It’s common knowledge that all good things must come to an end, and sometimes that knowledge is harder to take in than it is at other times. Such is the case with Pioneer Theatre Company’s The Count of Monte Cristo, which capped off what was likely the company’s most eclectic season ever. Frank Wildhorn and Jack Murphy, a longtime collaborating duo, have produced an engaging new musical with their fresh twist on the timeless classic written by Alexandre Dumas, with Wildhorn supplying the original musical score and Murphy providing the lyrics.
The Count of Monte Cristo is known to many as the ultimate story of revenge, but at its core, the book is really about love and forgiveness. 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, they managed to catch the true essence of Dumas’s opus of freeing the soul through love and forgiveness. At Pioneer Theatre Company’s performance, director/choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge furthered this emphasis. The swiftly moving performance encompasses the highs of true love between Edmund Dantes, (Matt Farcher) and his bride Mercedes (Briana Carlson-Goodman) before quickly descending into the lows of betrayal and revenge without overemphasizing either component or dawdling too long on any one section or emotion. Even Dantes’ imprisonment in Chateau d’If, the longest and arguably most important portion of the original book, comprising some 14 years of story that prove central to the following storyline, moves quickly as the musical brilliantly uses songs and moving set pieces to succinctly recreate Dante’s imprisonment and accompanying education.
The wizardry of the stagecraft and the simplicity of the set pieces add to the enjoyment of the play while expertly helping to frame the complex story. The centerpiece of this stage is an ever-present spiraling staircase, which is creatively fused to represent the shifting landscapes of Marseilles, Chateau d’If, Rome and Paris.
At the end of the day, it’s really the music that drives the performance, with a score that, while not always catchy, does skillfully tell a complicated story without neglecting central components. 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. The most creative and captivating song of the night was, however, That’s What They Say.
Like all good things, the musical, along with PTC’s remarkable season, had to come to an end. It is a mark of their talent that they did so with a more-than-satisfying finish that will leave audiences hungering for more.