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Recently I saw the touring cast of Hadestown. I went into the show blind which I wouldn’t recommend for myself again. I didn’t love the show as I was watching but after ruminating on it and listening to the songs again I’ve come around and I do very much enjoy the show and would defiantly see it again. Also the touring cast was amazing.

Now just because I like it doesn’t mean that Hadestown and Hunchback musicals (The Disney version/Notre Dame de Paris mainly) have much do with each other outside of being musicals and that I like them. However they’re a few similarities and parallels, more than I thought, and some are quite shallow while others are deeper. 

Also both shows revolve around religious iconography.

Spoilers for the shows. 

An Actor 

Patrick Page as Hades, Hadestown; Patrick Page as Frollo, Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame musical
Patrick Page as Hades & Frollo

The biggest connection between the Hadestown and a Hunchback musical is Patrick Page. Page originated both Frollo in the American version of the Disney musical at La Jolla and PaperMills Playhouse and Hades in Hadestown in both the workshops and in the original Broadway cast.

First he feared the Hellfire and then he become lord of it. 

A Song  

Amber Gray as Persephone, Hadestown; Helene Segara as Esmeralda, Notre Dame de Paris
Amber Gray as Persephone & Helene Segara as Esmeralda

This is more is similarity. The second act of Hadestown opens with a song called “Our Lady of the Underground” which in truth is just a reminder because “Our Lady’ and “Notre Dame” have the same meaning and to have lyrics using  “Our Lady” in a musical is a direct route in my mind for a connection. 

HOWEVER there is an actual “Our Lady of the Underground” Notre Dame de Sous-Terre, it is a statue at Chartres. So it might be less of Notre Dame thing and more of the connection to that but on that pesky other hand, Anaïs Mitchell was inspired by Les Misérables and wouldn’t you know it, Victor Hugo wrote both Les Misérables and Hunchback of Notre Dame. So maybe it’s not a shallow connection after all.

Both shows also more or less exist because of Les Misérables. One exists in its shadow in North America and the other reveals in its shade, guess which one is which.  

A Costume 

The Green Costume a worn by Helene Segara & Lola Ponce as Esmeralda, Notre Dame de Paris; Amber Gray as Persephone, Hadestown musical
Esmeralda & Persephone’s Green Costume

Not that Esmeralda has monopoly on green costumes that use velvet and lace but if I see a green musical costume that uses those fabric I’m going to think of the original version of Esmeralda’s green dress & the Italian version of the green dress. 

This is more of a reminder though an actual connection. Also in BOTH cases both green costumes are the act one costume and the Act 2 costume is more subdue and reflects the characters’ circumstances. For Esmeralda it is her being a prisoner and for Persephone it’s being in the Underworld/Hadestown as well as a strain of her marriage which is also messing everything up. Both characters are “trapped” so to speak.

Again this isn’t not a strong connection either, characters get costumes changes that reflect their mood/plot all the time but it’s at a “hmm that’s sort of interesting” similarity.

Swinging Set Pieces

Performer during Les Cloches, Notre Dame de Paris; A worker during Wait for me, Hadestown
Performer during Les Cloches & A worker during Wait for Me

Impressive set pieces in musicals is nothing new, it’s part of medium which adds spectacle and draws the audience into the experience.

Hadestown and Notre Dame de Paris both have swinging elements. Both are conical swinging metal pieces however I do think Hadestown does this better.  In Notre Dame de Paris during “Les Cloches” there are three swinging bells over the stage that goes from side to side over the stage and are raised and lowered with a performer hanging from each them. This all done over the stage. It’s interesting and impressive but since it just exists over the stage space it doesn’t allow for the audience to participate, it’s spectacle.

In Hadestown during “Wait for Me,” as Orpheus goes into the underworld there are swinging lights that extend out across the stage over the audience, stage size and positing willing. There is some about shining lights into the audience from the stage that is intriguing. The swinging lights are very evocative especially since “Wait for Me” is one of the stand out songs of the show.     

