There’s a mysterious man in Paris. A young Gascon by the name of Monsieur D’Artagnan. In search of adventure, he finds himself in the middle of royal intrigue, dangerous enemies and various romances.
Lucky for him, he picks up a few friends along the way - the “Three Musketeers” also known as Athos, Porthos and Aramis.

It gets a little tricky at times keeping up with the characters and subplots, but the lavish costumes, daring sword fights and entertaining personalities on stage make for a spectacular show. So it’s all for one and one for all as the Haywood Arts Repertory Theatre presents the Alexander Dumas classic “The Three Musketeers” at the Performing Arts Center in Waynesville for the first three weekends in June. Shows will run at 7:30 p.m. on June 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, and 16 and 3 p.m. for the Sunday matinees on June 3, 10, and 17. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $6 for students. For Thursday and Sunday performances, student tickets are half-price.

To reserve tickets, call or stop by the HART box office Monday through Saturday from 1-5 p.m. The box office number is 828.456.6322.

In keeping with tradition for the last few years, HART continues to offer a swashbuckling spring show. Last year, it was “Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood” a locally written play which featured a day-long festival, a huge cast and a glorious run of big audiences. In 1998 it was the Robert Louis Stevenson tale “Treasure Island,” which also drew big crowds with its big ensemble. Both of those previous shows incorporated elaborate sword fights and hand-to-hand combat, and “Treasure Island” included live musket fire and a scene where one of the actors got shot and fell into the orchestra pit.

This time, for “The Three Musketeers,” the excitement is turned up a notch with muskets firing, about a dozen different sword fights and more than eighty 18th century costumes provided by Broadway Costumes of Chicago (the same company that outfitted HART actors for “A Little Night Music” in 1999).

Actors have spent weeks choreographing fight sequences, focusing on transitions between more than 40 scenes and practicing with all sorts of props ranging from letters to pistols to pretend beer mugs. (No drinking on stage.) And Director Steve Lloyd has made sure to get those French words correct - there’s no “n” in the pronunciation of “monsieur” and D’Artagnan is pronounced “Dar-TAN-yun.” So hopefully, only very picky French teachers will be the ones noting any particular miscues of the French language.

The stage version of “The Three Musketeers” comes directly from the 1730s story of peril and passion as powerful and secret alliances fight for the control of France.

“If you love the spectacle of theatre, the romance and drama, and daring of great adventure,” Lloyd explained, “be prepared for a wonderful time. The story is not a simple one of good guys versus bad guys, but instead traces the journey of one young man to maturity. Along the way, D’Artagnan discovers that the glamour of the musketeers, a group he dreams of being a part of, is tinged with tragedy and personal loss.”

The show features newcomers and lots of familiar faces including Richie Gorman as D’Artagnan, Jack Ross as Porthos, Tom Dewees as Athos, Clint Menacaf as Aramis, Wendy Lawrence as Milady De Winter, John Winfield as Cardinal Richelieu and Forest Livengood as King Louis.

The show is sponsored by The Enterprise Mountaineer, Clyde Savings Bank and the Haywood County Arts Council through Grassroots funding from the North Carolina Arts Council. For more information about the show, call 828.456.6322.

 

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The Smoky Mountain News