HUNCHBACK La Jolla Previews- Page 2

[gleek4114]

Posted: 10/27/14 at 9:47pm

If anyone who is going could get me an extra program, I would be happy to pay for shipping! PM me if you could help me out! Thanks!

[gleek4114]

Posted: 10/28/14 at 10:15pm

Just re-watched the movie. I forgot how much I love it! Is streaming on Netflix if anyone else wants to revisit it.

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 10/28/14 at 10:42pm

Descriptive summary of the show:

http://enseeseven.tumblr.com/post/101223168017/hunchback-musical-spoilers

SPOILERS:

And I'm very disappointed with Someday just with Esmerelda and Pheobus. The Ensemble always gave me chills! And the St. APHRODISIUS scene sounds very weird and out-of-place like the toy song in Mary Poppins.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 1:49am

A huge shout out to the wonderful box office staff, when i booked the wrong date they changed the ticket over without fuss, can't wait seeing it Friday 21st November.

[Wicked Fanatic]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 4:31am

I was there tonight for the 2nd preview. The lady who spoke before the show said that there were many new changes that had been made for this evening's performance including a new song, but since I didn't see the 1st preview and it looked like the song list in my program hadn't changed I have no idea which was the new song.

The big news was that Michael Arden was NOT on as Quasimodo. Instead we had a male swing, Julian Decker who was very young. He's a 2014 graduate of the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and only has four professional listings for shows at The Muny. That being said he was good, but I'll admit I was very disappointed that Michael was not on this evening.

Don't know whether it's true, but the man next to me who was friends with someone in the ensemble said that Michael Arden would not be doing shows on Tuesdays because of conflicts with filming of "Anger Management". Just know I'll stay away from going on a Tuesday just in case this is true.

The cast was very good:
For me Patrick Page was the star of this show and his Frollo was on stage much more than Quasimodo.
I wasn't a fan of Andrew Samonsky when I saw him in South Pacific at the Lincoln Center, but I really enjoyed him in his role as Captain Phoebus de Martin.
I have never seen Clara Rene until tonight and she was superb as Esmerelda. As someone else said earlier she was born to play Esmerelda. She had great chemistry with Andrew Samonsky and hopefully it's the same with Michael Arden. I really loved her "God Help the Outcasts" and "The Tavern Song (Thai Mol Piyas)".
Erik Liberman was very good as Clopin Trouillerfou.
The Choral Ensemble: SACRA/PROFANA were superb. It was fun to watch them before the show begin walking two by two with music folders onto the stage and then put on their robes and sit in the choral pews in the Notre Dame Cathedral.

The set is the biggest thing I've ever seen them do at La Jolla Playhouse. Notre Dame is perfect just how I remember it when I visited dark and gloomy and fits the mood of this musical. The Bells of Notre Dame which opens the show was incredible and when they lowered them to chime it was a WOW moment from me and the audience.

There is absolutely no humor in this musical until the 2nd act when Saint Aphrodisius appears in "Flight Into Egypt". The audience loved it and that song got some of the biggest applause in the show.

I liked the use of people as the gargoyles and for me it worked although no humor with them as I guess there was in the movie which I've never seen.

Can't believe how many Wicked musical orchestrations there were in songs. One of them and don't know which one it was could have been right out of "No One Mourns the Wicked". I thought Menken wrote all the music but Stephen Schwartz must be writing some too because there were many Schwartz like Wicked touches in the orchestrations.

Another negative for me was some lyrics were right out of Wicked such as "No Deeds Goes Unpunished" in reference to Frollo. It needs to go.

The death scene and I won't say who was really BaaD. Someone earlier said at their show there wasn't a dry eye in the house. At mine I saw no one crying and I was laughing to myself during that scene; that scene needs to be reworked.

The powers to be in the show: Stephen Schwartz with his brown briefcase that I've seen him carry before; Alan Menken and the book writer, Peter Parnall were in the row right in front of me to my right.

