| My thoughts on Hunchback | |
| Posted by: | Kaoru 04:10 pm EST 11/17/14 |
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| I’ve seen several world or U.S. premiere musicals at La Jolla Playhouse in the past and it’s always exciting to see a new musical. Disclaimer: I like watching Disney musical animation films, and my favorite ones are Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin (recently Frozen too), yes I love Alan Menken’s music. I have seen both stage versions and think Disney succeeded the staging BATB very well. I remember watching Hunchback of Notre Dame film only once but don’t remember too much about it. The animation film is rated G, but the stage version is much darker and it would be rated PG-13 for sure. In the program, the creators talked about wanting to go back to the original novel by Victor Hugo; thus, the story is darker than the film. And I think there lies a problem. In that case, they should have departed from the Disney version altogether (yes ditch the existing numbers too) and create a whole new musical about Hunchback of Notre Dame. It’s not like I didn’t like all the aspects of the show: I was pleased with strong performance by Michael Arden (Quasimodo) and Patrick Page (Frollo), and Ciara Renee’s (Esmeralda) voice was perfect for Alan Menken’s tune. The simple set that transforms to the Bell Tower of the massive Cathedral was beautiful and the lighting was effective. The huge orchestra for a regional production (backed by Disney Theatrical) as well as San Diego’s own SACRA/PROFANA choral ensemble was impressive. The main trouble I had was the book. There was too much narrative, and I thought it was ironic as in the program they said in two occasions that they want the audience to use their imagination! Then why do they have to describe in the narrative that Quasimodo and Phoebus (Andrew Samonsky) were going through different streets of Paris to find Esmeralda, or how Quasimodo jumped from the Tower to rescue Esmeralda from being burnt? Also it took a while for the story to start as it started out as Frollo’s backstory. I think the story can be told as flashback when Esmeralda visits the Cathedral so that they can introduce Quasimodo sooner. Speaking of introduction, there are two scenes that transformation of Quasimodo occurs, and I understand why they wanted to do it, but it’s (the set up) not consistent with other characters (Esmeralda or Clopin), so if they had to do the transformation, I think they can omit the first one. Another book problem for me was that although Quasimodo is the main character in the show, as Michael Arden takes the final bow during the curtain call, throughout the show it feels like this is Frollo’s story. Even he is very much like Jevert in another Hugo musical, righteous and conflicted, I wouldn’t say he is totally a villain (not until the end) because he has a strong arch in his story and you know why he behaves like that. On the other hand, to me Quasimodo’s arch is rather weak for a leading character. Maybe in 1831, the message (don’t judge people by its appearance) was actually a refreshing idea. If they cut down the narrative, bring back a little more focus on Quasimodo, we will be able to see him grow in the story. | |
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| Hunchback "Playbill" | |
| Posted by: | PatrickHSF 05:12 pm EST 11/19/14 |
| In reply to: | My thoughts on Hunchback - Kaoru 04:10 pm EST 11/17/14 |
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| FYI...LJP has the Hunchback section of their version of a playbill online. It shouldn't be too surprising that Disney's connection is really played down, i.e., no "Disney" above the title as with their other shows, since this is a darker take than the film. Reference to Disney is in the 'fine print' at the bottom. The font for the title is somewhat similar to the animated film, so they've tried to at least make some subconscious connection. | |
| Link | H'back Booklet |
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| re: My thoughts on Hunchback | |
| Posted by: | AnyaS 04:49 am EST 11/19/14 |
| In reply to: | My thoughts on Hunchback - Kaoru 04:10 pm EST 11/17/14 |
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| Hunchback of Notre Dame featured my favorite Disney film score of the past 40 years - with the exception of Beauty and the Beast (a stage show I really disliked). The frustration for many when the film was released was that a terrific score was let down by an underwhelming, juvenile screenplay. It would have been heartbreaking to see the movie's score scrapped. Back in the day, it was either Time or Newsweek that called Hunchback a movie worthy a Best Picture nomination if it were judged only by the musical sequences. All the other stuff killed the movie. When I hear comments like "stuck with the songs," I can't believe we're talking about the same score! The initial motivation behind the stage version was to finally find a worthy script for Schwartz and Menken's songs so ditching the score makes no sense. I agree that Frollo has the meatier role and Quasimodo's storyline needs major beefing up. However, Arden walked away with such strong praise for his performance (slightly better than Page, whom I loved) that I don't have a problem with him getting the final bow. But yes, Quasimodo needs more work. The movie's G rating was controversial at the time. Angry parents cited its violence and the Hellfire sequence as inappropriate for all audiences. Several of my students had parents who forbid them to see the film at the time. The show is too long. I'd love to see about 15 minutes trimmed. "Flight Into Egypt" is forgettable and has been panned by many but if it's replaced, I hope it's by something light. The show is awfully heavy and the audience needs a chance to breathe. | |
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| re: My thoughts on Hunchback | |
| Posted by: | MikeR 01:03 pm EST 11/19/14 |