A Tragic Heroine 

Eva Noblezada as Eurydice, Hadestown; Helene Segara as Esmeralda. Notre Dame de Paris
Eva Noblezada as Eurydice & Helene Segara as Esmeralda

One to one, Esmeralda and Eurydice are very different in personality and temperament. However both ladies are worldly in that they have traveled widely without  being able to lay down roots. For Eurydice she is lonely, hungry and homeless and goes from place to place to eke some kind of existence till she meets and marries Orpheus. Esmeralda is a traveler and she goes around Europe with her group led by Clopin until they reach Paris, hoping for that asylum.

In either case both ladies meet a tragic end. In Esmeralda’s case her death is more concrete and Eurydice’s is more debated. Did she die in the storm or the snake like the myth? What was the deal she made with Hades?  All in all it doesn’t matter as the optics are both ladies meet a tragic end and the one who loves them the most follows them into the afterlife. 

Also both ladies are likened to birds, Eurydice to a songbird and Esmeralda, in Notre Dame de Paris, to  a swallow.  

Also as a side tangent, in the original myth Eurydice dances through a meadow and Esmeralda is a dancer. 

A Bard 

Reeve Carney as Orpheus, Hadestown; Bruno Pelletier as Gringoire, Notre Dame de Paris
Reeve Carney as Orpheus & Bruno Pelletier as Gringoire

Both Gringoire and Orpheus are poets. Orpheus is more of singer-songwriter but Hades does refers to him as a poet in “Hey, Little Songbird.” They are both poor and both marry the tragic heroine though Esmeralda does not love him. 

Social Messages 

The Workers, Hadestown; Jay as Clopin, Les Sans Papiers, Notre Dame de Paris, World Tour Cast
The Workers & Jay as Clopin

As the story has evolved from the original book, Hunchback narratives tends to lean heavily toward social commentary. Many themes can be employed but the big one is social inequality for marginalized peoples. Notre Dame de Paris leaned into issues of its day with asylum seekers seeking “sanctuary” which is a part of the original story. 

Hadestown also takes into account social issues into the narrative as well. The show also goes for the blight marginalized poor peoples who are very much exploited by the powerful, in this case literal Gods, as well as Global warming. One thing that is addressed a lot is that seasons are all wrong because of the Gods. Orpheus could be seen as tiring to fix the climate by fixing Hades and Persephone’s marriage as well as saving Eurydice who was taken to Hadestown because she was caught in a storm.    

Thirteen Years

Garou as Quasimodo, Daniel Lavoie as Frollo, & Patrick Fiori as Phoebus, Belle, Notre Dame de Paris; Reeve Carney as Orpheus, Wait for me, Hadestown performed at the Tony Awards
Belle, Notre Dame de Paris & Wait for me, Hadestown

It took Anaïs Mitchell thirteen years to develop Hadestown from initial conception to the show opening on Broadway in 2019. Richard Cocciante had Belle as a melody thirteen years prior to the Notre Dame de Paris’ premier in Paris. I think I misunderstood the special that stated this information and wrongly thought the show was in development for thirteen years but from the subtitles it was more like five with just melody of existing thirteen years prior the show’s premier.   

The Cruel Hand of the Fates

Jewelle Blackman, Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer, Kay Trinidad as The Fates, Hadestowm; "Anarkia" on a wall, Notre Dame de Paris
Jewelle Blackman, Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer, & Kay Trinidad as The Fates & “Anarkia” on a wall

In Greek Mythology The Fates are three sisters: Clotho (the Spinner), Lachesis (the Allotter), and Atropos (the Inevitable). They are also called Moirai, personification of destiny.   

In Hadestown the Fates are a greek chorus who are symbolize conscience, doubt and anxiety. They also hyper-fixate on Eurydice. They are antagonize her and defiantly seem to delight in her suffering. They also plague Orpheus at the climax with the song “Doubt Comes In” as the lovers walk out the underworld.  These three ladies are very much personified  intrusive thoughts. 

The Fates in Hadestown act more like concept of Ananke which is a conceptual force in The Hunchback of Notre Dame  however the connection is deeper. Ananke, in Orphic tradition,* is a Goddess and the mother of the Fates. She is the personification of inevitability, compulsion and necessity. Her Roman named is Necessitas. 