For a show that has only had two performances it's in really good shape and it can only get better. I'm looking forward to seeing it near the end of the run to see what changes they'll make and hopefully to see Michael Arden.

The list of songs from the performance that I saw played by a 13 piece orchestra were:

ACT ONE:
The Bells of Notre Dame (Clopin, Frollo, Jehan, Father Dupin, Congregation)
Sanctuary (Frollo, Quasimodo)
Out There (Quasimodo)
Topsy Turvy (Clopin, Cognregation)
[Rest and Recreation (Phoebus, Frollo)]
[Rhythm of the Tambourine (Esmeralda, Frollo, Phoebus, Quasimodo)]
God Help the Outcasts (Esmeralda, Congregation)
Top of the World (Esmeralda, Quasimodo, Congregation)
The Tavern Song (Thai Mol Piyas) (Gypsies, Esmeralda, Frollo)
Heaven's Light (Quasimodo)
Hellfire (Frollo, Congregation)
Esmeralda (Act One Finale) (Company)

ACT TWO
Entr'acte (Choir)
Flight into Egypt (Saint Aphrodisius, Qusasimodo, Congregation)
Rest and Recreation (Reprise) (Phoebus, Quasimodo, Congregation)
The Court of Miracles (Clopin, Gypsies)
In a Place of Miracles (Phoebus, Esmeralda, Quasimodo, Clopin, Gypsies)
Someday (Esmeralda, Phoebus)
Made of Stone (Quasimodo, Congregation)
Finale Ultimo (Company)




Updated On: 10/29/14 at 04:31 AM

[Sapsorrow]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 8:03am

The lyric is "the wicked shall not go unpunish-ed," and it was in the show waaaaaay back in the 1999 German production, which majorly pre-dates "Wicked". It's pretty integral to the pay-off at the end, so it's probably not going anywhere.

[ShakinBaconGirl]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 8:14am

I hate to say it, but I'm really not liking most of what I am hearing from these reports. This one is my biggest red flag:

"First introduction of Quasimodo has Arden coming out on stage like a normal actor. He is then given a pillow for his hunch and then contorts his face."

Ugh. We already have a minimalist passion play on Broadway. It's Pippin.

[darquegk]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 10:01am

I am disappointed to see that Clopin is no longer the omniscient and threatening narrator from the film and Berlin, but merely another minor character now.

[grumpyoptimist]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 11:24am

I don't like doing spoilers, but both portions have been discussed here, so WTH. This was a very effective part for me, and one of the show's most redeeming features. It's an arc from this scene to the closing scene where everyone on stage does something similar (without the pillow). The underlying theme is that underneath appearances we are all people with unique redeeming qualities. For me it was a "There but for the grace of God, go I" moment...we all have traits and qualities that could be mocked and ridiculed, some of them are just more outward than others.

>>I hate to say it, but I'm really not liking most of what I am hearing from these reports. This one is my biggest red flag:

"First introduction of Quasimodo has Arden coming out on stage like a normal actor. He is then given a pillow for his hunch and then contorts his face."

Ugh. We already have a minimalist passion play on Broadway. It's Pippin.<<

[Sapsorrow]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 3:28pm

If anyone's interested, I just posted a big ol' blog entry over at Wordpress detailing all the things I felt worked and didn't work at the first preview Sunday night: https://goo.gl

My overall feeling? It's a beautiful production, and has the potential to be a near-perfect piece of theatre with various tweaks between now and Paper Mill (and, I assume, eventually Broadway).

[bwayobsessed]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 4:22pm

Sapsorrow your link doesnt bring me to your review

[lambchop2]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 5:06pm

Re: Someday now being a duet in the Playbill, according to someone that saw the show

http://koouffs.tumblr.com/post/101239266889/enseeseven-koouffs-hunchback-of-notre-dame

"Also Someday does come back with the ensemble/choir toward the end. It’s just not listed in the musical numbers"

[Sapsorrow]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 5:21pm

Whoops! Try this: veritiesandbalderdash.wordpress.com

[ShakinBaconGirl]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 5:39pm

"This was a very effective part for me, and one of the show's most redeeming features. It's an arc from this scene to the closing scene where everyone on stage does something similar (without the pillow)."

