The Count of Monte Cristo: The Musical

I was honestly not sure what to expect when I sat down to watch this show. What I got was beautiful music and a play that serves the story it is based on extraordinarily well. While there is an occasionally rushed moment (hardly surprising in a show based on such a rich story) I found things easy to follow and was intrigued the whole time. The cast is quite talented, and the costumes lovely. A real achievement. (And no, you do not need to be familiar with the book to follow and enjoy the musical.)... full review

I am a huge fan of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. I remember being introduced to it by my father through the copy he had on his bookshelf. I’ve reread the epic book many times because it has … well, everything, and when I say everything, I mean it literally. There’s greed, revenge, love, hate, family issues, mistaken identities, embezzlement, history, politics and pirates! It’s over 1000+ pages of pure drama. So when I met Kelly d’Angelo at an early Fringe Workshop who said she had been working on her adaptation for a Count of Monte Cristo musical for 10 years, I was pretty impressed. And curious—just how was she going to pull that off? On the way to the world premiere this past Friday, my dad and I played a game: What scen... full review

As a fellow Fringer also mounting a Dumas show, I wanted to see how their idea of what the book meant to them was interpreted for the stage. One of the things writer, director, and producer Kelly d'Angelo disclaims is that this is a workshop performance, that a full hour was cut from the actual full length production and because of that there were going to be gaps. For me, that was a great way to break the ice. I was able to sit back and simply enjoy the work. And enjoy I did. Kelly did a remarkable job with all the lyrics and Matt Dahan was simply virtuosic with the score. How amazing will this production be with a full orchestra??? The Treasure is You was one of my favorites. Like other reviewers, I was mildly confused by the switc... full review

You need to go into show with your eyes open. Writer, director and producer Kelly D’Angelo is certainly ambitious in undertaking to stage a Broadway style musical of “The Count of Monte Cristo.” There’s no denying the show has problems, most of which D’Angelo might have avoided if she had limited the number of hats she’s wearing here. Running the two hour show without an intermission is perhaps not the wisest decision The production suffers from a clumsy book and repeatedly plunging the audience into blackouts that a more inventive director could have worked out. But these flaws and others should be judged with some generosity. That this show is not a total success should be no surprise That it succeeds as well as it does, however is ... full review

#ChanceItLA - This is a true chance it. The music is beautiful and on the whole sung with great skill. It definitely has moments reminiscent of shows like Les Mis and Scarlet Pimpernel. I walked to my car after singing the final number. However, it does suppose a pre-knowledge of the story - so brush up before you go. It could use some cutting and the direction is clumsy at best. I would love to see this after a trimming of the script and in the hands of an experienced director.... full review

What a fabulous job Kelly D'Angelo and Matt Dahan did creating the piece. Loved the work. You have an amazing cast and crew. I wish everything good for The Count of Monte Cristo and all of you.... full review

This show is incomplete. This show is rough and flawed. And you should absolutely go and see it, because it's what the Fringe is all about. It's a work in progress and as such, it has some moments that don't work, yes, but it also has some wonderful, sparkling moments that let you know it's on the right path and it's going to reach the goal. It's a little hard to follow at times, but you try squishing 1000 plus pages into a relatively short time and some songs. That doesn't matter, because we begin the journey knowing that we're watching curated, edited for Fringe highlights. It made me want to read the book and to go back in its next incarnation to see how it develops. There is a ton of good music including a couple of lovers' duets ... full review

Before I dive in, go see this, especially if you like the story! This is one of my favorite books of all time so of course I had to see it as a musical. The music is really good, though some songs had their climaxes in the middle instead of at the end leaving you wondering when to clap, which would be great with a little rework. Stay and The Treasure is You were two particular standouts as great songs that really linger with you afterward. Loved that Treasure sandwiched the story, great choice there. The cast puts on a great performance and their best faces despite some strange blocking and costume choices. The leads are all vocal standouts. Where I struggled was clear characterization. Franz comes out of nowhere as a primary a... full review

This is perhaps the most ambitious undertaking I've ever seen in the context of a fringe festival. It's a full-scale musical -- a Les Miz-sized musical, primed for a Broadway or West End stage. Pulling off a show of this scale scratch-style in a black box theater almost seems insane -- but these guys really made it work. If you can accept the Fringe context at face value (intimate space, limited resources), what you'll get is essentially a very good workshop of a show with epic potential. Despite the necessarily bare-bones staging, I could honestly see the whole thing clear as day in my head -- what this show WOULD look like on a huge stage, with full costumes & sets. And I sincerely hope that it eventually gets to that level. Dumas' classic... full review

Like some of the other reviewers here, I wasn't expecting much from such a small Fringe venue. This show pretty much blew the walls and roof off the place in its ambition, though, and the opening "night" (3:30pm) audience I saw it with rightfully ate it up. Who doesn't love a good revenge tale? The Count of Monte Cristo is exactly that, and here, the epic tome has been translated into a well paced two-hour romp through early 1800's Paris. Yes, you do have to use your imagination in this bare-bones black box setting, but the cast, and especially Matt Dahan's sweeping score make that very easy. Besides their amazing vocal talents, the players have also amassed a fairly decent array of costumes, and use every prop, wig, and long coat to... full review