Hudson Warehouse is celebrating their 15th Year performing classical and classically-inspired theatre in style.  Like true New Yorkers, this ambitious company is in the middle of a four year project: dramatizing Dumas' Musketeers trilogy, beginning with last year's Three Musketeers, this year's The Three Musketeers: Twenty Years Later, and next year's The Man in the Iron Mask, followed up in 2020 by The Count of Monte Cristo.

While I missed last year's offering - feeling that I knew the original story almost too well from numerous Hollywood offering - after seeing this year's installment, I find myself eagerly looking forward to the entire quatrology (and hoping that Hudson Warehouses stages the whole thing in rep some day!).

If The Three Musketeers is 17th Century Avengers, and the first book is the equivalent of those same Avengers constantly assembling - that is youthful D'Artagan, upstanding Athos, drunken Porthos and religious-ish Aramis - The Three Musketeers: 20 Years Later is equivalent to Marvel's Civil War.

The plot, smartly cut down to a trim 90 minutes of swashbuckling and international politics by playwright, Susane Lee, picks up with a new foreign Cardinal Mazarin (Joseph Cordaro)  advising the widowed Queen Anne (Karen Collazzo) and the petulant Prince Louis (Samuel O'Sullivan) on how to quelle the popular uprising of overtaxed peasants.  Fearing for the Queen's life, Mazarin finds the Musketeer, D'Artagnan (Jake Lesh) and tasks him to locate his other three Musketeers to guard the Queen's life.

Simultaneously, Mordaunt, the dispossessed son of the the assassin, Milady, comes seeking revenge for his mother's execution at the hands of D'Artagnan and company.  Played by Ian Potter, last seen in The Trojan Women as the smiling, uptight and sinister Greek ambassador, Mordaunt has aligned himself with Cromwell's machinations in England, helping to overthrow the Catholic King, Charles Stuart (Griffin Stanton-Ameisen).  And it's this second plot which brings us to Civil War-like complications between our favorite boys in blue.

After gathering together Athos (Joseph Hamel), Aramis (Nicholas Martin-Smith, pulling double duty as director), and Porthos (David Palmer Brown), with the help of the comical sweetmaker, Grimauld (Samuel Shurtleff), the Musketeers quarrel about the right course of action to take.  D'Artangan and Porthos are lured by the Cardinal's promise of status and titles, while the priestly Aramis - still comically struggling to keep chaste and live poorly - and Athos - now concerned for his young ward and bastard son, Raoul (Derek Martin) -wants a noble cause, not a noble title.

The Musketeers split up, Athos and Aramis joining with Lord De Winter (Bob Wasinger) to try to save King Charles' life and crown, while D'Artagnan and Porthos are sent by the Cardinal to Cromwell (Joseph Dalfonso), accompanied by the murderous Mordaunt, to help bring the English crown down.  Meeting in England, the Musketeers do their best to stop Mordaunt, Cromwell, and their Scottish ally Lord Leven (Justin Broido), as well as working as double agents to save their brothers-in-arms lives.  However, they're ultimately unsuccessful as Charles is captured and killed - but not before his Queen and daughter, both named Henrietta (Lisa LaGrande and Deborah Bjornsti respectively) manage to escape to France to take refuge there.

There's also a subplot, teasing The Man in the Iron Mask, about the tension between twin brothers, Prince Louis and Prince Phillip (Patrick Leddy) over the title and the affections of Princess Henrietta, which receives its own mid-credits (or in this case, mid-bows) scene and makes this reviewer excited for next year's installment.

It's a testament to the whole production team's work that this sprawling epic works as well as it does.  Susane Lee judiciously cuts Dumas' original tome (which several cast members admitted was nearly unreadable), managing to balance a politically dense plot into a tight running time - even adding in links to the previous play and the one forthcoming - as well as including some historical tidbits from her own research.

Nicholas Martin-Smith, also doubling as Aramis, directs the frankly cinematic play with a deft hand, making good use of the Soldiers and Sailor's Monument space, with actors running through the audience, taking flying leaps off of balustrades, and managing to exit France and enter England with a few short steps.

