Victor Hugo’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” written in 1831, is a massive novel that has never been completely honored in the many stage and cinematic versions of it that have been produced. Most fans of the tale of the deformed, deaf bell-ringer of the ancient cathedral and his love of the beautiful gypsy woman who enchants him may not even know the heartbreaking details of the story that Hugo contrived.
As early as 1923 (in the classic silent film version starring Lon Chaney) and even in the renowned Charles Laughton portrayal in 1939, Hollywood converted the tale by having the gypsy, Esmeralda, saved from hanging. In the book, she is put to death. The 1956 Anthony Quinn version, with Gina Lollabrigida as the gypsy, kept the tragic ending but changed or dropped many other parts of the story. Subsequent attempts to produce facsimiles of the Hugo story have taken liberties with various parts of the book, sometimes eliminating key characters, sometimes entirely changing the arc and climax of the story.
The version produced last week at Sacramento’s Music Circus (at the Wells Fargo Pavilion) also takes liberties, but it at least hews close to the central arc of the tale that Hugo created. With a book for the stage by Peter Parnell, and with Alan Menken’s splendid music (lyrics by Stephen Schwartz), this rarely produced musical adaptation of the gothic historical drama is dark and disturbing, and altogether adult in tone and content. (In other words, the Disney animated version, from which some of the songs are taken, this one is not. However, more than a few parents of young children mistakenly thought it was, as there were a fair number of youngsters in attendance on the night of the performance we attended.)
Of the book’s central characters, Quasimodo (the hunchback), Esmeralda, Dom Claude Frollo (Quasimodo’s keeper), Captain Phoebus (Frollo’s chief of security) and Clopin (the head of the gypsies) are all portrayed. Even King Louis XI (the story taken from his reign in the fifteenth century) makes an appearance.
The Music Circus production (the last of the organization’s sixty-sixth season) was directed by Glenn Casale, who apart from some scenic snafus in the second act of the performance we saw, made the story achingly real, aided by a terrific set design (by Stephen Gifford) that made full use of the aisles as well as the stage in the round, a chorus (directed by Omari Tau) that sang beautiful a cappella chants in the scenes that opened both acts, and a cast that included the deaf actor John McGinty in the role of Quasimodo.
Mr. McGinty was a marvel in the lead role, miming the lyrics of his solos (which were sung by Jim Hogan, who would stand beside or near him, as McGinty contorted his body to reflect the pain in the lyrics). He also spoke his lines flawlessly.
The weakness in his portrayal was in the apparent decision by Mr. Casale not to have this Quasimodo look as deformed and “ugly” as the character has been portrayed in other productions (and in the book, for that matter).
Mr. McGinty, apart from the hunched back provided by his costume (credited to Marcy Froehlich), was not made up to look unattractive (Christine Conklin was the makeup designer), and was, in fact, quite handsome (by our tastes, at least).
But if Mr. McGinty and Mr. Hogan (who sang beautifully) were the stars of this production, they were ably supported by Mark Jacoby as Dom Claude Frollo and Lesli Margherita as Esmeralda. Both (but especially Mr. Jacoby) brought out the conflicting emotions in their characters, making the story’s tragic denouement all the more powerful. Also strong in their performances were Eric Kunze as Phoebus and Andrew Foote as Clopin.
The musical highlights in the production were many and included the openings of both acts (featuring the 18-voice chorus), “Out There” (Mr. Hogan and Mr. McGinty), “God Help the Outcasts” (Ms. Margherita and the chorus), “Heaven’s Light” (Mr. Hogan and Mr. McGinty), “Hellfire” (Mr. Jacoby and the chorus), “The Court of Miracles” (Mr. Foote), “Someday” (Ms. Margherita and Mr. Kunze) and “Made of Stone” (Mr. Hogan and Mr. McGinty). The excellent fourteen member orchestra was conducted by Musical Supervisor Dennis Castellano. In addition to the chorus, a strong 14-member ensemble filled secondary roles in the script.
That script includes some clunky narration in the second act that tries too hard to tell parts of the story that aren’t shown on stage. The stage action also bordered on excess in the second act, especially when Quasimodo poured the molten lead on the charging crowd and threw Dom Claude Frollo from the tower. Neither scene worked as well as Mr. Casale may have hoped on the night we attended.
Those complaints aside, this production was bold and powerful. Mr. Casale and his colleagues are to be congratulated for undertaking the challenge of this massive work. It helped to make this season of Music Circus productions one of the strongest in recent years.