Review By: Abria Joshua, Gateway Regional High School
WOODBURY HEIGHTS, NJ — Gateway’s theater department just finished another amazing show, The Three Musketeers, that ran from Nov. 20 – 22. Directed by Gateway alum Erin Galczynski, Gateway’s talented performers took to the stage to bring this age-old story to life. They welcomed the audience into a world of adventure, comedy, and romance, and left everyone clapping at the end.
The story follows D’Artagnan (Jackson Smith), a young man who leaves for Paris to achieve his dream of becoming a Musketeer. Though before he can get there, he had a troubling interaction with the Count de Rochefort, played by Braelynn Pettolina, who manages to get away with a letter of his. Still, D’Artagnan persists and, swearing vengeance, makes it to Paris.
In a series of events that can only be described as most unfortunate and hilarious, D’Artagnan accidentally challenges the three musketeers—Porthos (Spencer Barrett), Athos (Ava Hopkins), and Aramis (Kayla Clancy)—to separate duels. Just as they realize they all had back-to-back duels with the same guy, the Cardinals’ guards come in to arrest them. After an incredible fight scene, where D’Artagnan joins with the musketeers to defeat the guards, D’Artagnan meets the Musketeer Treville (Mia Wenglicki) and is saddened to learn that he will have to achieve a great act to become a musketeer.
The opportunity for this great act comes earlier than expected when D’Artagnan is asked to save Constance Banacieux (Harmony Mardre), but uncovers a far deeper plot than he could have imagined. While trying to save Constance Banacieux, a seamstress, he falls in love with her and finds out the Queen (Lily Hoppe) needs to get her diamonds back to prove her fidelity. With the help of the other musketeers, he travels to London on behalf of the Queen to return gems that she gave to a Duke. By mere minutes, he succeeds and foils the evil plot of Cardinal Richelieu (Frankie Hargrove).
Overall, Gateway’s drama really gave their all for this production. With only two seniors, the underclassmen really had to come out to play and they did not disappoint. Jackson Smith’s control and confidence with his character really set everyone up for success. He embodied D’Artagnan seemingly effortlessly, from the feather on his hat to the tip of his sword. Spencer Barrett, Ava Hopkins, and Kayla Clancy gave their musketeers unique personalities and made the dynamic between them so fun to watch.
Harmony Mardre brought so many emotions to her portrayal of Constance Banacieux; she really made you sympathize with the Queen. Speaking of the Queen, Lily Hoppe clearly showed the trapped nature of her characters, with Karson Straub’s playing of the King only amplifying it.
All the underclassmen put in so much work to make this play as great as possible! I can only imagine what the Gateway drama department has in store for this talented group.
That being said, the seniors were also amazing. Frankie Hargrove showed her range once again with the fantastic performance as Cardinal Richelieu. She brought us through all the twists and turns of the story, successfully playing a supposedly pious but actually crooked character. Senior Kira Glass also played an important role as innkeeper and D’Artagnan mother. Michael Cassagnol played the Duke of Buckingham, and brought the romance and drama into the play.
There were also several senior involved behind the scenes and nothing could happen without them.
This great cast also had an excellent team working diligently behind the scenes to get everything together. Christiana and her Set Design class made a stunning set that made it easy to imagine the story. Stage crew, lighting & sound design, and the entirety of the production staff made sure the plays happened without a hitch.
Gateway Theatre Department outdid itself again. Even though we are a small school, we are blessed to have such talent. If you liked The Three Musketeers, make sure to go to the spring musical!
This story was originally published in The Chomp, Gateway Regional High School’s student news website.
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