You may have seen “The Three Musketeers” before on stage or screen but most likely not as the scenic extravaganza Asolo Rep is offering. Yet it begins simply with D’Artagnan, son of a famous Musketeer, ready to leave their country home to join Musketeers and serve King Louis XIII in squelching Cardinal Richelieu’s attempts to rule France. In Ken Ludwig’s dramatic version of Alexander Dumas’s famous novel, D’Artagnan himself gets joined by a sister, Sabine.
No sooner does D’Artagnan get near the plush Court than he’s scheduled to fight the three he’d hoped to join, especially Aramis (Rasell Holt's strong, complex Musketeer who leads Athos and Porthos). Also D’Artagnan’s met and fallen in love with the Queen’s trusted lady-in-waiting, Constance (lovely Dreaa Kay Baudy).
D’Artagnan’s quickly a target too for Richelieu’s consort Milady (Tracie Lane, powerful at being dangerous) as well as the Cardinal’s right-hand man, Rochefort (Chris Duval, always chilling). Luckily, Evan Stevens’s D’Artagnan is dextrous as can be, a magnificent swordsman, and appealing in personality and demeanor. Additionally, he has Erin O’Connor’s amiable sister and very able fighter Sabine to help him when he’s down.
Actually, the King (rightly shown as insipid by Peter S. Raimondo) doesn’t deserve D’Artagnan or the Musketeers, but Queen Anne (as Imani Lee Williams’ demonstrates) does. So the men (and Sabine) demonstrate the Musketeers’ motto “All for one and one for all!” in helping the Queen recover a diamond necklace, the King’s gift to her that she gave to true love, English Duke of Buckingham. When Cardinal Richelieu (Jay Russell, ever wily) gets the King to arrange a Ball and request seeing the necklace there, how do D’Artagnan and his now-fellow King’s men fare in producing it?
D’Artagnan’s role, buoyed from most previous dramatic versions, sinks stories of the Musketeers other than that of the wronged Aramis, which importantly involves Milady and is so covered by author Ludwig’s text. Director Peter Amster puts right emphasis on the Aramis-Milady story and her fate as well as on the just extension of the Musketeers’ motto to not only D’Artagnan but also his sister and to the religious Sisters who help her in the city (a contrast with the should-be religious Cardinal). All physical movement is directed sensibly, too.
Technically, Asolo Rep’s production is as dynamic as possible, contained in a wooden constructivist framework but quickly changing in background and foreground with dropped and projected scenery. It’s a wonderful introduction of designer Adam Koch to Asolo Rep and working with projection designer Greg Emetaz. The scenery comes off being as modern as TV or cinema, with the added advantage of being three-dimensional and delivered LIVE! Sound and light designs bolster the final effect. Tracy Dorman deserves praise for her range of costumes, including very artistic masks and fans, well handled by the cast.
An old story seems quite new—and enjoyable—directed, designed, performed in 2023 at Asolo Rep.
