The Hunchback of Notre Dame at Paper Mill- Page 2

[Bilbo3]

Posted: 3/6/15 at 8:49am

What are you talking about? Who said it wasn't okay if people liked La Jolla? My question to Nate was not being snarky. Calm yourself.

[ILuv2shop531]

Posted: 3/6/15 at 8:59am

Have a friend that works at Papermill that ushered first preview that said: "HOLY MOTHER OF GOD was it incredible! The level of talent coming from everyone involved was simply impeccable. Seriously, people, as soon as reviews come out this show will sell out so fast. Buy your tickets while you still can!"

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 3/6/15 at 9:46am

Bilbo, in this thread, when someone said they loved it, you ask if they're in the cast/crew. So, it gives out that impression.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 3/6/15 at 10:10am

I am looking forward to seeing it...
For the 1,000th time, I will say it again, I still have absolutely no idea why people find Ciara Renee at all appealing onstage. Perhaps this will change that, though I highly doubt.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/6/15 at 10:45am

Ciara Renee is a beautiful woman with an amazing singing voice. She looked a little too contemporary (make-up wise) in LaJolla and I think there are other Actresses who might be better in this. But I can see why (straight) men like her. She's one solid woman!

[dfrillsnedit]

Posted: 3/6/15 at 10:49am

Seeing tonight's performance! Shall review :)

[Bilbo3]

Posted: 3/6/15 at 10:59am

"Bilbo, in this thread, when someone said they loved it, you ask if they're in the cast/crew. So, it gives out that impression."

I asked because I'm pretty sure Nate is part of crew. It was a genuine question. And for the record, Nate didn't say he loved it, he said he was excited to see it. My comment was not intended to be seen as putting him down. You are right, I didn't like the La Jolla show, but that doesn't mean I won't like the Paper Mill show. Sorry if my question came off rude, that was not the goal.

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 3/6/15 at 11:09am

Everything is okay. I'm sorry for upsetting you

[Bilbo3]

Posted: 3/6/15 at 11:19am

Just a misunderstanding. We're all good. :)

[mamaleh]

Posted: 3/6/15 at 12:14pm

I guess I'm in the minority on this one. For me, it was too earnest for its own good. Arden is fine, yes; as is Andrew Samonsky as Phoebus. But Patrick Page stole the show, and I'm not sure that's a good thing in terms of balance and focus. I think 15 minutes could easily be cut in the first act; the story simply takes too long to get going. Also--and this was my first hearing of the score--many of the songs had a certain sameness to them. I found myself remembering only "The Bells of Notre Dame," "Sanctuary," and some of "Hellfire," largely because the last was performed by Page. I'm willing to give it another listen, however. As of now, for me, the best part of the evening, aside from the fine performances, is the magnificent set, complete with ringing bells and clappers--just majestic.

[Nateben2]

Posted: 3/6/15 at 1:01pm

Bilbo is right, I had worked on the show in La Jolla - interested in getting out to NJ to see it . . .

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 3/6/15 at 2:40pm

For me, it was too earnest for its own good. [...] I think 15 minutes could easily be cut in the first act; the story simply takes too long to get going.

Problems the German version did not have. Just sayin'.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/6/15 at 3:11pm

Going tonight! Student rush whoot whoot!

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/6/15 at 3:23pm

The first few mins of the show are exposition, they have to be, the background of the story is important, it went by very quickly and certainly did not "ruin" the piece by any means. Once Arden hits the stage it's smooth sailing all the way. The German production must have had a lot of problems or they wouldn't believe they had to completely re-write it. I'm a big Fan of the show and I am glad the East Coast will have the pleasure to see it. Page is terrific but I've seen him in this kind of performance before. Arden is creating something new and unexplored, He creates a character of depth and sympathy and one that lingers after the curtain comes down. (There is/ or was no curtain).

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 3/6/15 at 4:56pm

The German production must have had a lot of problems or they wouldn't believe they had to completely re-write it.

This needs a little context.

About this much should do.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/6/15 at 5:15pm

There is no context since that writer didn't even see the show in LaJolla. I know a lot of people Love the German (or the recording) but the creators decided that was not the production they wanted to represent the material here. You have to let that dead horse stay dead. The Germans lost the war. It's ok to have an opinion of the show but praising the German production is getting tired, It's gone, fini, kaput.

