Entertainment

Swordplay delights in Lifeline's 'The Three Musketeers'

Posted June 14, 2013 6:00 am

Barbara Vitello

Glenn Stanton, left, Dwight Sora, Christopher M. Walsh and Chris Hainsworth play the swashbuckling quartet in Lifeline Theatre's production of “The Three Musketeers.” Photo by Suzanne Plunkett

Good writers know what to put in. Great writers know what to leave out.

So says Daily Herald film critic Dann Gire, whose axiom I maintain also applies to adapters.

Case in point: Robert Kauzlaric's faithful take on Alexandre Dumas' “The Three Musketeers,” currently running at Lifeline Theatre, which has specialized in literary adaptations for 30 years.

Kauzlaric — a Jeff Award winner for his adaptations of H.G. Wells' “The Island of Dr. Moreau” and Neil Gaiman's “Neverwhere” — adapted Dumas' 19th century swashbuckler in 2011 and again this year. It's an ambitious work, yet had Kauzlaric followed Dann's doctrine — by tightening the exposition, excising some of the ancillary intrigue and fleshing out the thinly drawn characters — his “Musketeers” would have impressed even more.

That said, director Amanda Delheimer Dimond's fast-moving, multiethnic production is certainly entertaining. Much of its appeal comes from Matt Hawkins' exceptional, acrobatic fight choreography which unfolds on Alan Donahue's stripped-down set made up of wood and steel and held together by cable wire. It's here, on what resembles scaffolding, that Hawkins' rollicking duels unfold. The actors scamper up stairs and along catwalks, swing like gymnasts from high bars and spin and slide down poles like firefighters responding to a multi-alarm blaze.

A tale of loyalty and friendship, intrigue and ambition, power and revenge, “The Three Musketeers” is at its core a coming-of-age story centered on young D'Artagnan, played by the chiseled Glenn Stanton with an engaging mix of egoism and impulsiveness.

D'Artagnan leaves his native Gascony for Paris where he hopes to join the musketeers who serve King Louis XIII (a comically self-absorbed Miguel Nunez), whose reign depends upon an uneasy alliance with the calculating Cardinal Richelieu (Sean Sinitski, who wisely underplays the character's menace). Along with his own cadre of soldiers, the power-hungry prelate also commands the loyalty of the treacherous Milady de Winter, played by Katie McLean Hainsworth. McLean Hainsworth brings dimension to this consummate femme fatale, the play's villain and its most complex, fully realized character.

On his journey, D'Artagnan unwittingly offends three musketeers: the endearing sensualist Porthos (the affable, comical Christopher M. Walsh); deeply religious Aramis (Dwight Sora), who vows to return to the priesthood when his fighting days are over; and the wary Athos (a nicely brooding Chris Hainsworth).

Each challenges D'Artagnan to a duel. But before the quartet can satisfy their petty quarrels, they're set upon by the cardinal's guards. Despite being outnumbered, they prevail and solidify their bond while they earn the cardinal's hostility.

Newly minted musketeer D'Artagnan romances Constance (Deanna Myers), devoted servant to Queen Anne (Mildred Marie Langford). Anne is trapped in a loveless political marriage to Louis. She fends off lustful advances from the cardinal and England's Duke of Buckingham (also played by Nunez), whose suit the noble Anne rejects despite her love for him.

Secret affairs, political conspiracies, theft, extortion, kidnapping and murder unfold at a dizzying pace in a play that begins as a lighthearted romp but turns darker in a second act dominated by deception and death. Balancing the comic with the tragic is like walking a tightrope. Not everyone in Lifeline's production makes it across without stumbling.

Fortunately, when it comes to swordfighting, they are sure of foot.

Deanna Myers and Glenn Stanton play Constance and DArtagnan whose love affair blossoms amid plots and political intrigue in Lifeline Theatres adaptation of Alexandre Dumas 19th century swashbuckler The Three Musketeers. Photo by Suzanne Plunkett

Athos (Chris Hainsworth) confronts the duplicitous Milady (Katie McLean Hainsworth), an agent of the scheming Cardinal Richelieu in The Three Musketeers, running through July 21 at Lifeline Theatre. Photo by Suzanne Plunkett

In 17th century France, King Louis XIII (Miguel Nunez, right) and Cardinal Richelieu (Sean Sinitski) make for uneasy allies in Lifeline Theatres production of Alexandre Dumas swashbuckler The Three Musketeers, adapted by ensemble member Robert Kauzlaric and directed by Amanda Delheimer Dimond. Photo by Suzanne Plunkett

DArtagnan (Glenn Stanton, left), Athos (Chris Hainsworth), Porthos (Christopher M. Walsh) and Aramis (Dwight Sora) hold off British soldiers in Lifeline Theatres production of Alexandre Dumas The Three Musketeers. Photo by Suzanne Plunkett

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★ ★ ★

Location: Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago, (773) 761-4477 or <a href="http://lifelinetheatre.com">lifelinetheatre.com</a>

Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 4 p.m. Sunday. No shows June 30 and July 4.

Running time: About two hours, 30 minutes with intermission

Parking: Limited street parking. Free parking available in a lot at the northeast corner of Morse and Ravenswood avenues. Free shuttle service available before and after the show.

Tickets: $20-$40

Rating: For teens and older

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