So it does seem that the Fates in Hadestown act more like Ananke but “The Fates” are more accessible to a general audience plus the all harmonies they sings are sublime.  

Then there is Notre Dame de Paris. As previously stated Ananke is a big aspect in the novel. It is the word that inspired  Frollo and why Esmeralda didn’t fight back when Frollo dragged to the gibbet at the end of the novel for his final crazed ultimatum. 

Notre Dame de Paris has two songs that apply to Ananke and Fate. One is called “Anarkia,” which is a short song that fills in some plot points. Basically “Anarkia” which is just written on a wall, like in the novel, Gringoire asks what the word means and Frollo exclaims it means “Fatality.” Which comes from the latin “fatalis” which means “decreed by fate,” so technically correct. Weird fact: the English version changes the word to “Anarchy” and Frollo says it means “Destiny” which is just wrong.  

The second song involving the subject fate closes Act I and is aptly named “Fatalité.”  It’s a very dramatic yet simple song that boils down to the point that fate/destiny doesn’t care if you’re a noble or a peasant; all life is her hands. Fate is said to be the “Mistress of our destinies” so it does harkens back to greek mythology. 

Despite Ananke being an omnipotent atmospheric force in novel it’s relegated to only two songs and that is more than it gets in most other versions.              

I do think that it would interesting to have a Notre Dame stage musical that leans into the concept of Ananke as a character, as in a combination of The Fates and Death from the Roméo + Juliet musical.

A River

Hadestown's poster; DeYoung's Hunchback of Notre Dame Musical Poster
Hadestown’s poster & DeYoung’s Hunchback Musical Poster

And finally Dennis DeYoung, a founding member of Styx, wrote a Hunchback musical. Styx is the river of the underworld which is a in Hadestown. (perhaps this should be the next version for review)    

I suppose there could be more connections and similarities between the musicals but that’s all for now.

*or Orphism, named for Orpheus

Esmeralda from Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image
Esmeralda from Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame

I have been obsessed lately with Jenny Nicholson’s video on Pandora- The World of Avatar at Disney World’s Animal Kingdom. Also she drops a Hunchback reference, so if you haven’t seen that video, go see it. I have seen it multiple times and it’s and it’s like an hour long and I have no attention span.

In Jenny’s video she talks about the history of Animal Kingdom and how there was supposed to a medieval fantasy section called Beastly Kingdom as the concept of the park was explore animals of the present, past and myth but they ran out of money and went for the Dinosaur part. Long story short, after Disney lost out on Harry Potter to Universal, the management of Disney went for another cultural significant movie franchise experience that was insanely immersive, so they went with Avatar, not the Airbender one, the Dances with Wolves in space.

Unlike Harry Potter or Star Wars, the buzz and staying power of Avatar haven’t held up over time so it’s odd that Disney just went for this concept but the land looks really cool and does speak to the fantasy element and conservation angle. But it also of speaks to Disney’s influencing power. It maybe a generalization but kids haven’t seen the movie, it was rated PG-13, came out nearly a decade ago and is really only good in an imax setting but Disney went for it and kids can now adopt Banshee puppets for $65 dollars a pop, $90 if you include the perch. FYI I think the Banshee puppets are cute.

It really fascinates me that Disney pushed so hard on this project and yet a lot of their own properties get ignored within the parks, like Hunchback. So I have been on a slight deep drive into Disney parks, learning what I can about them, mostly via Youtube videos since I have no plans as right now to go to any of the parks.

First let’s talk about the Characters, the Face characters, though I guess Frollo and Quasimodo are not technically Face Characters but all I mean is characters that you meet. The Question is can you even see/meet/greet any of Hunchback Characters at any of the Disney parks worldwide?

According to  Fill my Passport, you can but not a Disney Land or Disney World. This information is a bit old as it’s from 2017.

