All for one and one for all!

In a fickle world where friendships are deleted with the click of a button, it is reassuring to know true bonds forged between comrades can endure a lifetime.

“One for all and all for one,” as the flambouyant guardsmen in The Three Musketeers are so fond of shouting while crossing swords and pledging allegiance — even if it’s just a raucous wine-soaked evening at the tavern.

But whether or not you are familiar with plot, The Three Musketeers, now enjoying its world premiere at the Citadel Theatre until April 24, is a masterpiece of swashbuckling adventure and intrigue.

Tom Wood took Dickens’s tale of A Christmas Carol and turned it into theatrical gold. Clearly he aims to do so once more with Alexandre Dumas’ 19th century novel of a 17th century tale of derring-do.

Wood, who also slips into the role of Cardinal Richelieu, faced a heady challenge of compressing the thick convoluted plot into a three-hour show, and he’s succeeded in spinning a tour de force.

This account has all the elements of great theatre: love and loyalty, courage and friendship. But also see betrayal and treachery, espionage and death. And it’s all pulled together with Phillip Nero’s beautifully choreographed swordfights.

Like many previous incarnations, Wood’s tale varies from Dumas’ original work. In this back-story, the Cardinal propositions Queen Anne. When she rebuffs his advances, he bides his time. But now that the Queen is in love with England’s Lord Buckingham, Richelieu burns with a fever to destroy her.

Although Richelieu’s villainy propels the story, he is on stage for less time than the musketeers. Yet Wood is at his finest when diabolically poisoning the King's mind or standing silently in the shadows of the Bastille watching a prisoner tortured.

The main story, however, belongs to d’Artagnan, a naive son of a poor nobleman who journeys to Paris to enlist as a Musketeer of the King’s Guard. On his journey he stumbles into a plot of political treachery and quarrels with a mysterious stranger.

By the time the eager d’Artagnan reaches Musketeer headquarters, he promptly offends several of the preening, swaggering warrior veterans — Athos, Porthos and Aramis — and is challenged to three duels.

Richelieu’s guards interrupt the duels and the foursome unites to defeat the Cardinal’s thugs. Impressed by d’Artagnan’s valour, the Musketeers bring the young one into their confederacy.

Their honour is sorely tested when they must beat the clock on a mission to recover the Queen’s diamonds, a gift she gave Lord Buckingham. Richelieu, informed by his spies of the gift, persuades the King to host a ball where she is expected to wear the diamonds thus exposing her love affair.

Director Bob Baker deftly combines a veteran all-star cast with younger participants of the professional program. Eric Morin’s d’Artagnan shines with endearing oafish charm and adroit swordplay. Kris Joseph’s more sophisticated, jaded Athos is a perfect counterpoint. Ashley Wright’s wine-imbibing Porthos adds the right touch of comedy and Justin Sproule, wearing Aramis’ plumed hat, epitomizes formal gallantry.

While Richelieu is a Machiavellian chess player, it is Milady de Winter who carries out the dirty work. And Melissa MacPherson shines as the perfectly repulsive creature that revels in destroying others. And Adrian Proszowski’s foppish King Louis is a work of art.

Special kudos to Leslie Frankish’s multipurpose set of turrets, balconies and levels and Allan Gilliland’s composition and sound design, worthy of a film soundtrack.

Although gift-wrapped in fun and adventure, Dumas’ tale has a deep underlying thread. The bloodthirsty lust for power exacts a heavy price — eventual defeat. And that is still current today.