As the sun sets in the trees somewhere behind the stage, you’ll take in a dabbing Porthos (Reynaldo Piniella), an ensemble of dancers from the Elisa Monte company, and Shayshahn “PhearNone” MacPherson on the Aurora violin, leaving one to wonder “Are we in Harlem or in France?”

In Catherine Bush’s adaptation of the Alexandre Dumas classic under Jenny Bennett’s direction, a female D’Artagnan (Miriam Hyman; The Piano Lesson ) moves from the country in hopes of joining the King’s musketeers. Before doing so of course, she must first sword-fight with almost everyone, fall in love with her landlord’s daughter (Ava McCoy), and figure out what it means to be “all for one and one for all.” It’s a tale about the three musketeers that’s less about the classic trio, and more about D’Artagnan the musketeer wannabe who can’t seem to catch a break.

Amidst a simple yet impressive set, Hyman shows us a D’Artagnan as we’ve never seen her before, simply because we haven’t seen her before. As Bennett imagined it, D’Artagnan doesn’t need to man up to be a musketeer but woman up, and woman up Hyman does. With her dred-loc bob and braid clips Hyman bounds around the stage with her sword at the ready as if she were already in the King’s service. “If I wanted to kill you,” she nonchalantly tells an injured Athos (Emmanuel Brown; Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark)  “I’d use my sword.” Hyman’s understated confidence and surety ensure that you haven’t any doubt somebody’s dying at her hand before the 90 minutes is up.

The 90 minutes goes by very fast. So fast that if you paused to swat at the many flies that were also trying to enjoy the show, you might miss a connection between a flashback scene happening on the balcony stage left or when they cut  to the present to reenact a story-within-a-story center stage. Even so, in a scene cut too short- literally stopped by a 5 second blackout- the three musketeers get into a bar brawl with flying mugs and chairs… in slow motion! Arguably the most visually arresting (albeit random) scene in the whole show.

Concerning design, when the sun finally disappeared and the front lighting hit the stage just right, the park faded into nonexistence and you could fully bask in CTH’s colorful production. Costume designer Rachel Dozier-Ezell’s mix of bold and bright patterns added a layer of captivation to the dancers dresses, the Queen of France’s (Afia Abusham) ball gown, and of course the musketeers. Consider this, could Athos, Porthos and Aramis (Brandon Carter) have made better entrances without velvet capes and striped pantalons paired with floral chemisiers, paisley vests and cheetah print boots? I think not!

If Paris, France represents a little respite amidst the chaos of a troubled world, with sword fights and cautionary tales of love gone wrong, then yes, CTH’s The Three Musketeers definitely brought a little France to Harlem.

Location: Richard Rodgers Amphitheater, Marcus Garvey Park. Free and open to the public.

Creative: By Catherine Bush, adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas. Directed by Jenny Bennett. Choreography by Tiffany Rea-Fisher. Fight Choreography by Emmanuel Brown.

Cast: Starring Miriam Hyman, Emmanuel Brown, Brandon Carter, Reynaldo Piniella, Michael Early, R.J. Foster, Anthony Merchant and Piera Van de Weil. Featuring Afia Abusham, Jeffrey Alkins, Jamar Brathwaite, Avon Haughton, Ava McCoy, Nedra Snipes, Jorge Sanchez, Jak Watson and The Elisa Monte Dance Company.

Running Time: 90 minutes, no intermission

Through July 30

The post We Were There: The Three Musketeers appeared first on Broadway Black.

I’ve seen many productions of The Tempest in my lifetime. I’ve seen it performed by middle schoolers, high schoolers, and my University even had the actors from the London Stage perform the show for us. However, in all the times I’ve seen the show, I’ve never seen something quite like what I witnessed by The Classical Theatre of Harlem last Thursday.

What started as an impromptu trip around the city with a friend, ended with me in complete astonishment at the performance I witnessed. I had always planned to go see the show after another friend of mine demanded I see the brilliant production, so Thursday night my friend and I made our way to Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem. As soon as we got there (8:00 on the dot!), they were just starting and there was a woman floating dressed in white singing with the purest, most clear voice I have ever heard. That was Miss Fedna Jacquet as Ariel, her voice mixed with the lighting of the ship wreck scene let me know I was in for quite a ride.

And a ride it was! I found myself enraptured in the story before me like I’ve never experienced before. In my opinion, I found The Tempest to be one of the plays by Shakespeare I just wasn’t a fan of. Watching what the Classical Theatre of Harlem did changed that for me completely.

Mainly, what I found fascinating was that director Carl Cofield set his production in Hispaniola; the island that is home to both Haiti and the Dominican Republic. That added an entirely different element to it that made the show more cultured. From the Afro-centric style costumes to the African/Caribbean style movement and dance to even the space in which the production played  (this project was outdoors at the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater), there was a clear vision for this show and I’d say it was fulfilled.

Since the show was set in Hispaniola the majority of the actors were actors of color, and boy were they good. Ron Cephas Jones blew me away with his portrayal of “Prospero”, he was such a demanding presence at all times. I was particularly captivated by three actors; Carl Hendrick Lewis as “Caliban”, Anthony Vaughn Merchant as “Trinculo”, and Emmanuel Brown as “Stephano.” Every time the three of them stepped on stage I knew I was in for a laugh and a good performance, the comedic timing was perfect, and they even incorporated modern day language (and dance moves!!) into their scenes which connected the audience a lot more. I saw a few teenage boys stop and stay for a while when the three of them were on stage, which I’m sure is exactly what the company set out to do. After all, their mission is to bring classical theatre to Harlem for people not only to enjoy but participate in and be apart of.

To find out more about the company that is bringing free art to Harlem, you can follow the Classic Theatre of Harlem on Twitter or like their Facebook page. They definitely renewed my interest in seeing more Shakespeare, especially if there are people of color in the cast.

The post We Were There: Classical Theatre Of Harlem Presents The Tempest appeared first on Broadway Black.