Hunchback of Notre Dame Musical performing Esmeralda picture image

Ensemble performing Esmeralda

As I write this post, there is no plan to have the American version of the Disney movie of the Hunchback of Notre Dame to go to Broadway. As it stands the play is going to regional theaters. That is  not to say that the musical couldn’t go to Broadway in the future or even that regional production are a bad thing. As of now, Disney will send an adaption of Frozen to the Broadway stage which is understandable as Frozen is Disney’s cash-cow at the moment but there is more at work.

Ciara Renee as Esmeralda singing God Help the Outcasts, production of Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Ciara Renee as Esmeralda singing God Help the Outcasts, production of Hunchback of Notre Dame

I can’t speak that I know the decision making process though I except that money does have a lot to do with it. And considering that Anastasia musical is going to Broadway, Disney can’t have another company’s Princess movie make money, so Frozen goes, but I do suspect that that two style approach to the Hunchback musical did hurt it a bit.

Michael Arden as Quasimodo, Musical Production of Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Michael Arden as Quasimodo, Musical Production of Hunchback of Notre Dame

First off I really can’t imagine Broadway wanting a Disney show that wasn’t the same opulent style as the other Disney shows. Frozen and Anastasia fit in better to this aesthetic. I can see the producers of the Hunchabck wanted to make it more realistic like Les Mis but do we need another version of Le Miz on Broadway? No. Both stories are by the same author even. Should the Hunchback  musical have opted for a more opulent style? It’s hard to say with the limitations of the theaters but I think on some level this show was going for the Le Mis style with the Disney story in mind hence the odd sense of rich minimal that didn’t really work in the end.

Hunchback of Notre Dame Set picture image

Hunchback of Notre Dame Set

It does raise an interesting question, has the success of Les Mis kept Hunchback off Broadway? To my knowledge there has not been a version of Hunchback on Broadway. This version and Notre Dame de Paris seem like likely candidates but Notre Dame de Paris only played in Las Vegas for six months. Even Dennis DeYoung and Lionel Bart’s musical played in other theaters.

Ciara Renée as Esmeralda and Andrew Samonsky as Phoebus Hunchback of Notre Dame de Paris picture image

Ciara Renée as Esmeralda and Andrew Samonsky as Phoebus

I think the musical would need to be massively reworked to fit with the Disney brand musical aesthetic, I.e a super over-the-top spectacle  or totally embrace a minimal approach akin to Notre Dame de Paris.

Michael Arden as Quasimodo with Saint Aphrodisius, Musical Production of Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Michael Arden as Quasimodo with Saint Aphrodisius, Musical Production of Hunchback of Notre Dame

We’ll have to see how the regional shows choice to address the style.  Maybe one production can solve the show issues because it would be great for this story to get the Broadway recognition.

Also I know it was selling point but the Gargoyle did not beat the chorus. I’m sorry it didn’t work. You can have them  but having extra try to be characters didn’t really work at all. At least make three of more interesting compelling characters. You don’t have to call them gargoyles. It just made the show seem amateurish to extras doing everything.

 

Ciara Renee and Micheal Arden in the Jolla Production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Ciara Renee and Micheal Arden in the Jolla Production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame

I thought the point of the musical performance at La Jolla and Papermill was a Broadway preview there is a petition for a Broadway version.

Sign the Petition Here , I did.

EDIT – Ok, I found the reason for the petition.  According to an article on Playbill that cited Patrick Page a.k.a Frollo, the show was NOT going to be transferred to Broadway hence the petition. Read article here.

Also I just watched a video of  Someday, got say I wish they had kept the song going up till Esmeralda goes to the pyre, it was just so powerful in Glockner but maybe they didn’t want to wait the epic music.

Esmeralda dancing Der Glöckner von Notre Dame Picture Image

Esmeralda Dancing Der Glöckner von Notre Dame

Auditions have started for the Broadway version of the German musical version of the Disney movie version of Hunchback of Notre Dame……. (blinks) yay!

Alright so what types are they looking for?

Quasimodo has to be a strong tenor but dextrous and flexible.

Frollo is an old Baritone with a rich register. I too want rich register ^_~.

Esmeralda has to “ooze with sexuality.” Sigh, she’ll probably have a red costume to match her secreting sexuality. I just hate overly sexy Esmeraldas, hate hate hate. They seem to want the actresses to sing contemporary pop theatre. That could annoying.

Clopin and Phoebus are both tenors though Clopin is high tenor.

Curious, there is no mention of the Gargoyles. I wonder if they will be like the German version or the Disney version. OR in this version at all? WE can dream can’t we, though they were not as bad in the German version.

I must despite my jabs, I’m very happy that this is coming to Broadway. Maybe I will get to see it ^^.

Read more; http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Auditions-Announced-for-HUNCHBACK-OF-NOTRE-DAME-Stage-Adaptation-Developmental-Lab-20131025 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1gzM9SO9yU

 

 

 

Alan Menken picture image

Alan Menken

Last week I wrote about how with the announcement of the Aladdin Broadway show we shouldn’t except the Hunchback musical anytime soon. However while that is true don’t loss hope that it will never happen. According to an article on Broadway.com there is a line that Alan Menken is also eyeing bringing and The Hunchback of Notre Dame to Broadway.”  This line is at the very end of the article but it shows that Menken is still on board with making the Hunchback musical happen, so maybe it will the show after Aladdin closes.

There is also another article on Broadway.com, that says that Journalist Michael Riedel  reports  The Hunchback Musical “could be back moving forward as well. ”  So we’ll see

But in the mean time you can see a play version of the Hunchback at the Actors Youth Theatre in Glibert Arizona in May.

