Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...The result? A guilty theatrical pleasure you don't have to atone for afterward. It's zesty, good fun — colorful theatrical comfort food with enough philosophical seasoning and emotional heat to keep it from getting too sticky or soggy."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"... Christopher Walsh's adaptation moves along with economy, speed, and a sense of humor. But this Lifeline Theatre production is too restrained, as if director Paul Holmquist were reluctant to take full advantage of the script's potential for silly melodrama and cheesy swashbucklery. As the Count, Chris Hainsworth certainly looks the part, sporting a mane of long black hair like some bodice-ripper cover model. And yet, rather than dashing and mysterious, he usually comes across as wooden, gnomic, and smug."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...Christopher M. Walsh's premiere adaptation for Lifeline Theatre deftly packs a horde of information into a brief playing time to forge a coherent narrative line keeping us firmly grounded in the action despite subplots and flashbacks, much as Joe Schermoly's scenic design on the disproportionately vertical stage zips us from Paris to Rome via Marseilles with nary a trace of whiplash. The cast of stalwart company regulars, led by Chris Hainsworth as the Byronesque Dantes, likewise ensures that we understand each characters' motive for every second of the two and a half hours required for the intrigue to progress to its still uncertain, but nonetheless satisfying, conclusion."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"... Paul S. Holmquist’s sharp production rarely lags, with a cast that understands the story’s stakes and tackles them with confidence. The rousing music by Christopher Kriz helps create an almost operatic sense of grandeur, while Joe Schermoly’s simple but elegant set design and Aly Renee Amidei’s lavish costumes bring the early-1800s setting to life."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...The Count is a noble man, learned, driven, excellent; he performs great deeds. And yet he has, at times, surrounded himself with unsavory characters. He is consumed by his desires, his drive; and yet, when they are consummated, what is left for him? Is revenge justice or pettiness? The story delves deeply into morality, and not in a simplistic way. The characters are full, fleshed-out, real. Their motives true to life, their beings understandable."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...Christopher M. Walsh’s writing is only half the power behind “The Count of Monte Cristo”, the face of the production comes with the commanding ensemble who dominated the stage from start to finish. Led by Chris Hainsworth, his co-stars shine wonderfully alongside him, giving new light to the term ensemble driven piece. The backbone of the production consists of Director Paul S. Holmquist and his talented creative staff. Together they turned Lifeline’s hundred seat space into fully breathing early 1800’s historic French architecture. The costumes were historically accurate, and the ensemble introduced very subtle but effective Victorian dialects. Their method of speech was sharp and full of resonance, resulting in them clearly defining their setting’s era, something rarely found in Chicago’s theatre scene."
Chicago Theater Beat - Highly Recommended
"...On a rainy Sunday afternoon, I cuddled up with a blanket and became completely engrossed in a classic tale of vengeance. Lifeline Theatre presents a world premiere adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo. On the day of his wedding, Edmond is dragged from the church and falsely imprisoned. During his incarceration, he accesses the knowledge and resources to ruin his enemies. He returns home a changed man. He is now the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo. The Count infiltrates the society that wronged him. He is now a major player. The game is on. Having been robbed of his life, the Count has nothing to lose. Everybody is going down…including him. Lifeline’s The Count of Monte Cristo is a complex and concise masterpiece."