“The Three Musketeers” reviewed by Mark Reinecke

*** Idle Muse Theatre Company kicks off its 20th Anniversary season with this potent, swashbuckling, relentlessly physical and action-packed production of “The Three Musketeers.” Written by Robert Kauzlaric and adapted from Alexandre Dumas’s 1844 novel, this timeless tale is long, has a lengthy character list, and a lot of courtly intrigue and – almost forgot – sword fighting.

This is a tough, voluminous work to adapt into a two and a half hours production. Yet, with the creative choices under the direction of Evan Jackson, the story moves fast avoiding the countless pitfalls the many subplots could easily present. There is balance to this presentation. We are given romance. Male bonding and camaraderie. Morality tales. And war, honor and heroism. There is never a lull in the action and no time is lost waiting for one scene after another (and another) to change. There is plenty of humor in the mix as well.

The play is anchored by Troy Schaeflein’s D’Artagnan. The handsome country boy goes to Paris dreaming of joining the elite Musketeers in the King’s guard. We watch him transform from an immature hothead willing to provoke duels over insignificant or perceived slights into a love-struck soldier and eventually a skilled hero.

In the story, Queen Anne (Caty Gordon) is at odds with King Louis XIII (Benjamin Jouras). D’Artagnan’s mentor, Treville (Erik Schnitger); his three musketeer friends, Athos (Jack Sharkey), Porthos (Boomer Lusink), and Aramis (Xavier Lagunas); and D’Artagnan are all on the Queen’s side. Queen Anne is dangerously in love with the Duke of Buckingham, who is running England. On the other side, power and money are the primary driving forces within the King’s camp: the steely and sinister Cardinal Richelieu (Eric Duhon), Rochefort (Joel Thompson) and Rochefort’s lover, the femme fatale and scheming Milady (Jennifer Mohr).

D’Artagnan falls deeply for his landlord’s daughter, Constance (Jamie Redwood), who is a personal servant of the Queen. Constance inadvertently becomes entrenched up to her eyeballs in the story’s intrigue. Then there is the whereabouts of the Queen’s royal diamonds. There’s life-or-death sword fighting. And then, representing the monarch’s absolute power and despotism, the Bastille.

Things move in gale-force pace. During an all-out war scene, there were so many swords flying and knives drawn, I sat in the front row (on the stage’s floor) with complete castration anxiety watching this half-drunk spectacle unfold in my lap. With an enormous cast coming out of the woodwork, and with blades flying, I was concerned my head would be severed with one small mishap. I was grateful after my heart resumed normal rhythms that there was a highly competent violence designer (Libby Beyreis and Brendan Hutt) and rehearsal fight coach (Elizabeth MacDougald) to choreograph a truly athletic, convincing, and highly-skilled battle. This is pure, boisterous storytelling.

Among the performances, Troy Schaeflein’s D’Artagnan was accessible, balletically athletic, and captivating. Eric Duhon in a perfectly restrained performance conveys a powerful, unsettling and intimidating Cardinal Richelieu. Jack Sharkey, Boomer Lusink, and Xavier Lagunas are excellent as the three musketeers. Jennifer Mohr is a perfect, sharp-tongued villain and brings her evil manipulation to an unexpected high. She really deserves the fate that awaits her. Benjamin Jouras as Louis XIII is purposely pompous, a bit campy, and can easily slip into his other role as Duke of Buckingham. For the audience, you can easily see them as both rivals and separate characters. The large ensemble of actors, each of whom gave solid and strong performances, gave life and reckless and unpredictable energy to the show.

Finaly, the many swirling, period splendid costumes (Victoria Jablonski and Abigail Evans), lighting (Laura Wiley), sound (LJ Luthringer), the scenic painter (Breezy Snyder), period props (Tristan Brandon and Becky Warner) and the simple, yet highly functional, scenic design (Jeremiah Barr) allowed for fluid changes between locations and dueling characters who race on and off the stage.

I feared this production would be superficial. And it was. But, as it turns out, it was superficial and fun! It’s a rollicking, romping, stomping swirl of fun. So, saddle your steed (wait until you see the riding horses) and get ready to repeat, “All for One and One for all!”

The Three Musketeers
Presented by Idle Muse Theatre Company
By Robert Kauzlaric
Directed by Evan Jackson

The Edge Off-Broadway Theater
1133 W. Catalpa Avenue
Chicago

Through April 25, 2026
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm
Sundays at 3 pm
Added Wednesday performance on April 22 at 8 pm

General admission tickets are $30 and $20 for seniors and students with $50 “pay it forward” tickets that assist in subsidizing tickets for those who may not be able to access the production otherwise. Tickets are available at

www.IdleMuse.org or the Idle Muse Theatre Company Box Office (773) 340-9438

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “The Three Musketeers”.        photos by Steven Townsend