Monte Cristo tickets

An overall good adaptation of a classic with lots of talent. Some of the adjustments were great and some were surprising but overall well worth seeing.

This was a very mixed bag. Unfortunately, the show doesn’t really land on a singular style or tone, and that’s to its detriment. Overall, the score is average, with a few very solid numbers. But, for the most part, it caroms from style to style to the point where I said to my friend, “that song was in the wrong musical!” The lyrics are relatively predictable and banal, as is the dialogue. The book throws in way too much comic relief for what’s a relatively dark tale. The direction is underwhelming, and performances are played pretty broadly. With this outstanding cast, I can’t really fault them — it’s the material and direction (or lack thereof). Fortunately, the underlying story is of course terrific, and that buoys the rest of the show. It’s mainly worth seeing for the cast more than anything else.

Charming, Excellent Singing, Solid Set Design for Off-Broadway, A Shade of Alexandre Dumas’ Original Classic When a musical adaptation of a 1000+-page novel does not just have to cut down the material but even trims back the name of the work, as from The Count of Monte Cristo to simply Monte Cristo, that should be an immediate sign that this show is going to depart from the source material quite a bit. In all fairness, though, this is an ambitious project in its original form—from length, to multiple plot lines, to settings, to the personal, to the political, and all things in between. There is charm, entertainment, and a sense of lovely whimsy and joy here, in York’s production. But Alexandre Dumas’ work is such a crafty work, full of Dantès’ clever endless disguises, seafaring, treasure-seeking, and the complex inner- and familial-workings of other characters who circle around both as allies and as enemies. My greatest disappointment is that I didn’t leave this show as mesmerized and spellbound by it as I am by Dumas’ 1844 masterpiece. This adventure, rebuilt-life, and vengeance tale is now a Disney-ready romance. But the singing, even when some songs are catchy yet leave your mind the moment another one comes along, is beautiful. I could have enjoyed more Norm Lewis – in every male role! His voice is the richest, although Adam Jacobs as lead Edmond Dantès (oddly listed as “Edmund”) is also quite wonderful. Sierra Boggess as Dantès’ love-interest Mercédès has a beautiful operatic voice but lacks some of the depth of her character to make the woman, with nearly 20 years’ worth of time that has passed, feel more flesh-and-blood. In general, the ensemble cast adds humor, a touch of the sinister, and a solid heft to the weight of the story that is appearing on stage (even if not fully in line with the novel). I suspect that those unfamiliar with Dumas’ work will either enjoy this “romantic adventure” or find it confusing, or perhaps both. Overall, while it is different than I anticipated, I had a fine time and am very pleased to have seen the show, attended my first performance at the Theatre at St. Jean’s, and had a chance to experience this strong and talented cast. I left inspired to reread the novel!