I am thrilled to be able to say to you all – our long 2 year intermission is over!

Welcome Back to The American Theatre

2022-2023 represents our 35th Anniversary Season presenting the entire Coastal Virginia region with performing arts excellence from around the world, and around the corner!

The last 35 years have presented audiences with diverse and crowdpleasing repertoires. We have been privileged to have artists like Bea Arthur, Mavis Staples, Manhattan Transfer, Sandra Bernhard, David Sanborn, The Shanghai Ballet, John McCutcheon, The Mystical Arts of Tibet, Nell Carter, Arlo Guthrie, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo and hundreds more! Our Lighthouse Series highlights our region’s talented arts organizations that make Hampton Roads home – and our Family Fun Series is chock full of family friendly programming with our Saturday Morning Club!

As Artistic Director, it is my goal to combine bold artistic statements with innovative creative approaches, to engender strong support from the entire community.

It is with this in mind, I am ecstatic to introduce our audiences to the 2022-2023 35th Anniversary Season!

From innovative modern music to cutting-edge American jazz, from Broadway blockbusters to a variety of Christmas and Holiday celebrations— next season’s performers are all storytellers! With or without words, these 35th Anniversary performances are telling these stories just for you!

As part of our ongoing growth, I am proud to announce some exciting changes for Season 35 – starting with the grand opening of our new Studio Theatre. This newly renovated, intimate space will provide an opportunity for audiences to have a more personal performance experience with a variety of artists. I hope you share our excitement in the addition of this space to our regular annual programming!

We also continue our price-accessibility with tickets starting at $35 – with a number of preferred seating for those who want to guarantee the most sought-after seats early in the season. As always, patrons save the most money with our Subscription Passport.

I am tremendously grateful for everyone’s patience and commitment during our long intermission. We are glad to have the opportunity to once again share the magic of the performing arts with you. Creativity and imagination are the threads that weave our cultural tapestry and advance our mission to enhance the quality of life for the artists and audiences we serve.

Now, lean forward in your seats and get ready for a memorable year of joyful stories as we celebrate our 35th Anniversary!

I will see you at the Theatre!

Richard M. Parison, Jr.
Artistic Director

The Acting Company
presents

THE THREE MUSKETEERS

By Kirsten Childs
Adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas
Music and Lyrics by Kirsten Childs

Featuring

Torée Alexandre*, Zoe Anastassiou*, Edwin Brown III*, Darius Deon*, Sam Encarnacion*, Max Antonio Gonzalez*, Ty Camren Hawthorne, Travis Raeburn*, Christopher Then*, William Oliver Watkins*, Eunice Woods*, Caro Zeller*

Melissa Richter*, Production Stage Manager
Josh-Andrew Wisdom*, Assistant Stage Manager
Directed by Kent Gash

* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

(in alphabetical order):

Torée Alexandre* (Constance and others)

Zoe Anastassiou* (Lady Lannoy, Monsieur Bonacieux, Jussac, and others)

Edwin Brown III* (Rochefort and others)

Darius Deon* (D’Artagnan)

Sam Encarnacion* (Athos, Thomas-Alexandre Dumas)

Max Antonio Gonzalez* (The Duke of Buckingham, Vittori, and others)

Ty Camren Hawthorne (King Louis XIII, Mirecourt, Treville and others)

Travis Raeburn* (Porthos)

Christopher Then* (Aramis)

William Oliver Watkins* (Alexandre Dumas, Cardinal Richelieu and others)

Eunice Woods* (Milady de Winter)

Caro Zeller* (Queen Anne and others)

Kate Pitt, Assistant Director

Row Walters, Production Manager and Audio Supervisor

Kis Knekt, Assistant Scenic Designer and Props Supervisor

Robin McGee, Associate Costume Designer

Tony Lauro, Associate Hair and Wigs Designer

Adam Munoz, Associate Choreographer

Amanda Stutzman, Tour Wardrobe Supervisor

Olivia Hern, Sammy Mainzer and Jannette Fischer, Costume Assistants

Ien DeNio, Associate Sound Designer

Luzmyrna Crespo, Associate Fight Choreographer

Leon Qin and Miles Segura, Fight Choreography Interns

Devan Kelty, Tour Lighting Supervisor

Dan Mullins and John Anselmo, Production Electrician

Sara Rosenthal, Production Assistant

X Casting/Victor Vazquez, CSA, Casting Agent

Devin Brain, Producing Director

Kent Gash, Artistic Director

Erik Schroeder, Managing Director

Brianna Rafidi, Associate Producer

Pamela Reichen, General Manager

Hillary Cohen, Director of Development

AJ Jackson, Company Manager

Nayah Ferris, Development Associate

Maddie Hopfield, Office Manager and Bookkeeper

By Kirsten Childs

I remember reading The Three Musketeers when I was a young girl growing up in twentieth century Civil-Rights era America. The story was a perfect escape from the cares of Black life; full of excitement and derring-do and romance, and wild, wonderful exploits of bold young men. As I reveled in the story’s enchantment, it was not lost on me, however, that bold young men I personally knew would have been summarily mowed down by the powers-that-be, had they exhibited a mere fraction of the boldness of The Musketeers. Because my bold young men were Black men in America (google Emmett Till), and the Musketeers clearly were White, since their story was written by a White man.