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 3/6/15 at 11:39pm

*SPOILERS*

From Tumblr:

No new song (unique from the La Jolla run). Sorry guys, looks like the press conference report received some misinformation. Biggest difference is that it appears that the reprise of Rest and Recreation has indeed been cut.
All the narration is still present, but it hasn’t bothered anyone, so they might have moderated it a bit.
Ending with the contorted bodies and make-up is the same.
Michael Arden still gives Quasimodo the speech impediment and still implements some of that into his singing.
All the characters that died in the La Jolla production still die here.
Lava curtain still present.
St. Aphrodisius still does the headless magic trick in Flight Into Egypt.
Slow motion is still implemented.
Prop Frollo is still dropped from above for Frollo’s demise.
Scenes with the ensemble carrying the actors, such as Quasimodo’s swing from the cathedral, are still being staged the some way.
The choreography seems to have changed/improved.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/7/15 at 12:16am

Saw the show tonight. For those interested I rushed it by calling and reserving a ticket. Great seat.

I hate to be that guy but I didn't really like it. And this is one of my favorite Disney musicals. I just think the whole thing has been ill conceived from the get go. The director says he wants it to come off as if this chorus is telling us a story, and it does, but that's the problem. We never get to live with the characters and discover as they do. It's all very third person narration, which kills a show (Catch Me If You Can?). Having characters say "And then I grabbed him" and then grab him is just boring to watch and listen to. I hated that. The book in general is weak. We get no sense of any of the characters except for Page, which might have to do with his incredible character work. He's solid. His "Hell Fire" is a highlight solely because of him.

The direction throughout the piece is just uninspired. There's no Disney magic or spark. When the Gypsies disappear through a cloud of smoke we can see them exiting the stage before the smoke even goes off. There's no magic. Hell Fire is literally Page center stage with a red light. Really? There's no fire illuminating the walls like in the movie, there's nothing. Just some colored lights. The platform the director used for everything was rickety and uneven. He tried to go for that "poor theater" look where you use the same two props for everything a la Peter and the Starcatcher, but it doesn't work for this. The music is too grand and the vocals are too grand (backed by a badass choir). The staging needs to be magical and grand. It's a grand story and this sense it came off so tiny and ho-hum. Too many things happened that didn't make sense. Stairs would roll out and then someone would climb them halfway only to then have them roll off. During the death scene something fell from the rafters, which was intended to happen, but there was no light no focus given to it so it felt like a mistake.

The vocals are STRONG. Everyone was in excellent voice and everyone sounded great.

Arden is fine. He didn't light up the stage as I was hoping, but I don't think it's his fault at all. Again, the director has him doing this Elephant-man type voice defect because apparently he can't speak properly. But he did in the movie? So when he sings "Out There" instead of singing it as a hopeful ballad it's now sung with random outbursts of noise and weird sounds. And because of the problematic book, you never get a sense of the Hunchback. You never get to know him or see the real him. He comes off as this retarded half-deaf guy who talks kind of like Gollum. It's bizarre. I wish they would just let him speak normally. I think it would make his character come across better. And he does let the defect down in certain songs - mostly in Act 2. But I was disappointed by Out There. He sang/shouted most of it and the staging was bizarre. He ran around half the time, and the director reused the same ending twice for Out There and the end of Act 1.

Page, as others have said, really stands out. Which is problematic as he's not the title character or even the central love story. But instead we get a ton of stage time with him. And his song is by far the highlight of the show, and kind of how I think the act should end. To me his character came off the best because he had true conflict. He was fighting against something and he had a clear objective. He was hampered by some terrible stage business though, like singing while walking backwards down a trap door. Dumb.

Renee was pretty bland as Esmerelda. She just didn't have any spark. Vocally she was a powerhouse. Beautiful voice. Just kind of lackluster in the acting. She was wooden. Her first big number didn't light the place up like it should. It just kind of happened. I couldn't understand why all these guys were falling all over themselves for her. Again maybe it's the direction, but just some of her choices were bizarre. Like she's on the stake about to be burned and she does this weird laugh giggle into a I'm-trying-to-cry. Weird. And the stage combat was BEYOND awful. It was so slow that you could see what was happening and how they weren't making contact. It was soooo not exciting to watch. And kind of laughable.

