“The Hunchback of Notre Dame” at Haddonfield Plays and Players is an Artistic Triumph

by Angela Robb

For those who know me, they know that I often go on long rants about topics I am passionate about. For those who know me very well, they know that at all times I’m mere moments away from going off about the injustice of Disney Theatrical not transferring Hunchback of Notre Dame to Broadway after their out of town tryouts at Paper Mill Playhouse and La Jolla Playhouse in 2014/2015. The musical, with a revised book by Peter Parnell and score and lyrics by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, creates a perfect balance between the tragedy of Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel and the relatively family friendly spin of the 1996 animated Disney film, the combination of which lead to critical acclaim out of town and definitely would have increased on Broadway and in the award circuits. Rumor has it that the reason for not transferring was due to the size of the cast, including the choir, not being practical for an open ended run. Knowing this I was pleasantly surprised to see this musical on Haddonfield Plays and Players season and instantly knew I had to see it. 

The story focuses around the concept of “what makes a monster and what makes a man” and centers in and around the famous Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in 1542. Beginning years prior Claude Frollo and his brother Jehan are adopted by Notre Dame; Claude following the church to the letter and eventually becoming the Archbishop and Jehan, rebelling against the church for a carefree lifestyle among gypsies, leading to his expulsion. Years later a dying Jehan reconnects with his brother to take in his deformed half gypsy son. Claude, believing that the baby’s deformities are a punishment from God for Jehan’s sins, is stopped short of killing the baby because he has a change of heart and believes that this is a test sent from God. He names the baby Quasimodo, meaning half formed, and keeps him locked in the bell tower of the cathedral to be responsible for ringing the mass bells, with Frollo being his only human companion. On top of his physical deformities from birth ringing the bells causes Quasimodo to be hunchbacked and partially deaf and his lack of human socialization as he grows up causes him to imagine the cathedral’s gargoyles are his friends. His only views of the outside world are teachings from Frollo and viewing the city from above. 

On Topsy Turvy Day, the annual Feast of Fools, Quasimodo is convinced to sneak out of Notre Dame for the first time and hide among the crowd. This festival is full of gypsies leaving Frollo and Phoebus, the new Captain of the Guard, to be on high alert. Quasimodo is eventually picked out of the crowd and crowned by Clopin, the leader of the gypsies, as the King of Fools. Because of his appearance he is shunned by the crowd which is allowed by Frollo as punishment. He is rescued by Esmeralda, a gypsy woman, who causes Frollo to question his morals as he feels lust for her. This causes the city to go into an uproar as Frollo hunts down Esmeralda and her gypsy friends who are hidden underground, blaming Esmeralda and the devil for the feelings of lust. Quasimodo and Phoebus both begin to fall in love with Esmeralda with her returning feelings for the latter. All of the characters are faced to make a choice: is the right thing following what the church is saying or what they feel is right? As the musical wraps up it leaves with the question: who is the monster and who is the man?

The cast is lead by Garrett Bruce as Quasimodo. From the moment he entered the stage he was captivating. Vocally he hit all of the notes while still incorporating a character voice to signify Quasimodo’s deafness. He didn’t just sound good, you could really hear his longing in "Out There" and anger in "Made of Stone". Physically he maintained his hunchbacked posture throughout the show which was no small feat. Stephan Burse is the show’s other lead, Claude Frollo, and was commanding with his deep baritone as he maintained authority over the people of Paris. Though I do wish Burse showed more moments of doubt with Frollo and showed him questioning his actions, especially when it comes to Jehan. I think this would have really shown Frollo as more of an antihero as the writing intended. But his unwavering commitment to his choices, no matter how erratic and against the teachings of God, made him all the more threatening. This is of no criticism to the actor, but rather the direction Billy D. Hart wanted for the character. Bruce and Burse worked off of each other well, really highlighting the contrasts between their characters. This is especially in their Sanctuary duets and also "Heaven’s Light"/"Hellfire". In "Heaven’s Light" Quasimodo sings about the reasons he loves Esmeralda, comparing it to feeling the light of heaven but by contrast Frollo sings "Hellfire" about his lustful feelings towards Esmeralda, claiming that the strength of the devil is leading him to sin and bringing him to the conclusion that he needs to destroy Esmeralda. The quality of acting brought to the table by these two men was fantastic and the reason the show was so effective.

Billy D. Hart directed and choreographed the piece. The direction was very much inspired by Scott Schwartz’s direction of the original musical but still threw in his own spins on the material. One directorial choice that gives me full body chills every time I think of it is Quasimodo’s entrance. He walks in dressed as a member of the ensemble, sings the lyric “What makes a monster and what makes a man” and then members of the ensemble turn him into Quasimodo before the audience’s eyes. His hump is attached, his costume is put on, and the actor changes his posture to mime being hunchbacked. However, Hart used baby Quasimodo as part of this costume change which I found very powerful. Another choice I found poignant was the use of a scarf to symbolize Esmeralda. This is used multiple times throughout the show, particularly at the end. I’ll keep the details minimal to avoid spoilers for the ending but it was a choice I found very effective and paid off extremely well at wrapping up Esmeralda’s arc in the finale. His choreography was simple but effective. The ensemble, made up of Alexander Brown, Layne Cochran, Christian Milazzo, Jonah Matthew Phillips, Camryn Ragland, and Sarah Robbins, performed the majority of choreography splitting their time between gargoyles, gypsies, townspeople, soldiers, and other minor characters. These characters included Brown as Jehan, and Milazzo as Clopin. Brown had great chemistry with Burse and I really felt the brotherly bond between them, however strained. Milazzo brought a very mysterious vibe to Clopin, the leader of the gypsies. Ellie Mooney also contributed to the fight/intimacy choreography. The attempted rape in the show was staged in a way that made the audience uncomfortable in the way it should. It brought up the feeling of danger and raised the stakes while still maintaining safety for the actors. The fights were a good pace and looked realistic. Often times I find fight scenes too slow but the ones here looked natural and well rehearsed. 

