It’s all for one and one for all as D’Artagnan and the Musketeers fight to protect the ones they love from the revolting exploits of Cardinal Richelieu. A story of double crossings, kidnappings, and carefully guarded secrets, complete with lavish fights and sweeping romance, The Three Musketeers reminds us that through strength, courage and unity, you can always defend what you believe in.

The story of The Three Musketeers has been adapted innumerable times for both the stage and screen, with varying degrees of success. Some productions veer so far from Alexandre Dumas’ original novel that it seems doubtful the production’s writers actually read it. Many adaptations succumb to silliness; others try to play up the story’s melodramatic elements for a more serious tone. Few seem to capture the spirit of Dumas’ story – so well-loved since 1844 – which successfully blends silliness and solemnity, pleasure and peril. Happily, Catherine Bush’s adaptation of The Three Musketeers seems to grasp that the true greatness of this timeless tale lies in its combination of lightheartedness and gravity. Directed by Jenny Bennett for The Classical Theatre of Harlem (at Marcus Garvey Park), this newest production of The Three Musketeers stays refreshingly true to Dumas’ story without sacrificing dramatic integrity. For anyone needing a refresher on the story: it mainly involves intrigue, deception, romance, and a good deal of swordplay. Of course, there’s a young hero eager to prove him (or her) self, a trio of larger than life musketeers who lend the story camaraderie and panache, and …Read more