| In reply to: | re: My thoughts on Hunchback - AnyaS 04:49 am EST 11/19/14 |
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| When I saw the movie, my first words upon leaving the theater were "that score is worthy of a Broadway stage." I've been waiting years to see Hunchback on stage (and I'm bummed I can't get down to La Jolla). It's a wonderful score, and I will defend it vigorously to anyone who would suggest otherwise. | |
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| re: My thoughts on Hunchback | |
| Posted by: | AnyaS 01:45 am EST 11/20/14 |
| In reply to: | re: My thoughts on Hunchback - MikeR 01:03 pm EST 11/19/14 |
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| Thank you! I was starting to think I was in the Twilight Zone after reading some comments. When the film was released, the score was highly acclaimed and darn worthy of all the praise. Hearing it again on stage a few weeks ago was a dream come true. Hope you get to see the show eventually! | |
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| re: My thoughts on Hunchback | |
| Posted by: | PatrickHSF 10:01 am EST 11/20/14 |
| In reply to: | re: My thoughts on Hunchback - AnyaS 01:45 am EST 11/20/14 |
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| I love the film score, and most especially the German stage score, which was my driving force to want to see this new version. The inclusion of Sacra Profana as the choir was a brilliant choice. The critical comments made by me and others were primarily focused on the script, not the music, though I don't so much care for a few of the new songs, I.e., the tambourine bit by Esmarelda. The original songs and new ones from Berlin are great on stage. | |
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| did you see the disaster Notre Dame in Vegas | |
| Posted by: | dramedy 05:25 pm EST 11/17/14 |
| In reply to: | My thoughts on Hunchback - Kaoru 04:10 pm EST 11/17/14 |
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| it was a rock musical import from France. i think i'd seek out disney version after that rock version. | |
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| re: did you see the disaster Notre Dame in Vegas | |
| Posted by: | Richard Connema 08:00 pm EST 11/17/14 |
| In reply to: | did you see the disaster Notre Dame in Vegas - dramedy 05:25 pm EST 11/17/14 |
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| Yes I saw that version in Las Vegas and it was a disaster. All I remember about that production was that the hunchback was the most energetic hunchback I had ever saw. | |
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| re: My thoughts on Hunchback | |
| Posted by: | BillEadie 05:23 pm EST 11/17/14 |
| In reply to: | My thoughts on Hunchback - Kaoru 04:10 pm EST 11/17/14 |
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| I, too, agree with the problems you noted. Obviously, they're stuck with the songs they've used from tha animated feature, and I presume the Parnell book is better than the one by Lapine. But, it's very inconsistent, and perhaps some of that can be smoothed out. Much as I enjoyed Michael Arlen's singing in particular, I'll bet that he will be gone before the production debuts at Paper Mill. I suspect he'll be seen as not being charismatic enough to carry the show. Since there are a number of local and UCSD MFA student actors in this version, I'd guess that the plan all along was to do a fair amount of recasting prior to the New Jersey opening. And if the stars align there might be a chance of moving that version across the river in time to open for Tony consideration, so they'll be careful about who is cast from here on. Bill, in San Diego | |
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| re: My thoughts on Hunchback | |
| Posted by: | bicoastal 07:14 pm EST 11/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: My thoughts on Hunchback - BillEadie 05:23 pm EST 11/17/14 |
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| Overall I liked the production in Berlin much more than I liked this one. The narrative device is new to this production. I can't be more specific because the Berlin production was in German, which I don't speak, but the ending was closer to novel and the songs didn't seem so relentlessly jammed in. | |
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| re: My thoughts on Hunchback | |
| Posted by: | Kaoru 06:09 pm EST 11/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: My thoughts on Hunchback - BillEadie 05:23 pm EST 11/17/14 |
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| If they recast Quasimodo that'll be unfortunate and it's not Michael's fault as he can exhibit the vulnerability and sensitivity really well. Besides, Quasimodo isn't a role to be charismatic to begin with, don't you think? To me, Quasimodo wasn't given much presence on the stage because the focus was more shifted to Frollo. I think he is still appearing in Anger Management, but I'm sure he can manage the shooting even if he is in the Paper Mill production. I counted in the program how many local actors were in this show and there were only two. Many of the cast credit say "LJP debut" so I assume most of them came from NY, which means when they go to Paper Mill, the cast remains relatively the same. There are only three weeks in between Paper Mill production closes and the Tony consideration deadline. So unless they only have one week of preview on Broadway, it seems impossible to open the show for 2014/15 season, plus do they have a suitable theatre at that time? It's not a large theatre show. | |
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| re: My thoughts on Hunchback | |
| Posted by: | bicoastal 04:45 pm EST 11/17/14 |
| In reply to: | My thoughts on Hunchback - Kaoru 04:10 pm EST 11/17/14 |
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| Completely agree with you about the book. Oy, so much narration! Show me, don't tell me! | |
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