Rounding out the cast is Mia Rae Sanchez as Esmeralda and AJ Klein as Phoebus. Sanchez was fabulous in the role of Esmeralda. Her acting choices were subtle and not overly theatrical which I found to be very refreshing. It made the character feel more human and down to earth. She embodied a lot of strength as her character underwent the persecution of her people and her own over sexualization and I never stopped rooting for her. She has a very beautiful and versatile voice, being able to sing ballads such as "God Help The Outcasts" and "Someday" along with the fast paced dance number "Rhythm of the Tambourine". Klein portrayed the emotional journey Phoebus goes on very effectively. At the start of the show he is very wooden, showing that he is focused on duty and following orders but as he begins to realize what is morally right isn’t what he is being told and stands up for the gypsies. From here, Klein’s Phoebus begins to come into his own and his strength and personality begins to shine through. Klein and Sanchez have great chemistry in their scenes with each other, particularly in their final duet Someday before the musical’s climax. 

Upon entering the theatre I was greeted with Chris Miller’s incredible immersive set design. Stone walls and columns took up the back of the stage leading up to a balcony which housed the onstage choir and a stained glass window at center stage. On stage there was a wooden door and a black and white tiled floor and above the stage and the audience were chandeliers holding candles. I felt like I was in the pews of Notre Dame and this even intensified as the show began, the lights dimmed and the only light came from the stained glass window on stage and the candles above our heads and the choir walked through the center aisle onto their place on stage as if they were processing at the beginning of mass to take their place in the choir box. The choir is made up of Isabel Bramhall, Josh Buffington, Catherine Chambers, Isabel Coverdale, Gaby Creighton, Scott Garvin, Ben Hess, Cameron Hyson, Stephen Jackson, Olivia Madison, Jodi Lawrence O’Connor, William Reid, Lynn Riedel, Allison Rossi, Vince Salvatore, and Shelby Siwczak. Not only did the choir sound beautiful but remained on stage the entire show minus intermission. Their presence really helped set the tone of the piece and is a testament to Billy D. Hart’s direction and their vocals a testament to Blaze Dalio’s music direction. A show as vocally challenging as The Hunchback of Notre Dame needs a strong music director and Dalio definitely met expectations. 

The lighting for this show is some of my favorite I have seen in the community theatre circuit in some time. Eric Baker’s design not only added to the immersion as mentioned in the previous paragraph but also added to the emotion of the scene. One example of this is during Frollo and Quasimodo’s duets. For each line the lighting shifts which lighter gels on Quasimodo’s lines and darker ones for Frollo’s, already setting the tone between the light and dark perspectives and motives each character will bring as the story unfolds. This especially reached a head during Frollo’s big song "Hellfire" and the lighting choices for that song I found especially impressive. The lighting also added to the tone by flashing different colors during Topsy Turvy to fit in with the exciting emotions in the streets and when the mood in the crowd shifts and they begin to throw tomatoes at Quasimodo rather than using actual tomatoes flashes of red light were used to signify the hit which I found very effective. Kevin Salvatorelli and Ryan McAuliffe designed the sound for the production. With the amount of people in the cast being mic'd maintaining that level of sound quality was no small feat. Despite the occasional feedback and reverb throughout the show I was able to hear all of the actors extremely well and found them very well mixed, especially in moments of counterpoint like in the song "Esmeralda". I do wish the choir was amplified a bit more as I would have liked to have heard them better in those moments. 

Lauren Patanovich designed the costumes and wigs for the production. I really enjoyed the use of color, and lack thereof, for the costumes. The gypsies were dressed in various shades of color whereas the soldiers and those following Frollo were dressed in more muted colors. With that being said, Frollo was dressed in a purple vestment for the entirety of the show which not only interfered with the color palate I just mentioned but also wasn’t quite accurate to the period since that is a color signifying Advent which would have ended a couple weeks before the show was set. I also liked how the ensemble switched between being gypsies, soldiers, and gargoyles with minimal costume changes. One scene that especially stuck out to me was during "Made of Stone" when the gargoyles leave Quasimodo the ensemble removes their robes used for their gargoyle costumes and transitions back into their ensemble costumes. Props were designed by Debbie Mitchell. Some of these props were very well done but others left a bit to be desired, an example being the stones and wooden beams Quasimodo throws down during the climax. It was clear they were made of paper, but perhaps a sound effect could have raised the stakes and made it appear a bit more realistic. 

As the show ended the cast, crew and creative team were rewarded by the audience with a standing ovation. This is a trend that I find is given way too lightly in modern years but in the case of this specific performance, I found totally well-deserved. In the days since I saw the show I have been thinking about the show, it’s message, and question the audience is sent with before the show ends: who is the monster and who is the man? This is a question that I find to be more poignant now than ever with the complexities of religion and misuse of power by religious figures as shown by Frollo and societal prejudices against those who are different either due to their special needs like Quasimodo or their race like Esmeralda. I encourage anyone who can to please see The Hunchback of Notre Dame at Haddonfield Plays and Players before the run concludes on February 1st. It is a unique experience that is both creatively and emotionally moving. Purchase tickets here: http://haddonfieldplaysandplayers.csstix.com/event-details.php?e=545