The story covers it all: adventure, romance, murder, action, sex and comedy.
In two energetic performances, The Acting Company, a non-profit acting troupe based in New York, brought the tale of “The Three Musketeers” to the Rudder Auditorium as a part of the 2005-2006 MSC OPAS season.
The plot centers on D’Artagnan, a young, aspiring musketeer. He arrives in Paris and befriends three of the king’s Musketeers. After he falls in love with a married woman, D’Artagnan throws his excessive passion into a cross-country task that proves his devotions to France, specifically the French queen. When he foils the plans of the powerful Cardinal Richelieu, D’Artagnan finds himself in an adventure of great proportions. He loves, loses and fights for the king as the plot twists and turns.
Chad Hoeppner took on the role of D’Artagnan. A fresh-face in The Acting Company, Hoeppner brought the eventual fourth musketeer to life and showed the dynamic nature of the character. The audience watched D’Artagnan transform from a hotheaded boy to a solemn, devoted musketeer – an undertaking that only the best can do successfully.
The three musketeers were each played well and were easily defined by their particular personalities. The vain Porthos (Cedric Hayman), the forgetful but often logical Athos (Timothy Carter) and the sometimes priest, sometimes playboy Aramis (David Foubert) kept the audience laughing with their petty quarrels and lasting bravery. The trio brought amusement in some of the tensest situations – when Athos and D’Artagnan begin to duel in the opening scenes of the play, Athos calmly stops the fighting to pull out his handkerchief and cover a sneeze while D’Artagnan looks on in disbelief.
Further standouts in the show included Megan McQuillan as Constance, D’Artagnan’s love, and Henry Vick, who doubled as the flamboyant French king and the Puritan Henry Felton.
Director Casey Biggs opted for his actors to stay away from French accents, which was a smart call, but a few French words were sprinkled throughout the dialogue, reminding the audience of the Parisian setting and distinguishing the Englishmen from the Frenchmen in the London scenes.
The show was technically solid as well. The set was plain, with only two rising staircases, each adorned with a candelabra. When a set change was necessary, the actors simply rotated the staircases into different angles and brought in other set pieces such as tables and fabrics to focus the mood for each location.
Fight scenes were also cleverly staged. Actors’ movements and dramatic lighting combined to give the illusion of true duels. The music was overbearingly loud at times, causing some dialogue to be swept away from the audience.
“The Three Musketeers” was enjoyably strong, but what else would one expect from a professional acting company that boasts hundreds of successful alumni, including Kevin Kline, Frances Conroy and Patti LuPone? MSC OPAS once again came through by bringing a good, professional performance to Aggieland.