Tuacahn Center for the Arts to Present THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO

Tuacahn Center for the Arts announces that a new production of Frank Wildhorn and Jack Murphy's epic musical drama, The Count of Monte Cristo, will be staged at the venue's outdoor amphitheatre next summer. The musical features a score by Frank Wildhorn, a two-time Tony Award nominee for Bonnie and Clyde and The Civil War. Wildhorn's additional Broadway productions include Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Wonderland, Dracula, and Victor/Victoria. Tony nominee Jack Murphy (The Civil War, Wonderland, Swing!) wrote the book and lyrics. Kim Scharnberg (Little Women, Jekyll & Hyde The Scarlet Pimpernel) created the orchestrations.

Wildhorn looks forward to bringing the show to life in southern Utah. "The Count of Monte Cristo has always been one of my favorite stories. It's full of relatable, yet larger-than-life characters facing larger-than-life situations. It's full of passion, danger, romance, revenge, and redemption-all of the things that for me, make this story SING! It's an honor to bring it to Tuacahn and to share our musical with the people who love that incredible theatre."

Central to the production is the impressive score by Wildhorn. A concept recording featuring many of the show's songs went platinum following its release in 2008. Some of the composer's additional hit songs include Whitney Houston's "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?" and Jekyll & Hyde's anthem, "This is the Moment."

Scott S. Anderson, Tuacahn's Artistic Director, will direct the production. Anderson is no stranger to staging large-scale musical productions of well-known stories; he directed a pre-West End production of The Prince of Egypt last year and a pre-Broadway production of Disney's Aladdin in 2012, both at Tuacahn Amphitheatre.

"The Count of Monte Cristo is a story about love, revenge, and redemption," says Anderson. "It's one of the great stories of all time. People all over the world know and love this story, and to combine that with a Frank Wildhorn score really makes for a powerful theatrical experience. Tuacahn's spectacular setting will allow people to see this story in unique and powerful way."

Preview performances of The Count of Monte Cristo will take place July 17, 18, 21, 23, 2020, followed by an official opening on July 25. The musical will then be performed in rotating repertory with two other musical productions through the remainder of the season, concluding on October 22, 2020. Tickets to The Count of Monte Cristo are currently available to season subscribers online at www.tuacahn.org, in person at the Tuacahn box office (1100 Tuacahn Drive, Ivins, UT), or by calling (435) 652-3300. Single tickets for all performances go on sale February 11, 2020.

Casting and additional members of the creative team will be announced at a later date.

Based on the beloved 1844 French adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo features compelling characters and timeless themes wrapped up in an engrossing and moving story. On the very day of his wedding to the beautiful Mercédès, young Edmond Dantès is framed by three men, arrested, and banished to the Chateau d'If, a notoriously impenetrable island prison in the Mediterranean Sea. Befriended by a fellow inmate, Dantès plots a daring escape, unearths a secret fortune, and returns to public life disguised as the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo. Determined to seek vengeance upon the those who wronged him, will the lust for revenge overcome the man entirely or will the redemptive power of love prove mightier than the darkness that haunts his soul?

Following its German-language premiere at Switzerland's Theatre St. Gallen in 2009, The Count of Monte Cristo has enjoyed significant international success, including productions in Korea, Japan, Germany, and Austria. The first English-language production of the musical was performed in a sold-out workshop run at Brigham Young University in 2015. The American professional premiere was produced a year later at Pioneer Theatre Company in Salt Lake City.

In anticipation of the upcoming production, Anderson directed a staged reading on October 11, 2019, in the performing arts center's Hafen Theatre. The show next year at Tuacahn will reflect changes to the script and score based on the recent productions and this 29-hour reading.

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