Or so I thought.

Imagine my surprise to learn that Alexandre Dumas, the author of this wonderful tale was himself Black, born of a Black man.

Imagine my glee upon hearing a story (possibly apocryphal but definitely awesome) about Dumas where he was confronted with the racist question, “If you are a quarter Black, and your father’s half Black and your grandfather’s all Black, does that make your great-grandfather a monkey?” To which Dumas replied, “And that’s where my ancestry ends and yours begins.”

Well, damn! How could such a writer and his works not be completely seductive to a young girl who had to watch her Black brethren chafe against the strictures of a society determined to quell their arrogant fabulousness?

And so, this work is my love letter to my supremely confident, arrogantly fabulous hero Alexandre Dumas. Long may he swashbuckle while throwing shade at those who deserve it.

The Acting Company develops emerging actors and builds enthusiastic audiences for the theater by touring professional productions across the United States and providing education programs, in-school residencies, and teacher training workshops to thousands of audience members and students every year. Founded in 1972 by John Houseman and Margot Harley, the company now seeks to reinvent the definition of classical theatre through the lens of who we are as citizens of the world today under the new leadership of artistic director Kent Gash. The Acting Company has toured 143 productions to millions of people in 48 states and 10 countries, has been honored with Tony, Obie, AUDELCO and LA Drama Critics Circle Awards, and helped launch the careers of two generations of actors including Patti LuPone, Kevin Kline, Rainn Wilson, Jesse L. Martin, Jeffrey Wright, Keith David, Hamish Linklater and Kelley Curran. Learn more at www.theactingcompany.org/learn-more

The Acting Company would like to extend its gratitude to Howard Sherman and Robert Bronstein at Baruch College, Corey Atkins, Samantha Robbins, Nina Field, Mieka Van Der Ploeg, Carol Rosegg, Nina Wurtzel, Pinecrest Creative (Joe Carroll, Dan Tracy), Maddie Greenberg, Melinda Berk, Taryn Sacramone, Jay Rogers, Victor Catano, Scott McKowen, John Williams, Audio Gods, Stage 3 Productions, Gary Franke, Gail Brassard, Bobby's of Boston, Lofty Vintage and Andrea Levy, John Kristiansen New York Inc.

The Three Musketeers rehearsed at the Baruch Performing Arts Center, Baruch College, New York NY

Press Agent: Shane Marshall Brown, The Press Room

Legal Representation: Jason Baruch, Sendroff & Baruch, LLP

Set Constructed By: F&D Scene Changes

Tour Lighting Equipment provided by: Hayden Production Services, LLC

Sound Equipment provided by: Bauder Audio Systems

Tour Trucking by: Clark Transfer

Costume Rentals by: Western Costume, Angels Costumes, the Costume Collection,

Goodspeed Costume rentals.

Margot Harley, Founder

Earl D. Weiner, Chair

Robert T. Goldman, Vice President

Lori-Ann Wynter, Secretary

Timothy K. Saunders, Jr., Vice Chair

Jean-Luc Sinniger, Treasurer

J. Barclay Collins II

Rufus Collins

Alireza Esmaeilzadeh

John N. Gilbert, Jr.

Harriet Harris

Dana Ivey

Kevin Kline

Ezra Knight

Joan M. Leiman

Patti LuPone

Dakin Matthews

Angela Pierce

John Rando

Richard J. Reilly, Jr.

Tejal Wadhwani

Nancy Bendiner Weiss

Edgar Lansbury, President Emeritus

Carol Crowley, Director Emeritus

Mary Ann Fribourg, Director Emeritus

The Acting Company’s 2022-23 National Tour is made possible, in part, by support from the Bloomberg Philanthropies; Booth Ferris Foundation; Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP; Chapman and Cutler, LLP; Barclay Collins; Peter Darrow; Jodi Della Femina; John Rando & Eileen Donohue; Alireza Esmaeilzadeh; John and Jill Gilbert; Joseph & Carson Gleberman; Douglas Gray; the Howard Gilman Foundation; The Rona Jaffe Foundation; Kirkland and Ellis LLP; Edgar & Louise Lansbury; Dakin Matthews; Mayer Brown; Morgan Lewis LLP; Henry Moriello; the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; the New York State Council on the Arts; Paul Hastings LLP; Richard J. Reilly & DLA Piper; Tim Saunders; Greg Schriefer; The Morris and Alma Shapiro Fund; The Shubert Foundation; Chris Shyer; Sidley Austin; Jean Luc Sinniger; Lorraine Toussaint; Tejal Wadhwani and Goldman Sachs; Earl Weiner; Kate & Seymour Weingarten; Nancy Weiss; Frank Wohl; and Lori-Ann Wynter; by arrangement with Alliance Artist Management.