I get that. But to me, it's just stating what we already know by doing the whole pillow thing. The theme of this show is pretty glaring to the audience, and this is the type of show that can easily fall into the trap of beating your audience over the head with the whole "Appearance isn't important" theme. But I haven't seen the show, so maybe it looks good onstage.

[ShakinBaconGirl]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 5:44pm

""Also Someday does come back with the ensemble/choir toward the end. It’s just not listed in the musical numbers"

Well now I am confused. I have been speaking with a person in the choir and they have told me that SOMEDAY is just a duet. Hmmm

[lambchop2]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 6:18pm

"Well now I am confused. I have been speaking with a person in the choir and they have told me that SOMEDAY is just a duet. Hmmm"

Interesting! The tumblr review is from the opening preview night AFAIK. Did the person in the choir say that it was just a duet before it opened? Or after?

Although now that I think about it, I wonder if maybe "Also Someday does come back with the ensemble/choir toward the end" means that Someday is used in the Finale Ultimo with the choir and not in the "real" number?

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 6:33pm

the choir does not sing Someday when they do the duet... we do sing it during the finale

[grumpyoptimist]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 10:06pm

"I get that. But to me, it's just stating what we already know by doing the whole pillow thing. The theme of this show is pretty glaring to the audience, and this is the type of show that can easily fall into the trap of beating your audience over the head with the whole "Appearance isn't important" theme. But I haven't seen the show, so maybe it looks good onstage."

I'm more referring to the make-up smear than the pillow, but applicable to both; to me, the audience wasn't beaten over the head with it in this specific production and, because of that, it was very effective for me (and my guest). I have other issues with Arden, but since I know I'm seeing it again in mid-Nov after opening I'll save those observations till I see whether it was first preview issues or how the portrayal is going to be done.

[RW3]

Posted: 10/29/14 at 10:25pm

I live on the east coast and does someone mind posting the cast list please?

[Wicked Fanatic]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 1:01am

Here's the La Jolla cast RW...

CAST PRINCIPALS:
Erik Liberman (Clopin Trouillefou
Patrick Page (Don Claudio Frollo)
Lucas Coleman (Jehan Frollo)
Samantha Massell (Florika)
William Michals (Father Dupin
Michael Arden (Quasimodo)
Andrew Samonsky (Captain Phoebus de Martin)
Ian Patrick Gibb (Lieutenant Frederic Charlus)
Ciara Renee (Esmeralda)
Richard Ruiz (King Louis XI)
Beth Kirkpatrick (Madam)
Neal Mayer (Saint Aphrodisius)

THE CONGREGATION:
Lucas Coleman, Ian Patrick Gibb, William Thomas Hodgson, Beth Kirkpatrick, Samantha Massell, Neal Mayer, Nora Menken, William Michals, Anise Ritchie, Vincent Rodgriguez III, Richard Ruiz, Brian Smolin

CHORAL ENSEMBLE: SACRA/PROFANA

[RW3]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 1:05am

^Thank you! It makes me angry that I won't be able to see the La Jolla production. Hopefully, all will stay involved for the Papermill production in the spring.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 1:29am

I hate that whole idea of the actor "becoming" the character. It's just so...college. Like we did that for Our Town. I've seen it done numerous times. It's not a new concept. I hope they drop that.

[darquegk]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 7:12am

Clopin isn't even listed as a principal anymore?

[Nateben2]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 12:08pm

Clopin is listed as the first principal.

[darquegk]

Posted: 10/30/14 at 1:00pm

Hmm... Was that an edit? Could have sworn I didn't see his name listed before.