Alan Menken Interview - HUNCHBACK CONFIRMED! — Page 3

The show should have a Beauty meets LesMis meets Phantom feeling.

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Beauty is Disney's Phantom, IMO.

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Patina Miller for Esmeralda!!!! Christopher Fitzgerald for The Hunchback!!!!

Totally just my two cents:

This should be a Hyperion show, not unlike Aida. The Lapine book should be retained, with the only serious changes being new sets and costumes, reinstating "The Court of Miracles" (the instrumental ballet "Gypsy Dance" being more of a trope of German productions), and Quasimodo as "looks aren't everything Quasi" rather than "mentally challenged Quasi," possibly requiring some reinsertion of film dialogue to help it.

The casting suggestions I'm seeing are fantastic. If they followed even a few of those and handled the show like I'm suggesting, they would easily have their next Beauty and the Beast.

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Ramin as Quasimodo.

Ramin, yes!

I wonder what they are imagining for the role of Clopin? Obvs in the movie he's a jester-type, but in the German musical he was a tattered leper (which looked really cool, actually.)

Also, even though she may be a little too old for the part....Mandy Gonzalez for Esmeralda.

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One of the problems.....one of many........one of the problems when deciding if the Berlin production was going to transfer was in fact how to market it. Does it come in under the Hyperion Banner or does it come in under the Disney banner. The problem was that if the production came in without the Disney name on it, many might not know that it was the version based on the Disney movie. IF it came in under the Disney banner in the form it was in in Berlin with it's very dark mood, no humor and having the female lead die at the end, many parents who brought their children might not be so happy happy. Theater people would have loved it for it's darkness (and of course the music), but families, maybe not.

Drew Sarich is a beast on stage (said as a compliment). When he did the show in Berlin he was 23. By the time the show opens on Broadway, he will be pushing 40. Could he do it, sure. He is currently playing Rocky and has a young sounding voice. So, he would be a great choice.

Made of Stone (the Quasi breakdown number in act 2) was written for Drew (which meant all actors who played the part would have to sing it in the original key). To be able to do that AND be physically fit enough to do the role will not be easy for any actor as, unlike Valjean or Phantom or most roles, the actor is hunched over or on his knees or in some unnatural position that makes breathing/singing much more of a challenge.

The Berlin score was written around the voices of the original cast (both the principals and the ensemble). Michael Kosarin, who does the vocal arrangements of most Alan Menken scores likes to place all the vocal ranges at the very top of their ranges (for example all the tenors had to have strong C's, and a couple high D's.). Finding voices that can do that with the blocking and 8 times a week is not easy, but possible.

One of the casting problems in Germany was actors who were considered to understudy principals could sing the songs for the roles they were considered to understudy but could NOT sing the ensemble music they would have to learn and so were not cast.

That grand mega-musical style is definitely what they need to shoot for.

Frollo: Brian Stokes
Quasi: Jeremy Jordan
Esmeralda: Lea Michele
Clopin: Billy Porter

Anika Noni Rose for Esmerelda?

They are not going to lower any of Quasimodo's music. He will be a tenor. Pheobus will be a bari-tenor or baritone and Frollo will be a baritone or bass.

However, the ending of Made of Stone MIGHT be reworked, because the way it ended in Berlin, it did not bring the house down or anything like that. As it ends with, I believe a high C that starts very quiet and is supposed to grow grow to a mix/full with the help of the sound board but with the orchestration that is had, it did not have the punch perhaps needed. It is a cool song but perhaps, they will end it on a B flat full voice. Just a guess. What the hell do I know.

The female lead should have her own song, which she did not have in
Berlin. Some kind of song like It's All the Same from Man of La Mancha or something along those lines that gives the character a bit more heft.

Also, I think she will be Latino rather than black.

"Joking"?"

Not really, I think she should at least be Latino, like Tsao mentioned. It would be kind of odd if they were to cast a white Esmeralda.