Salmonsky barely registers. He's fine. But he's not asked to do much or anything outside of his Wheelhouse. He has the most comedic bits but none of them landed.

The chorus as the garygoyles worked really well in Made of Stone - one of my favorite songs - but overall they got annoying. I hated that I'm going to deliver a line so I'll do a big sweeping cross downstage thing. It felt like overblown children's theater, which I don't think they were going for. And someone else mentioned it on the way out, but there's no humor in the whole thing. There's not one funny person in the show. No humor. The guy playing Clopin (sp?) was so lame. He didn't steal the scenes, he didn't take focus, he was just up there. He should have been this ring leader and honestly if they're doing narration they should have had him be the narrator and having the actors performing it on the Day of Fools or whatever and used that as a framing device.

The music is the true star here. And the orchestra mixed with the choir is awesome. I got chills at the beginning and end and in Hell Fire. When they're used they're really awesome. And some of the new stuff I really enjoyed and found catchy.

The book is terrible. Needs a whole overhaul. There's just no excitement and no magic. Why anyone would pay $120 to see this on Broadway is beyond me (if it ends up there).

The sets pretty, but that's all there was. I thought it would move around and do stuff, but it's just all there is. They drag on some fencing and platform every 2 seconds, but the bells look cool. I just wish they could open it up somehow. I wanted to see the city and stuff. It felt very stuffy and small for such a grand story. I wish it had had windows or something so you could see the view or something. He was singing Out There and how he wanted to join them, and we never get to see them. Or when they go to the Gypsy lair and it's basically a sheet. Huh? That's all you could come up with? Lame.

[Bilbo3]

Posted: 3/7/15 at 5:56am

Yeah they are going for some innovative small passion play thing. Obviously that angle is not working. I agree with everything you said, that's exactly how I felt when I saw it at La Jolla. Hunchback is a grand show, the music is too epic and big to be put into a small little cube. The Grand music with the tiny play just doesn't work. I've said it from the beginning, if you are going to do Hunchback, it has to be a moderately big show. The film is gigantic and beautiful to look at and it really could translate beautifully onstage, but the direction just isn't there. I cringed when you said children's theatre because that is exactly what this show reminds me of. Maybe this just isn't the right time for Hunchback on Broadway. I'll be interested to hear the professional reviews.

Updated On: 3/7/15 at 05:56 AM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/7/15 at 7:03am

Such diverse reactions! I really love Arden, and have been so anxious to see him on Broadway. However, the things ripped man said about the show are things I, too, would hate. Bummer.

[ethan231h]

Posted: 3/7/15 at 7:09am

I found that with Ciara, she was just ok in the beginning of her run with Pippin and then in the summer I saw her again in it and she blew the roof of the theatre acting and singing wise. So since she hasn't been doing the show for about 2 1/2 months maybe she jus needs a little time.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 3/7/15 at 8:00am

Those of you who have unkind comments about the book, might you be interested in reading the German version and offering an opinion? (Granted, reading it is not the same as seeing it, but I'd just like to see what you think of that book compared to this.)

[Auggie27]

Posted: 3/7/15 at 8:01am

So "Out There" has been altered to make it less power ballad/I Want? Too bad, since the story needs that early show-stopping access to the title character. We need something simple, direct; a way into this tortured person in traditional musical theater terms. That was a highlight of the film, the song's simplicity contrasted with the visual and context. But it's not surprising that Page is stealing the thunder; in the animated film the character almost walks away with the story. It's a problem in the piece, as constructed, with no easy fix.

[SharoninB]

Posted: 3/7/15 at 8:06am

I think it is too small for Broadway.

[JayG 2]

Posted: 3/7/15 at 8:09am

Unfortunately, I would have to agree with virtually everything rippedman said about Hunchback. But the set, impressive as it is when first seen, does not work at all. I never got the feeling I was high above the Paris Streets. Maybe a backdriop or something to suggest the streets below or a second level. to suggest some kind of height might work.

The narration is annoying and redundant. Almost everything someone tells us is then performed. Also, taking those robes on and off all night was kind of ridiculous and unnecessary.

Sorry, but in its present state, it is just not ready for prime time. However, it sure has the potential to be a terrific show, but it needs a stronger hand to guide it in a more exciting, imaginative direction.