Company costumer, Emily Rose Parman, somehow manages to outdo herself again (there's a reason she keeps winning awards and nominations!), with lace-up pants and knee high boots, plumed cockades and curled hair, bows and crosses and ribbons and rubies for both genders, corsets and bum rolls and tapestry, oh my.  (Seriously: go just for the costumes.)

As for those swashes needing buckling, Fight Director, Katrina Art, proves that she knows how to whip up an army or a skirmish on the spot: with actors dashing about with rapiers and daggers, enough to make any girlish bosom dance with glee.  (And the girls fight along with the guys, thank you very much.)  With additional fight direction by Nathan Oesterle, Art's ability is to not only stage exciting combat but to continue to tell the story seamlessly, so that our first mêlée not only frees the villainous Rochefort, but also introduces us to the French frondeurs (revolutionaries), and blends seamlessly into the introduction of half-brothers: the wide-eyed Raoul, and the wicked Mordaunt...as they both tend to an unfortunate Executioner (David Arthur Bachrach) who spills the beans about the Musketeers who executed Milady twenty years earlier.  Phew!

With such a sprawling narrative and, by any standard, impressive cast roster, audiences will be required to remember a little bit of their French Louis Quatorze and English Carolignian royal history, as well as pull on their understanding of genealogy to sort out how Queen Henrietta is related to Queen Anne (hint: they're sisters-in-law).  Likewise, as with any Shakespearean history play, a few characters wear a couple of different names - although playwright Lee manages to help the audience out by repeating the name we're supposed to remember, such as Athos, Aramis, and De Winter.  Those who may only remember some of the more fantastical cinematic film adaptations of The Three Musketeers are encouraged to listen closely to early exposition - very helpful - that adheres more closely to the book and not to 17th century fantastical zeppelins and kung-fu Musketeering.

A few stand-out performances require recognition:  Ian Potter as Mordaunt is excellent.  Potter seems to excel at characters who fume...whether that's kept to a polite smoulder as the Grecian ambassador, or given full-on British sneers and restless fingers, as is his Mordaunt.  He's also an excellent fighter, which comes in handy in his final show-down with his mother's ex-lover and executioner, Athos.

Athos, played by Joseph Hamel, strikes that perfect balance of the man who was Errol Flynn in his youth, aging gracefully and with his eyes open to something better, truer, worth fighting for.

And Joseph Cordaro as Cardinal Mazarin  is a positive delight, toeing a line that could have easily slipped over into the sneering, Tim Curry-esque, moustache twirling villain, instead proving positively convincing as a man whose sole interest is in preserving France...even at the expense of her allies.  He's the smiling, smiling damned villain, and we wouldn't want him any other way.

David Palmer Brown as Porthos and Nicholas Martin-Smith as Aramis are also quite good, and the camaraderie all four Musketeers have is genuine.  Samuel Shurtleff as Grimauld proves himself deftly with the Sancho Panza-type role, spitting out exposition and jokes with equal aplomb, acting as the audience's guide when necessary.

Audiences are encouraged to arrive at least 15-20 minutes early, since there are only two more performances after being rained out last weekend.  The performances are free, but bring an extra $20 to put in the basket as it comes around.  And make sure to mark your calendar's for next year's Man in the Iron Mask!  As for Three Musketeers: Twenty Years Later?  Recommended.

The Three Musketeers: 20 Years Later by Susan Lee, presented by Hudson Warehouse, performing through Sunday, July 29.  FREE performances at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, on the Upper West Side.

Details here.

The Musketeer celebrate their victory.

20 years later, Milady's son (Ian Potter) is out for revenge against the Three Musketeers.  (Photo courtesy of Lisa LaGrande.)

Queens-in-Law, Karen Collazzo as Queen Anne and Lisa LaGrande as Queen Henrietta.

A quiet night in the American south.  The air is hot, thick with the sound of crickets and mosquitoes, and the sense of unseen stars over lush farmland.

