LEEWARD COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Starring in "The Three Musketeers," from top, are Jason Gerken, Reb Beau Allen and Kat McCormick.
No knowledge of anime (Japanese animated cartoons) or the works of Alexandre Dumas is necessary to enjoy Leeward Community College's ambitious fall production of "The Three Musketeers." The anime concept is seen in some of the characters' costumes and makeup but doesn't impose on the basic character relationships and early 17th-century cultural milieu of Dumas' classic novel. (For instance, the King of France doesn't turn up in 20th-century California to sort things out and rescue the innocent as he did in LCC's 1997 reworking of "Tartuffe.") Characters and swordplay
keep Dumas classic sharp
"The Three Musketeers": Repeats 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at Leeward Community College Theatre. Tickets: $15 general and $12 for students, seniors and military. Call 455-0385.By John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.comAnd, as for getting into Dumas' story, there's more than enough information provided in the playbill to get anyone up to speed as young D'Artagnan and the titular three musketeers seek to serve and protect Louis XIII and his queen, and to thwart the sinister minions of Cardinal Richelieu.
It isn't clear in this staging of playwright Peter Raby's adaptation of Dumas' novel exactly what the cardinal is plotting or why it is detrimental to France; he appears to be as patriotic a Frenchman as the musketeers and not scheming to get the throne for himself, but no matter. Richelieu proves a worthy and ruthless adversary for the musketeers and their loyal retainers, and veteran actor Dan Furst portrays him as the epitome of rational malevolence. Furst oozes malice through every scene. It's a great performance and has a darkness that becomes even darker in contrast to the comic mood that often prevails in his absence.
Kathryn "Kat" McCormick dominates much of the physical action as the beautiful but evil Milady de Winter. Thomas Isao Morinaka has a smaller role as the arrogant but lethal Comte de Rochefort.
The musketeers are portrayed in great style: Long-haired Ely Wyatt Na Ka Ulu'ina Rapoza is Aramis, the ladies' man. Gavin Vinta is Porthos the fashion plate, and JEDI is Athos the gourmand. Reb Beau Allen completes the quartet as D'Artagnan, youthful but cunning and a quick learner in the arts of swordplay and sexual conspiracy. D'Artagnan is the protagonist, but for most of the show the four actors work together as a tight-knit ensemble.
Billy Meyer adds a fine fifth character to the team as Grimaud the Mute, a retainer who fights martial-arts style with a quarterstaff instead of a sword. Meyer performs with the flexibility of a ninja and has a knack for scene-stealing physical comedy as well.
Sandra Antoinette Krystal Magsino is adorable as Kitty, one of the pawns in the struggle for power and personal advancement on the battlefield and in the bedroom. Magsino isn't on for long but owns the stage during her one big scene.
Jillian King, who starred as Janet in LCC's underappreciated Y2K production of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," is both regal and seductive as Queen Anne of France -- a woman conscious of the conflicting calls of love and duty, and shrewd enough to flirt with danger when it suits her purposes.
Ian Sterling Smith (Duke of Buckingham) and Chris Villegas (Felton) add to the overall entertainment value of the show with their work in smaller but still important speaking roles.
Untangling the hodgepodge of conspiracies, betrayals and illicit romances is challenging, and some of the twists and turns seen dictated more by the demands of the plot than by modern norms of continuity and character development, but such concerns are pushed aside at regular intervals for battles, duels and other acts of violence. Intensive training by Po'okela Award-winning fight choreographer Tony Pisculli pays off time and again with expansive swordplay as individuals and groups fight for love, honor, money or in the defense of Catholic France.
Cocoa Chandelier (costume design) and Arthur B. Wilson III (makeup and wig design) do an imaginative job dressing the cast in an eclectic assortment of world fashions, wigs and accouterments. Some suggest the anime theme, others are simply postmodern fantasy. McCormick, Magsino and King in particular benefit from Chandelier's understanding of what makes women eye candy to die for. The musketeers' costumes, McCormick's makeup, Meyer's costume and Furst's gigantic ahistorical cardinal's hat are other great ideas that add to the visual impact of this imaginative presentation.
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