The Center for the Arts celebrates an important reframing of a timeless tale with the world-premiere adaptation of The Three Musketeers, commissioned and performed by The Acting Company on January 28. This new adaptation by Kirsten Childs from French author Alexandre Dumas' 1844 novel draws inspiration from the fact that Dumas' father was the highest ranking person of Color in a Western military until our own time. Director Kent Gash notes in a promotional video, “I’m really excited that we are adding the perspective of Dumas, who was of Haitian descent. I think people don’t always know that The Three Musketeers springs from a Black imagination and so I’m really excited to bring that additional layer of dynamic and cultural integrity into the story."
Full of charm, wit, and swordplay, this version follows the familiar narrative of D’Artagnan, who joins up with a band of noble Musketeers in Paris on a mission to root out the corruption of Cardinal Richelieu’s spies and assassins. Yet with a raucous, visceral tone, the adaptation also incorporates author Dumas himself onstage as a character, and in the throes of the creative process. Gash says that including Dumas as a character helps to flip the script of usual productions, noting "This story is a product of his imagination and an homage to his father, which is something that is never really talked about in most of the adaptations of The Three Musketeers so here, we're making sure to center Alexandre Dumas by putting him onstage as he's writing the story. At a time when artists everywhere are questioning, 'Who gets to tell the story?,' we're returning the story to its rightful origin."
The Acting Company presents The Three Musketeers at The Center on January 28.
The New York Post recommends this production, exhorting readers that this version will "Make your kids into lifelong theater lovers," and noting that this adaptation of the "swashbuckling tale mixes hip-hop and swords in a retelling that hews closer to Dumas’ Haitian roots."
Founded in 1972 and based in New York, The Acting Company has given more than 400 actors—such as Kevin Kline, Jeffrey Wright, Patti LuPone, and Rainn Wilson—an artistic home at the start of their careers to hone their craft. Named “the major touring classical theater in the United States” by The New York Times, The Acting Company has been honored with numerous awards, including an Obie, Audelco, Los Angeles Critics Circle Award, and a special Tony Honor for Excellence in Theater.
To secure tickets and learn more about The Three Musketeers performance on January 28 at 8 p.m., visit the Center for the Arts’ event webpage, and enjoy this short preview video.