Where can you see swashbuckling sword fights in a tale of love, loyalty, honor and treachery, right here in Habersham County? That would be Piedmont University’s production of “The Three Musketeers.”
Piedmont’s production is directed by Piedmont University Associate Professor John Spiegel and is based on a Ken Ludwig adaptation of the classic Alexandre Dumas tale.
D’Artagnan (Garrett Smith) is the “country bumpkin” who is determined to be a Musketeer like his father (Tucker Cochran) was. D’Artagnan and his sister, Sabine (Lexie Partain) travel to Paris so he can fulfil his desire to become a Musketeer, and Sabine can go to school at a convent.
Sabine, who is as good with a sword as her brother, is equally determined not to go to school, but to find adventure, as well as her own Musketeer to fall in love with.
From his first moments in Paris, D’Artagnan falls into trouble. Without knowing who they are, he accidentally insults each of the Three Musketeers, Aramis (Hunter Reum), Porthos (Carson Letner) and Athos (Seven Goodwyn), and schedules consecutive duels with them. (Note – during rehearsal, understudy Dom Fox played Porthos and Letner played Athos.)
Lady-in-waiting Constance (Haylie Collins) serves Queen Anne (Megan Zimmerman), who has had an affair with the English Duke of Buckingham (Ian Williams). The evil Cardinal Richelieu (Jordan Hicks) is determined to use the queen’s mistake to control her bumbling husband King Louis (Dante Wilson) and start a war between England and France.
Because she delivers notes between the queen and her lover, Constance is set upon by the cardinal’s minions, led by chief minion Rochefort (Carly Jelinek). True to his impetuous nature, D’Artagnan saves Constance’s life, and he quickly falls in love with her.
Possibly even more evil than the cardinal is Milady (Kerstin Landry), who attempts to murder Constance out of spite and aids in the cardinal’s attempts to have the queen hanged.
In addition to being director and designer for the set, costumes and sound, Spiegel is also the fight choreographer for the show’s sword fights. He is trained in Western Martial Arts and by the Society of American Fight Directors.
Teaching the student-actors how to fight on stage was one of the reasons “The Three Musketeers” was chosen, Spiegel said.
“We picked the play because it’s been a long time since we’ve done stage combat,” he said. “It isn’t something we do very often, but it’s good for the actors to make them more well-rounded. And the kids really bought into the stage combat. … They’ve really engaged with it.”
While “The Three Musketeers” is different from what Piedmont University usually does, the actors and crew do a great job of bringing the classic story to life on stage. Smith and Partain, as the D’Artagnan siblings, are great as the good-hearted (and skilled with swords) bumpkins, Hicks’ Cardinal Richelieu is slimy and evil, and Landry’s Milady is sly and murderous. And you want to cheer when Wilson’s poor, clueless King Louis finally gets the upper hand.
The Piedmont University production of “The Three Musketeers” will run 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 17-19, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 20. Everyone in attendance is required to wear a face mask while inside the theater and to practice social distancing.
Tickets cost $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and students, and are free for Piedmont faculty, staff and students. For more information, call 707-778-8500, ext. 1355.