According to Fill my Passport Quasimodo makes extremely  rare appearance at Disneyland Paris. Esmeralda can often see at Tokyo Disney and once in a while at Disneyland Paris. Frollo can be see at Halloween at Tokyo Disney. He used at appear at Disney USA parks during Halloween but not so much now. Clopin can be see at Disneyland Paris. And Phoebus doesn’t show up anymore. Fill my Passport as talks about other rare Disney characters in the Disney park so do check out that blog.

However videos from a year ago show a rare meet and greet with Esmeralda and Clopin. It seemed to have occurred at DVC Moonlight Magic Special Event during after hours in the Magic Kingdom, in early 2018.


Here is a meet and greet with Phoebus from 3 years ago at the France pavilion at Epcot.

Hunchback characters meet and greets seem to be extremely rare these days so if you see a hunchback character walking around try to see them, if you like that experience.

Tony Caunter as Clopin 1977 Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Tony Caunter as Clopin

There is a Clopin in this version and he is very forgettable. Sure, he does all the things Book Clopin does as the leader of the Court of Miracles but there is nothing intense or charming about him that makes him stand out.

He just a guy who shouts all his lines. Maybe this is the fault of the book as Clopin doesn’t have much of a role but the whole King of Slang made his at least interesting.


I’m still on the Star Wars actor casting, maybe next time I’ll do an anti-one, like an all Gungun casting, shudders.  

 

Mark Hamill picture image

Mark Hamill

 

As far as the different versions take on the role of Clopin they portray him in one of two ways, he’s either leader of Gypsies or leader of the beggars and thieves. Basically Clopin is combination of three characters from Book but MOSTLY he’s still the character of Clopin because that character just has more to do than the Duke of Egypt and the the other guy, whose name I have completely forgotten but know that he does have a name and there are three leaders of The Court of Miracles.  

 

Mark Hamill picture image

Mark Hamill

 

So as I was thinking about the Star Wars casting I really wanted to get my head out of the Sequel Trilogy even though I love it, yes I liked The Last Jedi, and then I thought of Mark Hamill and it was BOOM, he be so great as Clopin. It’s a dream casting that I never knew I always wanted.   

   

Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Star Wars The Force Awakens picture image

Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Star Wars The Force Awakens

 

Hamill is most well known for his role as Luke Skywalker, really don’t I even need to say that  but he has had a long career and has been a very prominent voice actor including being consider one of the best Jokers ever. He was also in Castle in the Sky as a Villain. If you do know any about Hamill it’s that he loves to troll, in a jovial sense, and has  great sense of humor. I could really see Hamill playing Clopin with a delightful dark humor which is there but I think he could only improve of it.  

 

Mark Hamill picture image

Mark Hamill

This casting just so perfect that even if just vocal performance it would still be awesome but Mark Hamill would still kill it as live action role.

But what do you think? Would mark Hamill make a good Clopin?

I put a lot of thought into the pronouns for the subject line however there isn’t much to say on the characters’ characterizations, so we’re combining them into one post. 

Ye Gringoire

Esmeralda & Gringoire, La Esmeralda, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow picture image

Esmeralda & Gringoire, La Esmeralda, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow

As Phoebus is Esmeralda’s primary  romances focus there isn’t that much for Gringoire to do especially in the second act. Gringoire does marry Esmeralda, tries REALLY hard to seduce her  and helps out with her act. Basically he is her friend. He does seem to be a writer as evident but him holding paper in his first number.  

One thing that confuses me and I’m sorry if I didn’t mention it before, Esmeralda marries Gringoire BEFORE meeting Phoebus. This means her rejecting  him is  less about being a naive girl who thinks she was in love with handsome soldier and is more about that she just isn’t into him. I don’t know but it seems less dramatic if you ask me, which no one did.

Back to Gringoire. His character seems to air on the side of comic relief. His numbers are light and almost fun. Esmeralda rebuffing him and indicating he would be hanged if he didn’t do as he was told were cute. Though he does try to something to Esmeralda when she was sleeping which is creepy, though he did do creepy things in the book, like spy on her through a keyhole so it’s not out of character but why would you have that but mess-up the order of the story.  There are some weird decisions in this ballet.

