“Have you read The Black Count?”
It was 2018. We were sitting in a conference room at the Alliance Française d’Atlanta, giving a report to the TdR Board of Directors about our upcoming artistic plans. At the time, we were researching Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the 18th century genius remembered as “a French classical composer, virtuoso violinist, a conductor of the leading symphony orchestra in Paris, and a renowned champion fencer.” (Source: Wikipedia)
Born in Guadeloupe in the 1740s to a French father and an enslaved African mother, Boulogne was educated in France, where he became, in the words of our own second president John Adams, “the most accomplished man in Europe in riding, shooting, fencing, dancing and music.”
Artistic director Carolyn Cook was sure she wanted to write about Boulogne . . . but not so sure she knew an actor who could speak French, fence, and play the violin at his level. She was still on the fence when our dear friend and long-time board member Baxter Jones mentioned Tom Reiss’s book, The Black Count.
“Never heard of it,” Carolyn said. “Tell me more!” And that’s how we discovered Count Thomas Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie, aka General Alex Dumas, hero of the French Revolution.
We turned our attention away from Joseph Boulogne (for the time being), and developed a new play about Dumas — Code Noir: les Aventures du premier Comte de Monte Cristo (Black Code: the Adventures of the first Count of Monte Cristo) – which premiered on stage in 2019 is now in post-production as a TdR original film!!
The film premiers next month, for both home streaming and school groups! You can find info and make reservations right here!!
(We’re really excited. We’re trying to exercise restraint with the exclamation marks, but it’s a struggle.)
While you’re there, we’d love to invite you to a special Virtual Salon: Lights! Camera! Action! Behind the Scenes with Théâtre du Rêve, where we’ll tell you all about the process of bringing Dumas’s story to the screen. It’s Sunday, February 20, from 3-5 p.m. on Zoom. RSVP here!
As we celebrate Black History month, we hope you’ll include both Joseph Boulogne and Alex Dumas in your reading. There’s so much to explore in the Francophone world, during Black History month and every month. Quelle aventure! We’re honored to have you with us on this journey of discovery. Please join us for the Salon, see the film, and keep in touch!