My overall impression
Catchy tunes and fine performances! I caught the second preview night and was blown away. Writer/director Kelly d’Angelo did a superb job of crafting the complex Dumas tome into a two hour stage musical. The plot remained complex, but the heart and essence of the story remained while some of the intricacies and meanderings of the novel were necessarily whittled away. The performances were excellent. Special shout outs to Cristo/Dante, Abbe’, Villefort, Danglars (killer glare and evil stare!) and Cadderouse (I understand Abbe’ and Cadderouse were not on stage for the first preview night, which might explain some of the less favorable comments I see above, although other cast members stepped in to fill those roles on preview night 1, which is amazing in itself…such talent I am in awe). Also, little Edward was a comic genius with both delivery and background antics. The lyrics and score were excellent as well, crossing back and forth between classic stage musical-style tunes (the ones that have you humming along on your way home from the theater) and a some more modern-sounding pieces. My favorite song was a duet between Valentine and one of her erstwhile fiances (Andrea? — OK, I admit there were a lot of characters to keep track of, and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND READING THROUGH THE PROGRAM BEFORE THE SHOW STARTS to gain a familiarity with the multiple roles played by some of the cast members, but everything came together in the end and any minor character confusion did not matter as I - wait and hope!- to see this production on a large stage with a monster-sized cast). Bravo!!!!
