HUNCHBACK La Jolla Previews — Page 8

I really need to see this.

^^^
Actually both songs have been in the production since first preview.

The show looks amazing!

Both are about 50 seconds long, maybe that's why. I don't really know why they didn't mention them in the program.

End of act one, it's thrilling, at times breathtaking, heartbreaking and that's just the first act.

Act two needs a small amount of work, but in saying that it really was a heartbreaking night of theatre, the final twenty minutes is stunning.

People have said enough and reviewed it before , I am so glad I came from Australia for this, bravo to all involved

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Updated On: 11/22/14 at 12:31 AM

It really was amazing, if Disney do this right it should be a mega hit for them. Cant wait to see it again sometime in the near future.

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Having seen Hunchback twice at La Jolla, luckily I didn't feel that there was any problem with that scene. Very dramatic and emotional. I was actually able to hear everything that was going on at that point.

I do think there were certain places where the narration wasn't really necessary, but the show overall was electric and audience response was amazing.

I'm not so sure I was frustrated by it.
I think I was so emotionally moved by the play at that point that it sort of went by without much thought.
That is, if you're referencing what I think you're referencing.
If you're talking about the event that happens right after they carry him off, screaming….that rather dramatic little event…then I know what you mean.
A little startling perhaps the first time I saw it, but overall, it didn't bother me that much. Unnecessary maybe, as you knew what was happening to him, but not bothersome.

Updated On: 11/28/14 at 11:57 PM

Here's my unsolicited focus group feedback.

LOVED:

The book by Peter Parnell is great. The characters are fleshed out so much better than the Disney movie and the Berlin Version. It's thrilling to watch these cartoon personalities come to life as real humans through masterful writing and acting. Frollo's abusive relationship with Quasimodo is just stunning to watch, especially in the opening scene which blends seamlessly into him singing "the world is cruel, the world is wicked..." The new mini musical numbers exploring Frollo's shame of Quasimodo and the way he manipulates his love gave me goosebumps. Going into the show I was afraid Frollo had gone soft, but I'm happy to report that the genocidal maniac we know and love from the Disney movie is here and in full force, while at other times occupying the role of the animated version's kindly Archdeacon who welcomes Esmeralda to the church, only now he does it in the creepiest way possible. The fact that this new Frollo can be amusingly pathetic and naive at times while cold and calculating at others makes him even more unpredictable and scary in a way that reminded me of Breaking Bad's Walter White. Phoebus and Clopin are wonderful in their introductions, providing a Dionysian mirth and bawdy humor that lightens the dark mood while adding a layer of adult gray area at the same time (Rest and Recreation is now in a brothel and Topsy Turvy has some delightful air-humping by Clopin). Nearly every song was perfectly staged and executed. I nearly cried 4 or 5 times in the first hour of the show.

DIDN'T LOVE:

QUASIMODO:
The Disney character had a lot on his plate already with those physical deformities, and now he's mentally and linguistically deformed as well, making him more like he was in the book. It adds vulnerability to the character but detracts in other ways. For example, In previous Disney adaptations it was kind of shocking and disappointing to have Quasimodo lose the girl; in this adaptation Quasimodo's so far gone, it's kind of pitiful to watch him get his hopes up because he never had a chance to begin with. That in itself is not a problem though.

What bugs me is how Quasimodo's handicapped voice creeps into his singing. Michael Arden spends a lot of "Out There" flipping back and forth between his polished broadway singing voice and his crippled Quasimodo speaking voice. Lapsing in and out between singing and acting is practically a cliche of modern musical theater, but here it's taken to such absurd binary extremes it comes across like some Jekyll Hyde multiple personality shizo gimmick... Out There is a great song without gimmicks and that's all I wanted to hear.

Quasimodo's black streaked face worked from far away, but sitting up close it looks odd. The metatheatrical transformation sequences book-ending the show added nothing for me. It felt gimmicky and at odds with everything else. Quasimodo is already so dehumanized; now the show ends with his character reduced to a discarded piece of costume. Ouch. And the cryptic message I'm supposed to glean from the ensemble "hunchbacking" themselves at the end... I don't know, For a show that prides itself on simplicity and not pulling punches it seems like a more direct approach is needed here.

