RFH's 'Three Musketeers' Opens Friday

It's comedy on Friday night as the Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School Tower Players open in their production of The Three Musketeers — All Swash and No Buckle.

Curtain for the retelling of the classic Dumas tale of derring-do (say that five times) go up in the RFH auditorium at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, with a closing matinee at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

With a script written by Pat Cook, the play is set in 17th century Paris and  follows a young D'Artagnan as he meets up with the Three Musketeers — Athos, Aramis, and Porthos.

D'Artagnan desperately wants to join the Musketeers, but first he must prove himself by winning a sword fight and attempting to preserve the queen's reputation by helping the Musketeers finding her "missing" necklace. The romantic plot twist: She had gifted the necklace to her love interest, the Duke of Buckingham.

Will D'Artagnan prevail and earn the respect of the Musketeers and the love of Constance, the queen's lady-in-waiting?

With the help of some seriously silly narrators, audiences will find out as they follow the misadventures that occur on the roads leading from France to England and back again.

The hijinks include sword fights, several star-crossed lovers, a race on stick-horses, a blackmailing Cardinal and his equally conniving assistant, a fund-raising telethon, and a cast filled with zany characters.

Featured in the production are: Christopher Brodsky as D'Artagnan, John Chiarella as Athos, Andrew Maris as Aramis, and Laurence Morales as Porthos.

Jackie Dixon portrays the Queen, and Matthew Hughes is the Duke of Buckingham.

Also featured are: Mallory McGill as Constance, Sean Loughran as Cardinal Richelieu, Christopher Tuttle as the Cardinal's assistant Rochefort, and Catherine Healey as Milady DeWinter.

More than 45 members of the Tower Players will be featured in the ensemble cast, with Suzanne Sweeney at the helm as director.

Many students are actively involved in the staging of the production as well, with props and costumes under the direction of Carole Malik and set design under the supervision of Dino Pagano and sound and lighting directed by Matthew Leddin.

Students participating in Stagecraft, a course offered at RFH, are also creating the set designs.

Admission to The Three Musketeers — All Swash and No Buckle is $10 for the general public and $6 for students with ID cards.

Tickets will be sold in the lobby of the RFH auditorium for an hour and a half before each performance.

Tickets may also be purchased in advance at the Box Office, which is located in the RFH lobby and will be open to the public from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.