By Ruth Ross
Farce is tricky. Tricky to write. Tricky to act. Tricky to direct. Anticipating another "knock-one-out-of-the-ball-park" effort from the farce-meister extraordinaire, Ken Ludwig, it was with high hopes that I took myself off to the Chatham Community Playhouse for opening night of The Three Musketeers, the final offering of the regular 2014-2015 season. (Image:L-R: Scott Costine, Mitchell Vargas, Caroline Cromwell, Matthew Strool and Glen D. Post)
Unfortunately, a heavy hand was evident in all aspects of this show, making it more swash than buckle. Parts of Ludwig's script were farcical, to be sure, but it did not measure up to the clever and very funny Lend Me a Tenor, Moon Over Buffalo, The Fox on the Fairway or Baskerville, recently performed at McCarter Theatre in Princeton. Set in the 17th century, the story of the three musketeers and their young friend D'Artagnan defending the loony Louis XIII from the villainous Cardinal Richelieu is kind of creaky, with all its melodramatic machinations and corny "all for one and one for all" ethos. Director Mike Burdick makes a mighty effort to usher his large cast of 14 actors through 20 scene changes (not to mention costume changes since several of them played multiple roles), but the comedy, such as it was, sounded leaden to my ears, and the uneven performances didn't help much, either.
The story unfolds on a multipurpose set with folding panels designed by Dean Sickler and lit by Richard Hennessy. Eager to make his way in the world and armed with a letter written by his father that will introduce his son to his childhood friend Treville, the leader of the king's musketeers, the adolescent D'Artagnan leaves his home in Gascony for Paris. Within a few hours after his arrival, the youth has had his precious sword broken and has been robbed of his letter by a femme fatale in the employ of the evil Cardinal; challenged to three different duels; and fallen in love with one of the Queen's ladies in waiting. To further complicate matters, D'Artagnan has been forced to take his feisty little sister Sabine (a Ludwig invention) to Paris with him, ostensibly to attend a convent school, but she refuses to follow orders, disguises herself as a male and gets into scrapes of her own. Along the way, D'Artagnan solves the mystery of a missing diamond necklace, foils the Cardinal's malicious designs, saves loopy King Louis's throne and marriage, and is accepted as a ful-fledged musketeer, vowing with Athos, Porthos and Aramis (the Three Musketeers of the title) that they will honor the oath, "All for one and one for all."
I have seen the Chatham Community Players perform farce, so I know they can do it. This time out, there was more show than acting, with several standouts amid mostly middling performances. Matt Vargas's D'Artagnan is earnest and naive, Chip Prestera is very funny as the king with a hyena laugh and a penchant for planning menus, and in five different roles (in five very different costumes), Corinne Chandler moves easily from peasant mother to religious figure to queen. As Porthos, the clotheshorse musketeer, Glen D. Post (and his magnificent mustache) had a fine time strutting around the stage and reciting the character's bombast. And Kristina Hernandez's Milady had confidence and arroganc ein spades. Maybe it's easier to play evil, something I have seen her do in other productions. (Above: Chip Prestera and Corinne Chandler)
Less successful were Caroline Cromwell as Sabine, Rebecca Ryan as D'Artagnan's love Constance, Matt Strool as the religious musketeer Aramis, Sean Day as the Duke of Buckingham and Frank Bläuer as Cardinal Richelieu. Their performances were often wooden and lacking in confidence. Several have previous experience, some are making their acting debuts. Perhaps more time rehearsing and a better script would have improved their performances. (Above L-R: Nick Colacino, Kristina Fernandez and Frank Bläeuer)
The company deserves kudos for fine production values. Beverly Wand has provided sumptuous, period-appropriate costumes in lush fabrics. The stage hands smoothly move props and those folding panels for the many scene changes, and Joe DeVico's sound design enhances the atmosphere and the production's historical feel.
Farce is not only tricky; it is an acquired taste—for performer and audience. Ken Ludwig's not-very-funny script doesn't give the actors much to work with, which is a shame for this scrappy troupe, who have, in the past few years, performed edgy plays to great acclaim. The Three Musketeers is a gallant try. Here's to next time.
The Three Musketeers will be performed at the Chatham Playhouse, 23 N. Passaic Ave., Chatham, through May 16. For information and tickets, call the box office at 973.635.7363 or visit www.chathamplayers.org online.
All Photos by Howard Fischer.