STAGING THE FINALE:
The set was described as static and minimal in what I read online. I couldn't disagree more. The scenery was able transform and transport me completely from scene to scene. The Court of miracles was anything but minimalist, with giant pieces of scenery and lighting that made it look like a big cartoony sewer from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (I loved it!). The scene where Quasimodo and Phoebus walk around a giant map with the big replica of Esmeralda's pendant was a bit goofy, but I understood that they wanted to give us some kind of visual rather than making the audience rely entirely on imagination... Which is why I cannot believe why they'd choose the finale of all scenes to force the audience to rely on their imagination to the point that someone unfamiliar with the story would have no idea what's going on.

They couldn't have Quasimodo descend on a rope for some reason, they had the music put on hold while the narrators describe him sliding down a bench and the ensemble creates a ridiculous human wall. Okay, it's an authentic medieval staging convention, cute, but it looks ridiculous and the play is already being staged on a modern Wagnerian template controlled by computers so what's all this talk about medieval staging and authenticity? Just have Quasimodo drop down on a rope.

And how hard would it be to show Phoebus breaking free? Instead the music gets put on hold so he can describe how Clopin freed him instead of just acting it out.

I can only wonder what people unfamiliar with the story are thinking when the soldiers chase after Quasimodo while Quasimodo stands directly behind dumping molten lead on the floor from his magic levitating pot (with music-pausing narration of course) followed by waterfall of hot lava that seemingly kills Quasimodo everybody on stage. I don't think it would've been that hard to have Quasimodo up in the balcony dumping that red fabric lead on the soldiers below.

Then Frollo falls to his death in the most preposterous way possible, perpendicular to gravity in the OPPOSITE direction of the ledge from which he is supposedly being thrown, while the ensemble carries him off like he just won the world series. Then Frollo falls a SECOND TIME in the proper direction of gravity, only this time Frollo is portrayed not by Patrick Paige but by a sack of potatoes in a white sheet (no, really). How easy would it have been to chuck Paige off a fake ledge that goes directly backstage? I don't know, but I wish they had.

ORCHESTRA:
Oh, you poor little tiny orchestra. When the songs are soft and intimate or dominated by the choir it's usually okay, but when the orchestra is really needed to sell a bombastic piece for solo voice (Made of Stone, the Finale, parts of Esmeralda) it falls terribly short. Reminds me of when they'd take the music from Star Wars and adapt it for the 16-bit Star Wars Nintendo game. Ouch. Too bad about those budget constraints. I wonder if some members from The UC San Diego Orchestra could've done it for course credit (they have the chops, I've seen them play in the pit for operas and it sounded much better then this). Hopefully it'll get beefed up for Broadway. If not, then at least the studio-recorded album.

THAI MOL PIYAS/FLIGHT INTO EGYPT
The Tavern scene really added nothing for me, it just removed the immediacy of Heaven's Light/Hellfire, which serves as a much more natural conclusion to that eventful day in which Esmeralda enters the lives of Quasimodo/Frollo.

Flight into Egypt = "A Guy Like You 2.0".

Anyway, I nearly cried at points and Parnell's script acted by the cast was sheer delight, so I loved it in spite of everything.

Updated On: 11/29/14 at 05:04 PM

It isn't specified exactly what the cause of her demise was, but when he rescues her she's fallen unconscious. They do exchange some words but she's very weak. I saw her death as simply being caused by smoke inhalation (?) or burns (possibly) that you don't see. You kind of use your own imagination as to what leads to her death. It isn't specified though. Some might have their own take on it, but that's my take on it.

sctrojan65, Thanks for your input. I interpreted that she died of smoke inhalation. Anyway, like you said, it is all up to your own interpretation.

I agree Sctrojan, all those little facial expressions were magnificent. I remember those nuances in Esmeralda's final moment of defiance. I also liked how she leaned in towards Frollo as if she were about to kiss him and then spit in his face. Not to mention the tears in Frollo's eyes as he sentenced her to death. What an amazing cast.

Agreed, owen.