Les Trois Dumas was commissioned and produced by the Indiana Repertory Theatre (Janet Allen, artistic director; Brian Payne, managing director) in Indianapolis, Indiana, in April of 1998. The production was directed by Tazewell Thompson; set design was by Donald Eastman; costume design was by Merrily Murray-Walsh; the lighting design was by Robert Wierzel; the sound and music was composed by Fabian Obispo; the fight chorographer was Nick Sandys; the dramaturg was Janet Allen.
The production featured Ryan Artzberger as Alexandre Dumas Fils, Leon Addision Brown as General Thomas Alexandre Dumas/Alexis, Jay K. Duval as Napoleon, Kim Wimmer as Ida Ferrier, Pilar Witherspoon as George Sand, Wynn Harmon as Felix Harel, Peter Aylward as Victor Hugo/Governor, Kelley Hazen as Marie Louise Dumas/Mademoiselle Mars, and Keith Randolph Smith as Alexandre Dumas Pere
Photo: courtesy of Indiana Repertory Theatre
Les Trois Dumas was subsequently produced by the People’s Light & Theatre Company in Malvern, Pennsylvania, in 2001, directed by Tazewell Thompson.
Les Trois Dumas has also been produced by Independent Theater Company in Adelaide, South Australia and in 2025, it was produced by Redhouse Arts Center in Syracuse, New York.
Synopsis
Three generations of the notorious Dumas family are depicted in Les Trois Dumas, 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 esteemed generals. However, after suspecting Napoleon of selfishness and greed, the French African General was denounced, labeled a defector, disowned, and ultimately died in poverty. Years later, his son, Alexander Dumas père, the author of The Three Musketeers, led a life as daring and intriguing as the characters in his own works. While père engages in scandalous affairs and occasional debauchery, his son, Alexander Dumas fils, grappled with accepting his father’s seemingly immoral behavior, his own mixed racial background, and rumors surrounding his grandfather’s defection. Dumas fils’ internal conflict is further complicated when a mysterious individual slanders defames Dumas père’s literary reputation and African heritage. In an effort to assuage his son’s inner turmoil, 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.
Photo courtesy of Amelia Beamish, AB Photography
Les Trois Dumas was American Theatre magazine’s Editor’s Choice for April 1998.
. . . 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.”
Marion Garmel, Arts Editor of the Indianapolis Star
Cast size: 6 m., 3 w. multiracial cast
Les Trois Dumas is available through Dramatic Publishing