A woman sits in a wheeled walker, at one with the silence.  A mosquito comes to sit on her arm: a familiar companion.  She smiles at the visitor and then gently blows it off into the night sky.

Welcome to Montpelier.

In Kelley Nicole Girod's new play, the silences and images of the six lives entwined on the titular stretch of land are as weighted as the rich, rolling poetry of the playwright's language.  In a series of leisurely scenes, the audience is introduced to the inhabitants of Montpelier:

Miss Janice (Geany Masai), the disabled woman who nevertheless commands from her walker with all the grace and fiery conviction of a rightful Queen.  She has lived life; she has lost children; she is waiting for her prodigals to return, having been a prodigal herself.

Felonius (Donovan Christie, Jr.) a dapper son of Montpelier, estranged from his wife and children, cast out into the unbearable silences of his hometown, looking for connections - even those forbidden to him; even those he's afraid to ask for.

Ruby (Carole Monferdini) and Kacky (Tandy Cronyn), two white women haunted by the death of a boy their husbands killed for having the audacity to smile at the women while being black.  The women's language is Flannery O'Connor: hypocritical, puritanical, anxious.  Two women judging everyone else's reflections for fear of looking at themselves.

And Frances (Alisha Spielmann) and Boniface (Lamar K. Cheston), a young couple on the run from the cruelty of this world.  She, a white woman and very "woke" - but still unable to understand her lover's visceral plight.  He, suffering trauma at the hands of the police, longing for a better world, a Creole world, a world of mud and Spanish moss to spare them from the hatred that pursues them.

Over the course of an entirely too short running time, we hear their stories, learn their griefs, watch as each character struggles with unexpected and unearned moments of grace, even in the middle of their own brokenness.

Director Andrew Block has some nice stage moments, particularly in the overlapping imagery of mosquitoes as friend or foe; the hopeful anticipation of passing cars and outside life; two separate scenes overlapping at a moment of crisis.  However, perhaps because of the nature of a festival show with shortened rehearsal and tech times, some of the direction misses the subtlety and, frankly, silence - the leisure - that Girod's script invites.

Stand-out performances come from Geany Masai and Lamar K. Cheston as Miss Janice and Boniface respectively.  One with all the power of Mt. Vesuvius at home, the other with all the coil just of Mt. Vesuvius.  Girod doesn't hold back with those character's lived experiences either, but lets her own voice seep through more powerfully through those character's mouths - and the result is convicting.  Like any master of the form, Girod's doublespeaking characters - especially Felonius and Miss Ruby - are hilarious and heartbreaking.  So unaware of all they reveal by what they seek to conceal.

Girod's command of language is exquisite.  More poetic than Tennessee Williams, more hopeful than August Wilson, with the searing grace of Flannery O'Connor, This Stretch of Montpelier as much a treat to listen to as it is to watch.  This production, the first and still, in someways, in a state of fluidity, promises beautiful things as it continues to develop.  Watching, I could easily see it on the Great White Way, giving Denzel a run for his money.  But for  now, come on down to a quiet world of personal purgatories, and discover a truly American playwright while you can still afford ticket prices. Strongly recommended.

This Stretch of Montpelier by Kelley Nicole Girod is presented through Planet Connections Theatre Festival, through Sunday, August 5, 2018.

Tickets and information here.

Geany Masai as Miss Janice and Donovan Christie, Jr. as Felonius.

Carole Monferdini as Ruby and Tandy Cronyn as Kacky.

 As You Like It is a strange show...and I love it.

On the one hand, it begins with a convoluted subplot about usurpation, betrayal, primogeniture, and an inexplicable wrestling match.  At which point, Shakespeare proceeds to throw all that to the wind and spend the remaining four acts wandering through the forest with a superabundance of clowns, random priests, a few extra dukes and some songsters, the requisite cross-dressings, a whole bunch of awful poetry and love.  Structurally, it's a mess of a play.

But on the other hand, As You Like It gives us one of Shakespeare's best heroines, Rosalind, with a wit quick enough to challenge the Melancholy Dane to a word-off, as well the timeless speech by the melancholy Jaques declaring that "All the world's a stage," and a veritable carte blanche to turn the mess into a musical.

