"Lost Vice" with David Zack (Danglars) and Laurine Price (Mercedes) Photo

From: BWW Review: THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO: The Musical Premieres Spectacularly at the Hollywood Fringe Festival

The musical expands on the many motifs raised in the novel while offering a fresh perspective on the nearly thousand-paged piece of literature. Originally written as a three-hour production, thankfully the Fringe show has been edited down to two. Those not familiar with the novel, however, may find themselves a bit lost in Act I given all the time shifts between the many scenes, but everything becomes much easier to follow once Act II kicks into gear. Ultimately it is a tale of love, loss, and extreme agony coupled by an undeniable thirst for retribution set in France in the mid-1800's when women's lives were set by the man they married and little else.