The Robey Theatre Company Will Present THE GREAT LOVER

The Great Lover, a classic comedy written by Alexandre Dumas, will run at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, Theatre Four, 514 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013. English translation by Barnett Shaw. Produced and Directed by Ben Guillory. Presented by The Robey Theatre Company.

Previews October 9 and 10 at 8 p.m. Opens Saturday, October 11, 2025, at 8 p.m. Regular performances Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m. Dark on Saturday, October 18. Added Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. on November 8. Closes Sunday, November 9.

Previews $20. General tickets: $40. Students, seniors, veterans, and LAUSD teachers, $25. Thursdays (Oct. 16- Nov. 6), $25. Opening Night Saturday, October 11, $50 (includes reception, no discounts).

For more information, go to http://therobeytheatrecompany.org.

The Robey Theatre Company is presenting The Great Lover as a Black theatrical classic. Playwright Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) was of mixed French and African lineage, a fact that Dumas never concealed. Extant photographs of him from the mid-19th Century make his African heritage obvious.

The story: In Alexandre Dumas' The Great Lover, the Duke de Richelieu proposes a wager: he can-and will-seduce the first beautiful woman who crosses his path. Women have always found the silver-tongued rascal irresistible, and rarely has he failed in his conquests. But this time, the clever Marquise de Prie has pledged to protect and mentor the virginal Gabrielle de Belle-Isle.

Complicating matters further, both Gabrielle and Richelieu are drawn to the newly commissioned nobleman, Lieutenant Raoul Sevran. The promise of passionate love proves

difficult to restrain once temptation opens the door. The game is afoot, and it is impossible to predict who will triumph in this playful labyrinth of foreplay, intrigue, and danger. This delightful romp unfolds in the château of Chantilly, 17th-century France.

The playwright: Before Alexandre Dumas penned his famous novels The Three Musketeers, The Man in the Iron Mask, and The Count of Monte Cristo, he was the most popular and prolific playwright in Paris-hailed as the uncrowned king of Parisian theatre. The Great Lover ran in France for nearly 100 years and was only the beginning of what became a celebrated career. More than 200 years later, Dumas' work has yet to lose its popularity or appeal.

Framed in this instance by the masterful music of Chevalier de Saint-Georges, The Great Lover takes on the epic grandeur of romance laced with witty mischief-a true celebration of passion, power, and play.

The Robey Theatre Company Producing Artistic Director Ben Guillory produces the play and directs a cast that includes Tiffany Coty-Goines, Jenny Cadena, Dane Gbrayes, Julio Hanson, CJ Obilom, Kermit C. Burns III, Talmadge Talib, Jason Mimms, and Josh Bruce.

Associate producer: Jenny Cadena. Production Stage Manager: David Bollar. Assistant stage manager: Crystal Nix. Set design: Joel Daavid. Costume design: Naila Aladdin Sanders. Assistant to Costume Designer: Natalie Shahinyan. Prop master: Melissa Kaye Bontempt. Assistant to prop master: Maya Scarborough. Music supervisor: Cydney Wayne Davis. Graphic design: Jason Mimms. Photographer: Jermaine Alexander.

Musical score includes works by 18th Century Black French composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799). Saint-Georges was also celebrated as a conductor, violinist, swordsman, and soldier. He composed operas, symphonies, chamber music, vocal music, and violin concertos.