THE THREE MUSKETEERS, Pioneer Theatre Company at Pioneer Memorial Theatre, 8 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, 2 & 8 p.m. Saturdays through Nov. 18. For ticket information call 581-6961.
Among the many reasons to recommend "The Three Musketeers," Pioneer Theatre Company's swashbuckling play that made its world premiere Wednesday at Pioneer Memorial Theatre, there is one that I keep coming back to.
I had a great time.Sure, Charles Morey's original stage adaptation of the Dumas classic is a marvel of glib dialogue and clever storytelling. And Morey's inventive staging of his own script is deliciously stylish and supremely visual. The onstage artistry is superb, and Morey's technical staff executed theirassignments with precision and panache.
We'll talk more about all of that as we go along. But the bottom line here - and the thing I keep remembering as I reflect on opening night at PMT - is entertainment. Despite a three-hour running time (30 minutes of which could probably be trimmed with a little tightening here and there and a bit of judicious editing), Morey's "Three Musketeers" never feels like it has overstayed its welcome.
It's witty. It's wry. It's full of romance and adventure, action and intrigue, high drama and rollicking comedy.
And it's fun.
If there's a better reason for going to a play, I'd like to hear it.
What's that? You want artistic validation? Morey can easily provide that with a script that does what other adaptations of Dumas' story have failed to do. It captures the spirit of the tale - and many of the writer's own words, including, of course, "All for one and one for all!" - without sacrificing theatricality.
Morey accomplishes that task by making Dumas himself a character in the play. The author introduces action and provides a bridge through difficult transitions, adding bits of narration and taking on a couple of roles here and there. He even reacts to the action, including one inspired scene in which he loses control and all of the heroes die.
His reaction? He simply rips up a couple of pages and starts the scene over again, saving the day with a few strokes of his pen.
Clearly Morey has written the piece with his directorial vision in mind - which sort of makes you wonder how it would work in the hands of a director who didn't understand what Morey was trying to accomplish, or who tries to play it all too seriously.
But that's not a problem in PTC's production. Morey is able to bring his vision to life with a broad, campy interpretation that milks the story for all the melodrama it is worth - which is considerable. He and set designer Ariel Ballif have combined to set the play on a carrousel - literally and figuratively - complete with wooden horses, posed gallantry and a revolving stage and set. Bal-lif's technical wizardry enhances Morey's vision, filling the stage with a consistent stylistic flair.
David Paulin's costumes are similarly artistically consistent - bright and vivid and bold - as is James Prigmore's original music. And fight director David Boushey was equal to the substantial task Morey gave him, presenting the most spirited, athletic swordplay this side of the Charge of the Light Brigade.
Of course, it takes an outstanding cast to make all of this behind-the-scenes excellence worthwhile. And "The Three Musketeers" has that, too. Christopher Wells is wonderfully naive and impetuous as D'Artagnan. Bob Kirsh, Patrick Page and James Andreassi create unique and interesting characters in the title roles - Porthos, Aramis and Athos, respectively. Davis Hall has a sparkling, personable turn as Dumas. And John Camera, Tara Hugo and Robert Peterson are exquisitely villainous as Cardinal Richelieu, Milady de Winter and the Comte de Rochefort, respectively.
And that's only the beginning. Mention also needs to be made of Liisa Ivary's beautifully heroic Constance, Spencer Beckwith's outlandishly eccentric Louis XIII, Anne Stewart Mark's noble and regal Queen of France, Richard Matthews' Puck-ish Bonacieux and Frank Gerrish's solid support as a variety of innkeepers and cooks.
In fact, "solid" is a good word to describe Mor-ey's entire ensemble - indeed, the entire production. It's built on the bedrock of good writing, with solid performances from everyone beginning to end. It's well-conceived, well-directed, well-executed and well-presented. That's what makes it so worthwhile.
And so fun.