Although it’s common knowledge that all good things must come to an end certain experiences are so delightful that when the end finally comes it’s with a heavy heart. Such is the case with Pioneer Theatre Company which capped off perhaps its most eclectic season ever with the American professional premiere of the new musical The Count of Monte Cristo.
With an original musical score by Frank Wildhorn and lyrics by the Tony Award winning Jack Murphy this long time collaborating duo fully entranced the audience this past Friday night with a fresh new twist on a timeless classic.
While it can’t have been an easy task to transform the lengthy literary classic of the same name, which was written by Alexandre Dumas, into a musical that could possibly do it justice but that is exactly what Wildhorn and Murphy were able to accomplish with a faithful adaption full of swashbuckling flair and chivalrous romance that surely had Dumas himself beaming with joy from his final resting place in the Pantheon of Paris.
Although The Count of Monte Cristo is known to many as the ultimate story of vengeance and revenge at its core the book is really about love and forgiveness which director and choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge perfectly captures on stage by delicately balancing themes of revenge and love in equal doses. The swiftly moving performance takes the audience along for a ride that starts with the highs of true love between Edmund Dantes (played by Matt Farcher) and his bride Mercedes (played by Briana Carlson-Goodman) before quickly descending into the depths of hell as Dantes is brutally betrayed by his childhood friend Fernand Mondego (played by Darren Ritchie).
It’s at this point that the musical shows off its creative chops as it takes what is the longest and arguably most important portion of the original book where Edmund spends nearly 14 years imprisoned in the Chateau d’lf and learns to live again through the quite literally enriching guidance of the Abbe Faria (played by Dathan B. Williams). The musical brilliantly uses songs and moving set pieces to succinctly recreate Dante’s imprisonment and accompanying education while at the same time seamlessly showing what has happened to Dante’s beloved Mercedes.
The centerpiece of the stage is the ever present spiraling staircase which is creatively fused to represent the shifting landscapes of Marseilles, Chateau d’lf, Rome and Paris. It could also be argued that the rising staircase also serves to metaphorically represent Edmund’s rise, fall and eventually his redemption. The wizardry of the stage craft and the simplicity of the set pieces thoroughly add to the enjoyment of the play while expertly helping to frame the complex story.
While the visuals are wonderful at the end of the day it’s the music the ultimately drives the performance and while the score isn’t always catchy it does a more than credible job of retelling the story of this literary masterpiece with a near perfect use of brevity to create a compelling narrative. There is heart with songs like When The World Was Mine and soul with the beautiful piece I Know Those Eyes/This Man Is Dead however the most creative and captivating song of the night may have been That’s What They Say.
Although it might have been tempting for Wildhorn and Murphy to sensationalize the revenge aspect of Monte Cristo like so many Hollywood productions have done before to their credit they managed to catch the true essence of Dumas’s opus of freeing the soul through love and forgiveness.
Towards the end of the play when Abbe Faria reminds Edmund to “learn to live and forgive” it also serves as the consummate summation of what Monte Cristo is really about and illustrates the respect and understanding that Wildhorn and Murphy have for Dumas’s work. Like all good things the musical, along with PTC’s remarkable season, regrettably came to an end but did so with a more than satisfying finish that will leave audiences hungering for more as is always the case with a story well told.