By Dalal Museitef |Staff Writer|

The students of CSUSB filled the stage to perform “The Three Musketeers,” a tale of a young aspiring musketeer who travels to Paris in pursuit of becoming the fourth Musketeer.

In the Theater of Arts building on Nov. 20, students reenacted the successful novel written by Alexandre Dumas in the 17th century, and had a packed audience to hear the famous phrase, “All for one and one for all.”

The theater ushers led me to my seat, which added an air of professionalism to the performance.

Sophomore Kevin Dallas played the lead role of D’Artaganan, and shared dozens of smooches on stage that had the audience “Ohhing and Ahhing.”

“The kissing scenes were never uncomfortable. We are all professionals and when it comes down to it, the kissing is just another part of choreography,” said adding, “They are talented actors and their energy on stage really made those scenes especially fun,” said Dallas.

The atmosphere was intimate, captivating the audience with humorous lines and several sword fights.

During intermission, I conversed with a long-time friend, of Jeff Treadway, who plays Rochefort, the thief that steals D’Artagnan’s letter of recommendation for becoming a musketeer.

“I never knew he was the theater type or even interested in performing,” he said.

Everyone seemed to enjoy their surroundings and connect with the characters on the stage.

“My favorite part was the fighting,” said Kendall McGraw, who played the Duke of Buckingham, in his second stage production.

“I enjoyed learning how to fight from the choreographers. It was quite an experience and cool to hear some of the audiences reactions to our brawls,” she continued.

I thought their gun prop sound effects could have been louder.

I did, however, enjoy the projection of their voices and selection of music that captured the audience’s attention.

Even the stage managers were in costume, wearing masks that conveyed their identities within the ball sequence.

Junior, Heaven Abraham, felt as though she was in Medieval times, adding “[the cast] was humorous and stuck to their character.”

Aramis, played by Garrett Botts, thought that his character’s religious outbursts were amusing.

He stated, “’And the sinful world that appear before us will perish into dust like a mirage of longing. Isaiah

Chapter 45.’ It was a humorous insight to the character’s religious state due to it being completely fabricated.”

To the smoke that surfaced the ground, props of old beer mugs, and wardrobe that fit the appropriate time period, “The Three Musketeers,” was a show I would recommend.