All for one, and one for all! There is something for every audience member in USC’s production of “The Three Musketeers,” out this month. This stage adaptation, retold by Ken Ludwig, stars a young man from Gascony named d’Artagnan, who sets off to Paris (joined by his younger, rebellious sister, Sabine) to become a musketeer. There, they meet the eponymous heroes of the play: Athos, Porthos and Aramis. Together, d’Artagnan, Sabine and the three musketeers fight to defend the queen and her supporters from Cardinal Richelieu and Milady, the villains of the tale.
Ask any of the cast members of the production what their favorite part of show is, and they’ll swear by the fighting. Nationally recognized fight choreographer Casey Kaleba took the actors through a grueling process to master rapier and dagger fighting. Guest artist and USC alumnus William Vaughan, who plays d’Artagnan, joins Kaleba on the fun.
Robert Richmond, an associate professor and celebrated regional director, says that it’s not just a swashbuckling adventure, but has “five principle qualities: faith, hope, charity, chivalry and greed.” Not only is there a value that every viewer can identify with, Richmond says, but also Sabine “gives access to the story in a very smart, sassy, kickass kind of way” and allows the focus to be very empowering. “By looking at some of these great classics,” Richmond says, “[we can learn] what we were, what we should be and what we might become.”
“The Three Musketeers” runs until April 25 in Drayton Hall Theatre.