He does seem like a good friend to Esmeralda. He tries and comforts her when she learns about Fleur de Lys and he gives her two hugs in the second act. Once right before the first execution attempt and a second right before she actually executed. Since there is no attack on Notre Dame to save her hugs are all he really does and maybe that is enough to show he cares.       

 

Il Clopin

Clopin, La Esmeralda, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow picture image

Clopin, La Esmeralda, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow

Clopin is definitely there. Since he looks like a pirate I would say that he is a leader of Court of Miracle- Leader of the Thieves and not the Duke of Egypt- Leader of the Romani. So many version combine the two characters and yet I’m pretty sure there was a third guy in that leader mix.  Yet the text is confusing because it makes it seem like Clopin has all these titles, like Daenerys Targaryen, so reading the book I got confused and felt like an idiot that I would even think that Clopin wasn’t the Duke of Egypt   but yes Clopin and the Duke are separate characters and there is a third guy, the Emperor of Galilee. Duke’s given name is Mathias Hungadi Spicali and the Emperor’s name is Gulillaume Rousseau. I do recall the duke being in the 1950’s version and the Jetlag version but no version has had a the Emperor of Galilee for good reason he is fat drunk who doesn’t do anything that I can recall.

Anyway back to this Ballet’s version of Clopin, I assume that is what they call him  but I can’t read cyrillic so I don’t really know.  While he doesn’t lead the attack on Notre Dame he does care for Esmeralda as evident by a hug he gives her in the second act.

He does try to hang Gringoire, which a one of Clopin’s tasks and oddly like the Disney movie he hosts the Pope of Fools crowning. Not much to him but he seems like a jovial guy in an eyepatch.

 

De Fleur de Lys   

 

Fleur de Lys & Phoebus, La Esmeralda, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow picture image

Fleur de Lys & Phoebus, La Esmeralda, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow

Fleur de Lys is a justifiable bitch, like in the 1956 version, I’m starting to see a little bit of a pattern. She loves Phoebus but her gives his love away to another girl. This metaphor is made clear by the scarf Fleur gives Phoebus which he gives to Esmeralda.
Unlike some other versions of Fleur, this version of her doesn’t help bring Esmeralda down or revel in her death. She is just sad and angry  about Phoebus loving someone else but she does take him back without question and marries him. She is boring in this version and that is about it.  

With  the new production in Paris of Notre Dame de Paris there has been updates to the costumes. These changes range from fairly minor to a near complete overall, though still in the spirit of the original designs. This also marks the first time the costumes have really been altered aside from minor variations in Esmeralda’s and Fleur-de-Lys’ costumes and of course the Italian version. So let’s start with Esmeralda’s main costume in the 2016/2017 production.     

 

Helene Segara as Esmeralda Notre Dame de Paris

Helene Segara as Esmeralda from Notre Dame de Paris

It seems like the evolution of the costume has some full-circle in some ways. As you had the first generation of the green dress, which if you recall was made from a patterned velvet that was sewn to give it a patchworked look and sported asymmetrical sleeves. The caveat with costume is it didn’t move to showcase Esmeralda as a dancer. Though to be fair, the original production didn’t have Esmeralda dancing as much as subsequent versions.

Lola Ponce as Esmeralda Notre Dame de Paris picture image

Lola Ponce as Esmeralda Notre Dame de Paris

Italian version has been the only version to really deviate from the original style. The Italian version uses a lighter fabric and the pattern is made from lace though it it keeps the patchwork like pattern. The silhouette was the same of the original.  

 

Hiba Tawaji as Esmeralda 2016/2017 Notre Dame de Paris picture image

Hiba Tawaji as Esmeralda

Now in 2016, the production seems to have gotten the movement memo and has created an Esmeralda costume that has the basic elements of the original and the movement of the Italian version but it’s all together very different.

Just a bit of background, I first saw this dress at like 2am one night after a few too many weird videos on youtube (more on that next week) and my powers of critical thinking were out. I had no idea how to feel about this new design and to be honest I still don’t. Parts of it I like and other parts I’m confused by.

To be clear this dress is lovely to watch. It’s prettier in motion and I do applaud the production the innovation in changing things up. I for one was getting tired of the newer versions of the costume, with the higher hems and less embellishments.  They just didn’t look visually pleasing.

