heart leads him, to the service of the king of
France. Dad warns of the evil Cardinal Richelieu, a malevolent
man of the cloth who’s overruling most of the orders the less-than-effective
king issues, but D’Artagnan is just too passionate.
He hops aboard Buttercup, his imagined- for-the-play horse and sets off.
But surprise, mom and dad decide that Sabine gets to tag along (period
pieces always seem to have a girl in drag these days, don’t they?).
Carissa Meagher is also very good with a sword, or dagger, or knife, or
falling in love with a musketeer.
As the intrepid travelers reach
Paris, D’Artagnan stumbles into the wrong arms, those of Milady, a viscous
conniver played eloquently by Dale Lisa Flint. She’s dubious from
the start, never tipping her hand so far as to betray any tricks the
temptress might employ too soon and she thrills at delivering the nastiness
Milady possesses.
Our hero also meets his heroes,
though he’s not aware until later as he’s scheduled duels with the fabled
trio of musketeers. Athos (David Campfield, booming voice in perfect
harmony with the action), Aramis (Brent Randolph, wooing women at
every turn with quotes from the Bible and swishes of his blond
locks) and Porthos (James Ellison, having some fun as the Renaissance era
clotheshorse procuring the perfect pumps) are ready to thump the
new kid on the block, but they quickly learn he’s got heart, and soul.
You know the rest of the story, right? The king (Shawn O’Neal,
stealing the show with giggles and buffoonery fitting a royal jester)
thinks the queen (Kristine David, regal in all of the roles she plays in
the show) is dallying about, so he sets a trap involving a necklace with
countable diamonds. The cardinal (Dean Shellenberger, whose voice is
visceral as it cuts through the nighttime air at the amphitheater) had
suggested the trap, so he’s playing one step ahead, dispatching Milady to do more dirty work.
All ends after a dance.
I’m crushed that this beautifully realized production doesn’t have a
better script to pull its finale from, because the cast is excellent and the
show looks beautiful. [...]
This is a big production on a scale I hadn’t yet seen Main Street bring
to the stage. They do a grandiose job with a lackluster script.
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Credits for The Three Musketeers
THE CAST
in order of appearance
D'Artagnan: Colby Salmon
Father/Fache/Ensemble: John Ernoehazy
Mother/Queen/Ensemble: Kristine David
Sabine: Carissa Meagher
Athos: David Campfield
Porthos: James Ellison
Aramis: Brent Randolf
Cardinal Richelieu: Dean Shellenberger
Rochefort: Gregory Smith
Basille/King: Shawn O'Neal
Milady: Dale Lisa Flint
Treville/Ravanche/Ensemble: Scott Randolf
Constance/Ensemble: Jessicah Neufeld
Debris/Buckingham/Ensemble: Ben Miller
THE CREW
coming soon...
SPECIAL THANKS
coming soon...
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