The Three Musketeers

by Ken Ludwig, Alexandre Dumas (Adapter)

Adventure Charaters 8 male, 4 female (doubling)

Unit sets

This adaptation is based on the timeless swashbuckler by Alexandre Dumas, a tale of heroism, treachery, close escapes and above all, honor. The story, set in 1625, begins with d'Artagnan who sets off for Paris in search of adventure. Along with d'Artagnan goes Sabine, his sister, the quintessential tomboy. Sent with d'Artagnan to attend a convent school in Paris, she poses as a young man - d'Artagnan's servant - and quickly becomes entangled in her brother's adventures. Soon after reaching Paris, d'Artagnan encounters the greatest heroes of the day, Athos, Porthos and Aramis, the famous musketeers, and he joins forces with his heroes to defend the honor of the Queen of France. In so doing, he finds himself in opposition to the most dangerous man in Europe, Cardinal Richelieu. Even more deadly is the infamous Countess de Winter, known as Milady, who will stop at nothing to revenge herself on d'Artagnan - and Sabine - for their meddlesome behavior. Little does Milady know that the young girl she scorns, Sabine, will ultimately save the day." A] slick, swashbuckling romp that cleverly updates the Dumas novel ... Ken Ludwig's new version of the story simply refreshes it, distilling its energy and strengthening its timeless appeal." -The Guardian"Ludwig tells a pacy tale with a suitable seasonal mix of merriment, musketeering, romance and the most gruesome stage death I've seen this year." -The Mail On Sunday"Four Stars Out Of Four. The Bristol Old Vic has come up with a real winner for its festive production. Ken Ludwig's adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's classic yarn is completely in keeping with the most popular Hollywood versions." -The Bristol Evening Post"Four Stars Out Of Four. Bristol Old Vic's spectacular new production certainly lives up to its swashbuckling billing. It's] a mixture of love, adventure and good old fashioned values ..." -Bristol Metro

Genres: Plays

102 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2008

About the author

KEN LUDWIG is an internationally-acclaimed playwright whose work has been performed in more than 30 countries in over 20 languages. He has had 6 shows on Broadway and 6 in the West End. He has won two Laurence Olivier Awards, two Helen Hayes Awards, the Edgar Award, the SETC Distinguished Career Award, the Edwin Forrest Award for Services to the Theatre and he is a McCarter/Sallie B. Goodman Fellow. His plays have been commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Bristol Old Vic. His first play on Broadway, Lend Me A Tenor, won three Tony Awards and the New York Times called it "one of the two great farces by a living writer." His other best-known Broadway and West End shows include Crazy For You (5 years on Broadway, Tony Award Winner for Best Musical), Moon Over Buffalo, Leading Ladies, Twentieth Century, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Game’s Afoot, The Fox on the Fairway, Midsummer/Jersey, The Three Musketeers, Treasure Island and The Beaux’ Stratagem. His plays have starred Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Lynn Redgrave, Mickey Rooney, Hal Holbrook, Dixie Carter, Tony Shalhoub, Anne Heche, Joan Collins, and Kristin Bell. His book, How To Teach Your Children Shakespeare, was published in June 2013 by Random House, and his work has been published by the Yale Review. He has degrees from Harvard, where he studied music with Leonard Bernstein, Haverford College and Cambridge University. For more information, please visit www.kenludwig.com

Reviews

[Pam]

A very complicated play. It would be hard to produce.

[Toyohiro]

-The Three Musketeers
-130mini
-7word summury Musketeer-gun-King-diamond-Athos-Aramis-D'Artaragnan
-Disucussion questions
1.Have you ever seen real guns?
a,No,I haven't. I don't want to see guns.
2.Do you want to be musketeer?
a,Hum...,let me see, That's difficult question. I want stimuras, but I don't want to death.

This book is famous, so my expectation is high. This book is as expected.

[Angi]

Love the Classics and am hoping to read this one aloud to my family some day soon. Hope the kids appreciate it as much as I did the first time I read it.

[Lindsay]

A very ambitious play that is basically non-stop action. Does a good job capturing the story without getting bogged down too much in the details.

[Lehcar]

Doing this show :) also I very much appreciate the approach to Milady’s character