By Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com
photo by Brian Gawne
All for one and one for all (from left) Jake Chapman, Ruthie Hayashi and Todd Thompson.
OK all you multi-taskers out there, drop everything you're doing because Gaslight Theatre has the perfect show for you in “The Three Musketeers” based on the Alexander Dumas novel of the same name.
This is your chance to be entertained and, at the same time, bush up on your familiar French phrases.
“Sacre bleu!” Like that. Much attention is also given to the correct pronunciation of “Dauphin,” the French title for the eldest son of the king.
As we all remember from high school English class (cough, cough), the tale of the Three Musketeers (“All for one and one for all!”) centers on the secret birth of twins to the Queen. Quite clearly, only the one born first can become king.
As for the one born second, he becomes The Man in the Iron Mask, doomed to a life of exile in the castle's dungeon.
Only – there is also a dastardly plot afoot, promulgated by the excessively dastardly Prime Minister Roquefort, played with extra butter by David Orley whose every scene drips with evil intentions. If this was a movie, he'd deserve top billing.
But also exceptional is Mike Yarema playing not one, not two, but three royals – King Louis XIII, Prince Louis and his twin brother Phillipe. Since they are all related, the family appearance is logical enough.
The stage entrance of King Louis XIII, complete with billowy powdered wig and effete dancing, has to be one of the greatest Gaslight entrances ever created.
And if that isn't enough, Yarema returns playing both twins onstage at the same time – the prince who seems to be the king-in-waiting and the one who is the hidden prince (in the iron mask).
This theatrical effect becomes a bit of magic, some sleight of hand (hint, hint) and a lot of quick wig changes...as hilarious as it is astonishing.
Going down the cast list, Gaslight veteran Jacob Brown brings exceptional life to his role as Gizzard, the hapless goof henchman to the unscrupulous big cheese Roquefort.
The trio of Musketeers are Todd Thompson as Aramis, Ruthie Hayashi as Porthos and Jake Chapman as D'Artagnan. Fitting Hayashi into a traditional male role is seamless. She is full of dashing chutzpah, flipping her sword with the best of them.
While building their macho togetherness, the valiant threesome borrow a line from Barry Manilow, singing “We Right the Wrongs” to the tune of “I Write the Songs.”
For those aficionados reading the fine print in the program, Katherine Byrnes and Yarema get the credit for directing and adapting the script written by Peter Van Slyke. It is an exceptional production.
Completing this entertainment menu is the after-show olio paying tribute to a completely different lifestyle – summer resorts in the Catskills in the 1950s, as portrayed in the hit movie “Dirty Dancing.” Can you sing “I've Had the Time of My Life?”
At the Gaslight Theatre, 7010 E. Broadway, “The Three Musketeers” plays through June 5 at various times, Tuesdays through Sundays. Tickets are $27 plus tax, with discounts for groups, students, seniors, military, first responders and children age 2-12.
All tickets are sold in advance. Masks are recommended but not required. For details and ticket purchases, 520-886-9428, online at www.thegaslighttheatre.com
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