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| Keith Randolph Smith and Kim Wimmer in the Indiana
Rep production of Les Trois Dumas. |
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Les Trois Dumas
Les Trois Dumas was commissioned by Indiana Repertory Theatre,
Janet Allen, Artistic Director. It was produced by Indiana
Rep in 1998.
Three generations of notorious Dumas appear in this swashbuckling
play filled with tales of war, sword fights, masked balls and
romantic escapades. General Thomas Dumas, the son of a French
aristocrat and a black servant woman, was one of Napoleon's most
prized generals. After suspecting Napoleon of being self-centered
and covetous, the French-African General was denounced by Napoleon,
branded a defector, disavowed, and consequently died penniless.
Years later, his son, Alexander Dumas père, author of
The Three Musketeers, lives a life as daring and full
of intrigue as the characters in his own plays and novels. While
père
indulges in scandalous intrigue and occasional debauchery, his
son, Alexander Dumas fils, struggles to come to terms with his
father’s apparent immoral lifestyle, his own racial heritage,
and rumors of his grandfather's defection. Dumas fils' conflict
is complicated further when a mysterious slanderer defames Dumas
père's literary integrity as well as his African heritage.
To satisfy his son, Dumas père challenges the mysterious
slanderer to a duel at a masquerade ball where the three Dumas
meet and the true identities of all are revealed.
Marion Garmel, Arts Editor of the Indianapolis Star, wrote “ .
. . some of the best speeches this side of Shakespeare . . .
Smith’s trump card is his ability to understand the psychology
that drives both men, the childish father and the moralistic
son, while putting them in a colorful story.” Les Trois
Dumas was American Theatre magazine’s Editor’s Choice
for April 1998.
Les Trois Dumas is available through Dramatic Publishing.
Original first drafts, intermediate drafts, final and/or published
drafts of this play are part of the DePaul University Library’s
Special Collections Archives Division, 2000.
Production Requirements:
Cast requirements: 6 men (2 African American, 4 Caucasian)
3 women (3 Caucasian)
Set requirements: Unit Set, various locations.
Approximate running time: 2 hours, 40 minutes (Three Acts)
Production History:
• The People’s Light and Theatre Company, Malvern, Pa., 2001
• Ohio University School of Theater, university production, 2001
• Indiana Repertory Theater, Indianapolis, 1998
• Translated into Croatian for Croatian Radio, 1998 |
