The Wilma Theater presents THE 3 MUSKETEERS, performed and adapted by the renowned Theatre de la Jeune Lune of Minneapolis, based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas
For Immediate Release: August 2,
1999
Contact: Erin Riley, 215.893.9456 x102
PHILADELPHIA, PA - August 2 - The Artistic Directors of The Wilma Theater,
Blanka and Jiri Zizka, are proud to open the 1999-2000 season with a bold
and imaginative production of THE 3 MUSKETEERS, performed and adapted
by the renowned Theatre de la Jeune Lune of Minneapolis. The Franco-American
troupe performed their adaptation to sold-out crowds with rave reviews
in Minneapolis in 1996. They were invited to perform the production at
the prestigious Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC in 1997. A familiar
tale with an avant-garde edge, THE 3 MUSKTEERS promises to take you on
a thrilling journey through the lives of these legendary rogues in a way
you have never before experienced. Directed by Dominique Serrand, it is
a clever and richly imaginative deconstruction of the 150-year-old Alexandre
Dumas story of intrigue, swordplay and the triumph of youthful adventure
during the 17th century religious wars. With playfully witty esprit, the
production reinvents the story, altering the setting and age of the adventurers
while honoring the romantic spirit of the novel - creating an intoxicating,
swashbuckling celebration of the artistic impulse and the power of the
human imagination.
Theatre de la Jeune Lune is a company of theater artists founded in France in 1978 by Parisians Dominique Serrand and Vincent Gracieux and Minneapolis native Barbra Berlovitz. Following seven years of splitting their seasons between France and the United States, they settled permanently in Minneapolis in 1985. Unique to Jeune Lune is the collaborative effort between the company's members, creating a vision of theater and a distinctive approach to performance that has garnered national and international attention for its immediacy, its physicality, its poetic beauty, and its imaginative richness. Theatre de la Jeune Lune's name "Theatre of the New Moon" reflects the company's commitment to finding theatrical sustenance by looking for the new in the old, as demonstrated in their adaptation of THE 3 MUSKETEERS.
Upon its opening, the Minneapolis Star Tribune found it "a delightful, swashbuckling romp," and the Twin Cities Reader called it "smart, funny, ludicrous, and deeply serious - the plot, the theme of boundless imagination and ingenious execution all crystallize into transcendent perfection." Following their performance at the Spoleto Festival, the Post and Courier wrote "THE 3 MUSKETEERS provides the kind of sparkling, witty, fresh and exciting theater that Spoleto audiences have been dying for - an interpretation that defines zany, demands attention, defies description."
The award winning Wilma Theater has been producing innovative work in Philadelphia for 20 years. In 1996, the Wilma relocated to a new 300 seat facility on the Avenue of the Arts, the first new theater built in Center City since 1928. In addition to Wilma-created works, artistic directors Blanka and Jiri Zizka have been seeking to bring outstanding companies from the U.S. and abroad to share with Philadelphia audiences. Blanka Zizka commented "Jiri and I have been following the work of Theatre de la June Lune for many years, admiring their imaginative stagings and bold physicality that the actors of the company developed into a unique style. We consider Theatre de la June Lune to be one of the most exciting, 'unorthodox' theater companies in the country and are extremely pleased to be able to introduce them to our audiences in their Philadelphia debut." Steve Richardson, Managing Director of Theatre de la Jeune Lune is "ecstatic to be continuing the successful run of THE 3 MUSKETEERS in Philadelphia. We are honored to have been invited by Blanka and Jiri to perform in the prestigious Wilma Theater."
The production of THE 3 MUSKETEERS is the first offering of Wilma's 1999-2000 Season, which will include Mark Saltzman's musical play THE TIN PAN ALLEY RAG, the East Coast premiere of Tom Stoppard's THE INVENTION OF LOVE, and the WILMA WILD CARD. Four-play subscriptions are now on sale for as little as $84. THE 3 MUSKETEERS at The Wilma Theater runs September 8 through October 10, 1999. Ticket prices range from $7 - $38, with discounts available for seniors and groups of 10 or more; and special radically discounted tickets for student and theater-goers under the age of 30. Tickets are available at the Wilma Box Office, Broad & Spruce, 215-546-7824, or online at www.wilmatheater.org.
Additional ways to communicate with the Wilma Box Office: FAX 215-893-0895, Email: tickets@wilmatheater.org.
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