You can read more here;

http://www.broadway.com/buzz/166837/aladdin-composer-alan-menken-working-on-two-new-musical-projects/

http://broadwayworld.com/article/POLL-Which-Animated-Movie-Musical-Should-Disney-Bring-to-Broadway-Next-20130111#

http://www.azcentral.com/community/gilbert/articles/20130103actors-youth-theatre-moving-gilbert.html?nclick_check=1

Aladdin the musical  picture image

Aladdin the musical

It has been announced that Aladdin will hit Broadway Spring of 2014 after a run in Toronto. This isn’t the first time Aladdin has had the Live Musical treatment as it has a show in the parks and in Seattle.

 

Adam Jacobs as Aladdin and Courtney Reed as Jasmine, Seattle Production picture image

Adam Jacobs as Aladdin and Courtney Reed as Jasmine, Seattle Production

But what does this announcement mean for the Hunchback and it coming to Broadway? This mean don’t except the show anytime before 2015. I for my part am disappointed that this mean a Broadway show of the Hunchback will be delayed even more but I’m not surprise that they would go for Aladdin over Hunchback. Aladdin was the more successful movie that spawned two additional movies, a TV series and in general made more money for the company. Plus an Aladdin production is more geared to the over-the-top spectacle that Broadway and Disney both love. Hunchback not so much. It’s spectacle comes from the sets and not so much the costume or the choreography.

Esmeralda & Quasimodo Der Glöckner von Notre Dame picture image

Esmeralda & Quasimodo Der Glöckner von Notre Dame

I do hope that someday the show will come to Broadway after all it was very success in Germany so it’s not that far-fetched that they it could do well in New York.

Der Glockner von notre Dame German Musical of Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Der Glockner von notre Dame German Musical of Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

I think Der Glöckner von Notre Dame did a great job of using the Disney film as a basis for a play while at  the same time trying to make fit the tone of the book. I do like they tried to recognize the book even if some of the plot points really didn’t work as well as they could have.

 

Esmeralda & Quasimodo Der Glöckner von Notre Dame picture image

Esmeralda & Quasimodo Der Glöckner von Notre Dame

It does feel like it’s own story which is hard to do when your a side-product of a Disney film but it’s enjoyable. It’s not perfect but I find myself liking it more than the Disney movie.

Judy Weiss as Esmeralda with Frollo (Norbert Lamla) Der Glöckner von Notre Dame picture images

Judy Weiss as Esmeralda with Frollo (Norbert Lamla) Der Glöckner von Notre Dame

Before I end my main discussion on Der Glöckner von Notre Dame I just want to mention the upcoming American version, There have been rumors that Der Glöckner von Notre Dame is getting an American version.  Der Glöckner von Notre Dame/Disney Version lyricist Stephen Schwartz has said that the production is more or less in the works. However these rumors have been circulating for a while. But Hopefully it will get done. I for one hope they don’t revert  the musical version to the Disney film. Der Glöckner von Notre Dame has more character development than the film and I like the tragic ending. It makes things more interesting. I do hope they give them better costumes but I hope the stage craft is in the same vein. However the one thing I hope for is that they singer don’t sound to “Broadway” you know that belt-nasal style of singing that you hear a lot in musical theater in American productions. I can’t stand that style. Anyway I think the earliest you can accept to see the show would the 2013-2014 season. If I hear anything regarding the much anticipated American version I’ll be sure to post it.  Though come to thick of it, there actually already was an American Hunchback of Notre Dame Stage show based on the Disney film.

Next Time – A Single Post on the Disney Park Stage Show (Sheepish yay)

Esmeralda from the Stage Show of Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame at MGM Studios picture image

Esmeralda from the Stage Show of Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame at MGM Studios

Der Glöckner von Notre Dame picture image

Der Glöckner von Notre Dame

Der Glöckner von Notre Dame is a German musical based on the Disney version. It premiered in Berlin in 1999 and it’s music and lyrics were written by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz respectfully. This was the first musical Disney produced that premiered in another country and it was one of Germany’s longest running musicals, it ran for 3 years.

 

What makes the musical great is that it does a great job of mitigating between the Disney version and the original book. The characters are more fleshed out and the childish tone is taken away even with the gargoyles (yup they’re in the musical too).

 

Both Menken and Schwartz have confirmed that there will be Broadway version of Der Glöckner von Notre Dame and it will be called The Hunchback of Notre Dame even though Der Glöckner von Notre Dame doesn’t mean “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” it means “The Bell-ringer of Notre Dame” but whatever, I’m sure it’s a marketing thing. This talk of an American version has been in the works since 2008, so don’t get excited till some casting has been announced. Other question is how much are they going to revamp for the American version. I hope they don’t change the ending.

 

Broadway version of Beauty and the Beast picture image

Broadway version of Beauty and the Beast

Broadway version of The Little Mermaid picture image

Broadway version of The Little Mermaid

Broadway version of The Lion King image picture

Broadway version of The Lion King

 

 

 

 

 

 

With American version on Broadway it will follow in the other Disney musicals like; Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Aladdin; Mary Poppins and the upcoming The Jungle Book and Dumbo.

 

Disclaimer- I just wanted to say that for this review keep a few things in mind, #1 I don’t speak German (I can read translations but translation are not always great) and #2 since there is no official performance recording (at least that I know of), pictures will be minimal. I’ll try to find some but can’t promises lots of pictures in every post I do on Der Glöckner von Notre Dame.

 

Next Time- Plot

Frollo and Quasimodo Der Glöckner von Notre Dame  picture image

Frollo and Quasimodo Der Glöckner von Notre Dame