MURRAY — One of the thrilling parts of reviewing and patronizing community theatre is the community nature of it all. Seeing everyone gather together to make the best show they can will never get old. Such was my experience at Murray Arts latest production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. While nothing is perfect, it was incredible to see a group spare no expense and be so ambitious.
Show closes July 27, 2024.
Hunchback is of course based on the 1996 Disney animated film which was in turn based on the Victor Hugo novel first published in 1831. At the time of the film’s release, it was a big gamble for Disney as its dark themes and characters flew in the face of the squeaky clean image of the brand. This is why it has gained a bit of a cult following over the years, and in 2014 we got the musical adaptation for the stage (it has not had a Broadway run, but had a trial in 2015.) The music is by Disney veteran Alan Menken with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by James Lapine and Peter Parnell.
As they were adapting the movie to a musical they sanded off some of the weaker, more kid-friendly elements and in my opinion made it much stronger than the movie- something that rarely happens in these screen to stage adaptations for Disney. Frollo is given better motivation and his backstory is expanded on. The gargoyles are made way less grating and the “gypsies” (a culturally inappropriate term, that is, however, used in the script) are more sympathetic and easier to root for.
The most impressive part of Hunchback at Murray Arts is the incredible orchestra and choir they have assembled. It’s a joy to watch conductor Nate Holcomb as he directs the musicians. They are all so talented and seeing him dynamically conduct the various songs was so much fun. I don’t know when I’ve seen a local community production have a full orchestra and 30 person choir. That was just amazing and added so much to the experience as songs like “Hellfire” and “Heaven’s Light” are meant to have big booming choral accompaniments.
Another outstanding element at Murray Arts are the sets by Dwight Western and costumes by Tammy Wilson. The background stays consistent throughout the show with large stained glass for Notre Dame and then stained glass to the left and right. The set had 2 stories which were used throughout for the action to take place and 4 giant bells that looked so real I sincerely thought they might be when I first saw them. The costumes were very interesting with Quasimodo having a patchwork design to his outfit and Esmeralda starting with a beautiful multi-colored dress with long sleeves and then transitioning to a purple more traditional looking dress for the character with the coin sash around her waist. The ensemble all had period-appropriate costumes down to the shoes and women with braided hair and when they were playing the gargoyles they had gray collars they put on to show they were of stone.
Speaking of the ensemble it is large and another strength of the production at Murray. Co-directors Candy Tippetts and Alan LaFleur have gotten the best out of their entire cast. Whenever any of them are given a line to sing they are as strong as any of the lead cast, if not stronger. This made my favorite numbers the large ensemble ones such as “Topsy Turvy” and “The Court of Miracles.” They are also required to freeze their positions as the gargoyles for long periods, and that was amazing to watch.
Maybe it is the large scale of everything else, but all of the leads felt relatively small and diminutive in their performance, which is an interesting take on these characters. Particularly Mia Crutch as Esmeralda. She seemed shy and nervous as the character which I found quite endearing and sweet. It made it easy for her to have chemistry with Patrick O’Boyle’s Quasimodo, who is also a character that is very unassuming and introverted. James Dixon grew into the role of Phoebus as the night went on until I really bought him standing up to Frollo and refusing to burn the “gypsy” hideout. Layne Willden as Frollo has a very nice baritone, but he could work on getting a little more expression in his performance. It was a little one-note but well sung.
One of the sacrifices that must be made when having a live orchestra is that the microphoning of the actors is not going to be perfect. There were definitely moments where the orchestra overpowered the singers but it was usually remedied quite quickly. Also there was a strange problem with the program particularly in Act II it didn’t match the songs being sung. For example, it had “A Guy Like You” listed which is only in the animated film and then it didn’t have “Kyrie Eleison” or “The Court of Miracles” listed to name a few. This particularly made it confusing for my Dad who is unfamiliar with the animated film and doesn’t know this adaptation like I do. It also had some songs out of order like having “Someday” as the final number after “Made of Stone” which is not the case. It was strange and I hope they can fix that.
Other than those small complaints, The Hunchback of Notre Dame at Murray Arts was a tremendous community event that deserves to find sold out audiences each night. Head out to Murray with your family now through July 27th. You won’t regret it!
