Chagrin Valley Little Theatre’s ‘The Three Musketeers’ lacks a sharp edge

Be forewarned, this review will probably upset a lot of people but I owe it to what few fans that I have to speak the truth.

When I think of a Ken Ludwig work the words “Snap...Snap...Snap!” come to mind. His shows are fast paced with flourishes of biting humor. The Chagrin Valley Little Theatre production of “The Three Musketeers” simply lacks this drive but before I get critical let me talk about the positive aspects of the show.

To start with, the costuming is spectacular (far better than you would expect from a community theater). Although the D’artagnan character had a problem with his sword in the very first skirmish (the blade came out towards the end of the scene so he had to pantomime) but it was soon rectified. The video projections setting the scenes were very realistic and grand. The sound was more than adequate without overwhelming the audience in that small space and the lighting was superb as well. The death scene of Constance Bonacieux was extremely well done and compelling as were the “All For One and One For All” bits. There was also the running gag of one of Cardinal Richelieu’s guard who was “run through” during each fight scene to reappear with yet another bandage at the next skirmish.

Now for the bummers. Let us begin with the casting. I have not posted the names of the cast in order to protect the innocent. While I realize that the pool of talent that CVLT has to draw from is limited, I found problems with the main characters of Porthos, Aramis and Athos. In previous local renditions of this Alexandre Dumas work the three Musketeers are always portrayed as young and svelte. At CVLT this is not the case as the trio are either older, rotund or both which forms a feeling of disbelief that carries through the performance.

In my opinion, the entire cast did everything in their power to avoid any semblance of their characters. It was actors reading their lines without inhabiting their roles. In the case of Milady, Cardinal Richelieu and Rochefort (the heavies of the show) they were “Dumas Light” never being able to conjure up the pure evil that inhabited these creatures. King Louis XIII and Queen Anne also simply do not pull off royalty very well.

Next is the pacing. The little over two hour show seems to be done in slow motion. It simply lacks the frenetic spark that is so necessary for a Ludwig production. Everything needs to be a break neck speed including the between scene changes. It was almost like watching a show done underwater. The fight scenes might have more effective if actually done in slo-mo, but that would have added time to an already long show.

Then there is the battle scene. At the entrance to the theater there was a notice warning that gunfire would be employed. What we got was cap pistols. Surely there are some recordings of actual gunfire that could have been dubbed in. The scene was also devoid of battle smoke and background noise making it wholly unconvincing.

While it had its ‘moments’, for the most part the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre production of “The Three Musketeers” lacked too many elements to make it a great rendition of the classic. As in nearly all CVLT productions, this show will most probably play out to sold out audiences throughout its run showing the local community support that this theater has as well as proving me wrong in my assessment. Notwithstanding, my suggestion would be to work on their strengths of musical comedies.

The Chagrin Valley Little Theatre production of “The Three Musketeers” will be on stage at 40 River Street, Chagrin Falls through February 10, 2024. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://cvlt.org/ or call (440) 247-8955.