As You Like It invites serious dramaturgical meddling, which can either perform disastrously or, as in the case of Hamlet Isn't Dead's (HID) all-female summer production, can illuminate Shakespeare's themes of this great pageant of life.

With a script cut by stage director and Artistic Director, David Andrew Laws, this As You Like It seamlessly trims Shakespeare's fat, interweaving his disparate sylvan scenes, combining or excising extraneous characters, and letting "All the world's a stage" guide us like Henry V's Prologue through the play.

The diverse cast is uniformly excellent, and it's a relief to see women+ of every ethnicity and body shape shine in comic turns and heartfelt moments.  Tay Bass, last seen as Helena in Joe Raik's All One Forest, gives a delightful Rosalind, fully grounded and fully elated, with a physical fluidity and buoyance.  Rachel Caplan as Orlando more than matches her - in fact, this may have been one of my favorite Orlandos I've seen.  Somehow capturing the spirit of "Just this guy, y'know?" with ease and confident sexuality. 

Caroline Aimetti as Celia leans into the eye-rolling and sisterly mockery, capable of throwing herself into love with the reformed Oliver, played by Briana Sakamoto, who manages to make a transition from uptight jealous brother to giddy lover with conviction.

I could watch Kelly Blaze as Jaques for hours.  She owns the spotlight without stealing it.  Her command and intelligence are on fierce display, and it's only a shame any of her lines were cut for time.  Lauren Wainwright as Duke Senior and Anna Stacy as Amiens serve more as benevolent musicians accompanying this midsummer night's romp than characters in their own right - a missed opportunity, perhaps, as both women are charming and strong.  And yet, I wouldn't want to lose a moment of their musical ability, including some excellent violin counterpoints from Wainwright.

Ashil Lee, also late from All One Forest (and upcoming in TTF's The Fall of Lady M) continues to impress.  Whether playing Puck in All One Forest or, here, the country bumpkin and hopeless romantic, Silvius, her incredible ability to fully inhabit characters - evident from her accent choices to her impressive physicality - is a masterwork in action.  Lily Waldron matches her as Phebe, making some smart lingual choices to make well-worn speeches seem new again.

Perhaps the absolute highlight of the show, however, are our villains.  HID always excels in their clown characters, and Maya Martin-Udry and Jenny Grober as the evil Duke Frederick and the Kronk-lite Charles the Wrestler are standouts.  Without giving their schtick away, everything you've ever loved best about your favorite Disney over-the-top villain and sidekick, you will love about this dynamic duo.

And last, but certainly faaaar from least, Laurel Andersen trades in her wry Rosalind from All One Forest to take on the heart-on-his-sleeve Adam, Orlando's faithful retainer.  This role is so easily ignored, since the character slips off into that eternal slumber half-way through the play, but Andersen is the master of making you care.  And Laws' direction for Adam's slow journey across that undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveller returns is tender, sweet, aching and painful.

If all of this isn't enough to tempt you to flood HID's final weekend of performance, there's the fantabulous music - probably HID's best to date - composed by Singer Joy and performed by the whole cast.  And if that's not enough, come just for the mossy grass floor and the fairy lighted ceiling.

I've been critical of HID's giddy productions in the face of some of Shakespeare's darker moments.  But this production gave a glimmer that as HID is growing with Shakespeare's mature canon, their own style is maturing without losing any of their inherent effervescence.  If I had one piece of advice to give my friends over at Hamlet Isn't Dead is that they can trust those quiet, haunting moments to stand on their own - as much as they trust their wild sense of joy.

But for this reviewer who loves As You Like It so much, she generally hates productions of the same...I can confidently say that this is one As You Like It that you will LOVE.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

As You Like It plays at El Barrio Art Space, 215 East 99th Street, NYC, through Saturday, July 28, 2018.

Tickets through Eventbrite.

Lily Waldron as Phebe and Caroline Aimetti as Celia in As You Like It.

Rachel Caplan as Orlando and Tay Bass as Rosalind in As You Like It.