Hiba Tawaji as Esmeralda & Jay as Clopin 2016/2017 Notre Dame de Paris picture image

Hiba Tawaji as Esmeralda & Jay as Clopin

Ok, so the actual dress, there is A LOT going on with this costume. First it does hit all the basic components of the original with the color, neckline, basic silhouette, sleeves and slit. Thank you for getting the slit right, looks way better on an actual seam. Honestly, I’m not sure what the first you notice about this costume is  but for me it was the pattern or lack of one. They just nixed the pattern or any attempt at mimicking one. There is a little ombre as it’s a darker green on the bodice and a lighter green on the bottom. The patchwork pattern is now done with seams along the bodice and speaking of these seams they do an interesting asymmetrical overlay over one breast. This fabric overlay starts over the breast on one side goes around the back and ends under the breast on the other side of the bodice. This overlay is where a lot of the costume’s movement comes from and where the sparkly embellishments live. Instead of having sequins or beads sewn on the dress this version has them  in the overlay. I can’t really tell if it’s an insert or a lining. It also matches very closely do it’s harder to see. There also COULD be some sparkle elements on the dress itself but it hard to really tell. There is also ANOTHER overlay at the seam at her waist. 

But wait, there is more. All the edges of the costume are very much ragged. This is of course done on purpose to make Esmeralda look more like she lives on the streets. Most of the other versions did this element to an extent but the 2016/2017 version  has the edges look more frayed and distressed.   

Hiba Tawaji as Esmeralda 2016/2017 Notre Dame de Paris picture image

Hiba Tawaji as Esmeralda singing Vivre

Then there are the sleeves. There HAS to be two  different versions of the costume because one has shorter, more distressed sleeves and the other has longer less distressed sleeves. The shorter one reaches, at the longest, mid upper arm, just above the elbow. The shorter version also has three layer of fabric. The longer one reaches just past her elbows with no layering. Another theory is that the sleeves were hemmed after the preview of the show as in the picture Esmeralda shouldn’t be wearing the green dress during Vivre.

Hiba Tawaji as Esmeralda 2016/2017 Notre Dame de Paris picture image

Hiba Tawaji as Esmeralda

 

 That really should bring us to the  prisoner costume but I found so very little pictures of it so I will have to hold off on complaining about it but I what I can make out is it  seems to have an A-line silhouette and looks to made of a lacey burlap.  

 

Hiba Tawaji as Esmeralda 2016/2017 Notre Dame de Paris picture image

Hiba Tawaji as Esmeralda

I just find that bodice overlay really baffling from a design stand-point. It took me a while to figure it out and while in motion I understand it, in pictures it just looks weird and somewhat awkward. I guess it was a good compromise in adding movement while holding true to the original but it just a weird mix-bag for me. I don’t hate, I’m just not sure I like it. I really don’t know how to feel.

But what do you guys think of this costume? Like it? Hate it? No opinion? Like the disney costume better?

 

King Henry Other Burbank Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

King Henry

This King is based on the 1939 version of King Louis  but he is King Henry. My mind wants to do mental loops to make sense of it but the process isn’t worth it. Why did this version not set the story in 1482? Did they REALLY not even look at the book? Did they just guess the year but fact  check the monarch?   I mean they were off by 117 years! The Printing Press is not all that minding blowing at that point like it was in 1482 when the damn story was set and it wasn’t a huge thing in book. The 1939 version made it a big deal to cast a theme of modernity.

Anyway off on a tangent but that year thing is just so stupid. The King in this version named Henry and is really just Louis from the 1939 version. He like modern things, pretty girls and taking baths. There isn’t too much to him even though the animators and the screenwriter seem to like him more than the main characters.     

Padre Jean-Paul Other Burbank Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Padre Jean-Paul

Padre Jean-Paul is the good virtuous priest that is often seen in Hunchback versions that have a non-priest Frollo. Like in the 1939 version when Frollo confesses that Esmeralda is innocent and wants forgiveness, the Priest doesn’t give Frollo absolution till he admits Esmeralda’s innocence.  For some reason this version uses Spanish when addressing him. There is no reason for it and asking for logic is futile so whatever, just call him Padre even though he works in the most iconic Cathedral in France.

