Der Glockner Von Notre Dame Cast Recording

It's amazing. It's one of my favorite cast recordings. Yes, I don't understand alot of the songs that weren't in the film, but they really do make the story more rounded out and complete. James Lapine completely re-wrote the book, so it's not the schmaltzy kiddie show that the movie was (kinda)! My favorite song is Wie Aus Stien. It's really gorgeous, as well as pretty much all of the other songs on this recording.

My fav. songs are the act 1 closer "Esmiralda" (sp) and "Dance on a wire" (trans), and Made of Stone (which for some reason, because of where it is and the kind of song and somewhat the structure, reminds me of No Good Deed from Wicked

and yes i dont understand a word, but i found the translations online somewhere once and it helped

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Actually the recording is great! As the score was a work in progress and developed over a 3 month rehearsal process, the score was written around the voices of that cast. The musical director/vocal arranger and composer, Michael Kosarin and Alan Menken like to write high notes. So for the ensemble, for example, the tenors were at the top of their ranges popping out C's and D's left and right, the baritones at the top of theirs, etc. And of course the Quasi part was written around Drew Sarich's amazing voice. The challenge for the cast was doing a show like that, SINGING a show like that 8 times a week with the blocking which had a lot of fighting. Nothing was canned. It was not just a matter of standing there singing. It was singing a Menken score the way it should be sung. That is why they had difficulty getting the necessary people in the beginning. And yeah, the show should have come to B'way...but that is another story :)

It was said that the Disney execs didnt feel that the US audience was ready for such a darker version of the story. (whatever)

but can you imagine a 6 year old going to see it and h ow they would react when Esmiralda dies and Wuasi kills Frollo? I would love to see that.

all that aside, the Set was amazing, it should come over eventually i hope, but would beed a large stage area like Gershwin or Minskoff.

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capn you lucky dog.......I collect german cast recordings....that is a steal!

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There were a variety of reasons for the show not coming to B'way ranging from financial, artistic and timing among others.

What was supposed to happen was that the show was to come to B'way....Drew Sarich would have been the huge star he should have been.......audiences would have seen a great score and Disney's darkest...and all would live happily ever after.

What HAPPENED was Aida opened to less that great reviews......Disney stock had gone down due to a lawsuit they lost to a partner at the time...there was some talk about some artistic choices and..the higher ups were not sure how to market the show (There was some talk of it NOT being called "Disney's" The Hunchback of Notre Dame because it had been SOOOO darkened by James Lapine that audiences expecting the wit and humor and fun of the movie would be sad/confused to see the production that was in Berlin. Instead it possilby could have come in under the "Hyperion" banner, like Aida. Then it could have been dark dark dark, with Esmi dying, and Quasi causing the death of Frollo...which went like this for those interested:

Frollo is dangling from the Cathedral after having a fight with Quasi, who has lost control because Esmi has died.
As he is danggling, Frollo asks Quasi, " You do not want to hurt me do you!?!?!?!!"
And the Jason Alenxander gargoyle says...."OH-YES-YOU-DO!!!!!!"
Quasi than says (under swelling music): "You have been a very good teacher Master Frollo..A VERY GOOD TEEEAAACCHHER"....and cuts the fabric with a knife that he
is holding in his other hand...thereby causing Frollo to drop) DARK!!!
It was clear that the show was not really a family show in the sense of the other Disney shows. However, it would have been the first "dark" show that Disney would have put up....
Anyway, there has been talk for years, of a crappy TV version that combines the movie with the Berlin production......and I KID YOU NOT, in this version......there is talk of Quasi...discovering that Esmi is his sister.
I think we are in agreement..they should have just brought the show to New York.
There has been a version of it in South Korea. But there is no talk now of the show coming to Broadway anytime soon.

It was such a good show and the castrecording is top of the pack. I hated how they butchered it for the US versions at paper mill and la jolla. Every change they made to the book and score made the show worse. The direction and design was also very low budget compared to the german version, which was epic.

I can’t listen to the us cast recording. But the german one is gold. There’s an instrumental version floating around, which is gorgeous, and also sheet music for the rehearsal piano.

Insane music. Alan menkens best!