The Three Musketeers

Well crap. I had heard he'd added a female character. Oh goody. But no, while yes, he's added a female character, she is one of the most insulting and uncomfortable female characters I've read in this year's search for next year's season closer. She is supposed to be 15 or 16, and spends the play seemingly trying to seduce one of the older Musketeers. When not trying to do Aramis, she is in the way. She doesn't take up a sword or do anything intelligent or noble, but rather gives the big strong guys with blades another damsel in minor distress. Oh, and the humor is weaker than any of Ludwig's other work. Got the distinct feeling his heart was never in this one. the best scene is the opening. The rest is ... Too bad. And yuk. Did we really need another weak, sex-driven female character in a contemporary action play?

This adaptation of The Three Musketeers by Ken Ludwig is great. There's so much of Ludwig's clear comic style in the script and it's a fantastic read. My local theatre group recently did a sit down read through of the entire play and other than a couple (mostly from a stage blocking standpoint) hiccups, it's something that we all wanted to perform immediately. So we are! It's going to be part of our 2012-2013 season.Ludwig is a fantastic writer. I was fortunate enough to be in Moon Over Buffalo recently which is also a fantastic Ludwig play (that also incorporates some fencing oddly enough). There are a couple odd things in this version though; there's an "montage" at the beginning of Act II to catch the audience up on what's been happening (though I'm sure that all works itself out on stage).The characters are fun, the original story is well represented, and the Duke of Buckingham...well, he's "The Duke of Buckingham!"UPDATE: Just wanted to post a quick update to say that our production was a success and everyone seemed to really enjoy the show. The few complaints I had were from people that didn't like the alterations to the original content (the biggest one being the addition of Sabine...d'Artagnan's sister), but other than that we had children playing in the lobby during intermission and after the show with small fake swords who loved the show!I ended up directing the production and my cast/crew also sent a copy of the poster for our show to Ludwig and he sent it back signed as my memento!

Simply put, this version of the classic story is just kinda 'meh.' Watch out because this version is promoted as a retelling, when in fact it's a tongue in cheek comedy based wrapped around the original story. At one point Sabine has a line of 'you know, it's really hard to be a woman in the 17th century.'If that's what you're looking for, great. And if you need to double up a lot of parts, this is the production to do. If you want a more classical approach, go with another version.

"The Three Musketeers" (Les Trois Mousquetaires), a novel by Alexandre Dumas, revolves around the adventures of a vainglorious, arrogant, impetuous youth, d'Artagnan, who begins aspiring to be a musketeer. He is slightly more resourceful than Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, the scoundrels of the title, all of whom have very specious views on chivalry and the ways in which courtesy applies to them. They are particularly resentful when expected to pay their bills or repay debts, or respect marriage vows. Their motto, "One for all, and all for one" seems to vouchsafe their right to brawl and plunder in the name of friendship. But whether or not Dumas is parodying the outrages these ruffians commit in the name of chivalry and camaraderie, or applauds them, is uncertain.The Three Musketeers was first published in serial form in the magazine Le Siècle in 1844, based on manuscripts Dumas said he discovered in the Bibliothèque Nationale, which may have been the "Mémoires de Monsieur D'Artagnan, capitaine lieutenant de la première compagnie des Mousquetaires du Roi" from the 17th century.Dumas focuses on incidents 1625 to 1628, in intrigues involving King Louis XIII of France, his Chancellor, Cardinal Richelieu, the beautiful Queen Anne of Austria, her English lover, George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, and the Siege of La Rochelle. Matters are further complicated, especially for the simple d'Artagnan, by the involvement of the ephemeral Milady de Winter, and Richelieu's right-hand man, the Comte de Rochefort. The challenge for him is all the greater as he must win the trust M. de Treville, captain of the King's musketeers. He seems to think he can do this in a series of duels with both the king's and the cardinal's musketeers. He is also obsessed with avenging himself against Rochefort, whose original offence against d'Artagnan's aged nag, a horse he is only too happy to be rid of at the first opportunity."The Three Musketeers" is a tedious adventure story made worse by implausible coincidences, and gratuitous fisticuffs and swordfights and high-handed bullying, set in a historical setting that is all the more galling because the protagonists are not able to fathom the roles they are duped into performing.