There is also a Judge and an Archdeacon person but they are authoritarian types who don’t matter but they get a stupid honorable mention.  

Clopin Other Burbank Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Clopin

Clopin does nothing in this version, if they hadn’t said his name no one would have known it was him   I have to mention him howver because just look at this guy. He looks like Disney’s Phoebus.  It’s uncanny.

The Juggler Other Burbank Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

The Juggler

This version spends a lot of animation on this nameless Juggler. At first thought that it was to pad out the run time with repeat animation but that is too logical. After watching this version a few times too many I figured it all out, the Juggler is behind it all. He is the Palpatine of this version. He is the one who cursed Quasimodo with his deformity and inability to use pronouns. He is the one who bewitched Frollo into being obsessed with Esmeralda. He the one who is behind people being mean to the Gypsy, sowing the seeds of hostility even though the King seems like he progressive type. And arguably the most evil thing he is behind are those fake French accents the character use. Surely this is the face of all evil.  

Djali and Clopin are great ideas to pair with an Esmeralda costume to make a couple costume duo.

Djali Costume options

For Djali there are two methods, one is get a white goat costume

or you can get a goat mask and pair it with is white clothing. I would suggest getting clothes made from fleece for the texture but you can use whatever you have in your closet.

However the most important thing to do to turn this costume from a boring goat to talented Djlai is cutting a hole in the ear of either the mask or costume and putting a gold earring though.

Clopin costume option

Disney’s Clopin is harder to buy items for given that his clothes are two tone but fear not you can get an approximation of this costume. You’ll need yellow pants or better yet leggings, a purple shirt, long or short sleeves though long is better. You’ll also need a yellow cape or shawl or poncho. If you’re the crafty type you can sew some bell to the hem. In addition you’ll need a few accessories, like a gold earring (see above,) a purple venetian mask, a hat, and black gloves. The hat is a little tricky as purple renaissance hats are not in a ready supply but I tried to give some options of hats that could work.

Pants

Cape

Mask

Hat

near shape of Clopin’s Hat with a feather

Jester hat with the right colors

Gloves

If you want a ready-made-costume, this one is close, just add a gold hoop earring, the mask, a hat and black gloves.


To get ready for Black Friday/Cyber Monday and Christmas the Hunchback characters are doing a secret santa.

Quasimodo picked Frollo and got him Opteka 650-2600mm High Definition Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras for Stalking Esmeralda better.

Esmeralda picked Clopin and got him Southpole Men’s Marled Full-Zip Hoodie Sweatshirt, so her can be fashionable and warm but it’s a shallow girt.

Frollo picked Fleur-de-Lys and got her a Selfie Stick, He doesn’t know her at all.

Ben Sherman Novelty Socks picture image

Ben Sherman Novelty Socks

Phoebus picked Quasimodo and got him Ben Sherman Novelty Socks, socks, not thoughtful at all.

Gringoire picked Master Florain and got him Plant Theatre Herb Garden Seed Kit , Gringoire thought he was being clever but I can’t see the deaf judge caring for it.

Clopin picked Sister Gudule and got her Zalman King’s Red Shoe Diaries Movie #15: Forbidden Zone, Clopin is being wicked with this one.

 

Outdoor Gargoyle statue picture image

Outdoor Gargoyle statue

Fleur-de-Lys picked Notre Dame de paris and got her Design Toscano Florentine Gargoyle Statue, Notre Dame could use a new cute statue.

Jean picked Djali and got her Caution Attack Goat Sign, gag gift

Sister Gudule picked Phoebus and got him 1 X Snowman Mug w/ Shovel Spoon – Christmas Decor, she know he liked a good drink but it’s super misguided

Djali picked Esmeralda and got her Quiddler, Djali likes words.

