The Three Musketeers is all for one and one for all

Seattle Gay ScenePosted by Bill W.Preview: The Three MusketeersSeattle Repertory Theatre brings the sword-fighting fun of The Three Musketeers hilarious adaptation of one of literature's most thrilling romantic adventures. The dashing musketeers-and one plucky kid sister-swashbuckle their way through nefarious villains, international intrigue, and exotic ladies. It's "all for one and one for all!" in an action-packed update of this beloved classic.With 22 fights, 18 swords, and 16 combatants armed with everything from a blade to a rubber chicken, The Three Musketeers promises some serious fighting—of the fun kind. “We’re going to theatricalize it, and make [the fights] a lot of fun. The stakes are high and the style is exciting.” said Rick Sordelet, The Three Musketeers fight director and one of the country's leading experts on stage combat (he has staged fights for nearly 40 Broadway shows, including every one of Disney's musicals).The playwright, Ken Ludwig, has had a number of hits on Broadway, in London and around the world, including Crazy For You, which won the Tony and Oliver Awards for Best Musical, Lend Me A Tenor, which won two Tonys and the Oliver Award nomination for Best Play and was produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Moon Over Buffalo, which marked Carol Burnett's return to Broadway and starred Joan Collins and Frank Langella at the Old Vic in London, Twentieth Century with Alec Baldwin and Anne Heche, the Broadway musical The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer, and Shakespeare In Hollywood, which won the Helen Hayes Award as Best New Play of the Year.Playwright Ken Ludwig set out, not to exactly recreate each event of Dumas’ novel, but to capture the thrilling spirit of romantic adventure that has been the one constant element of the story throughout its many versions. Ludwig measures the play’s success in this spirit. “I want the audience to come out feeling exhilarated. I want them to feel that they’ve taken part in one of the great stories of all time – that they’ve laughed, been frightened, cried – felt a part of this magnificent world that Dumas created; and I want them to feel that they enjoyed every second of it.”This looks like another must see production.