Notre Dame de Paris picked Gringoire and got him Une Nuit De Noel a Notre Dame De Paris CD, who wouldn’t ant a new Christmas CD

Master Florain picked Jean and got him Corkcicle Chillsner Beer Chiller, It’s useful but Jean won’t use it.

L’Attaque de Notre-Dame (Attack of Notre Dame)

L'Attaque de Notre-Dame Notre Dame de Paris picture image

L’Attaque de Notre-Dame Notre Dame de Paris

This songs just hits like a ton of bricks after Vivre. Maybe that was the point but like I have said half the songs in the show are bridge songs that lead into the next song. Maybe that was the point to lull the audience in with nice flow and then break it but it seems to me that songs or scenes were cut between Vivre and L’Attaque de Notre-Dame and that whistle line was proof enough of that.
However how is L’Attaque de Notre-Dame? As a song it’s has a cool melody, though it’s mostly Le Sans Papier with another melody overlay over.

The song has two parts the first part is mostly Clopin and Phoebus singing. Phoebus and Frollo attack Notre Dame to get the Court of Miracles out as both Frollo and Phoebus want Esmeralda dead because Frollo couldn’t get some and Phoebus wants some, (wink wink.) Frollo at the start has a part where is gives Phoesbus the right to break the right of sanctuary, because he can do that. Phoebus’s main part is line line about outing the outlaws while Clopin sings the chorus of Le Sans Papiers.

The first part ends when Clopin is beaten to death and before dying asks Esmeralda to take over The Court of Miracles. Esmeralda then takes over singing Le Sans Papiers and Gringoire sings some verses from La Sans Papiers. However Phoebus and crew win.

While the music is very powerful, there is a weird context issue. Considering how accurate this version is regarded, this part is one of the least faithful versions. I’m not saying it doesn’t work within the show but I must mention it.

-Frollo in the book makes up the rumor that sanctuary is being suspended for a day but in the musical he can just do it.
-In the book the Court of Miracles attacks Notre Dame to save Esmeralda and get riches but in musical they are the ones defending the Cathedral with Clopin leading the charge.
-In the book Quasimodo defends Notre Dame to protect Esmeralda from people he thinks want to harm her but in the musical Quasimodo is not in this number at all.

I think for me that is a big little misstep, Quasimodo who loves Notre Dame isn’t there to protect it. It works in the musical but it seems off. The whole of this scene feels off, it’s a cool number but it is rushed and odd.

Déportés (Deported)

Esmeralda about to be hung Helene Segara Notre Dame de Paris picture image

Esmeralda about to be hung

The bad guys win! Everyone who wants Esmeralda to die got their wish. In this song Phoebus passes the sentence on Esmeralda and the Court of Miracles. The Court are all deported and Esmeralda is dragged off to be hanged. Fleur-de-Lys and Phoesbus leave together happy with their scheme and Gringoire is powerless to help. This is the last we see of these characters in the show.

Frollo has moment of remorse but he is too far gone.

Déportés isn’t that much, just really two lines, exile and deported but Phoebus and the chorus sing the the lines with coldblooded authority that it’s crushing and chilling. It’s an effective number that gets you into a less than happy mood.

Mon Maitre, mon sauveur (My Master, My Savior)

Daniel Lavoie as Frollo and Garou as Quasimodo performing Mon Maitre, mon saver Notre Dame de Paris picture image

Daniel Lavoie as Frollo and Garou as Quasimodo performing Mon Maitre, mon sauveur

More death. As dawn breaks, Quasimodo begs Frollo to stop Esmeralda’s execution but Frollo reveals to Quasimodo that he organized the hanging. As Esmeralda dies Frollo laughs and Quasimodo pushes him to his death. In the show it’s down the stairs instead of off Notre Dame de Rock Climbing wall.

Mon maître, mon sauveur is a simple song without a lot of orchestration but that gives way for Frollo’s craziness to come through. There much to it except the deaths of Esmeralda and Frollo. Esmeralda is harnessed and lifted up so the sight of seeing her hanging lifeless in the air is disheartening. Frollo’s death is done with a silhouette falling down various stairs of Notre Dame. I’m going to guess it was done with doubles tumbling on cue and Lavoie appears out the bottom.

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