Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The bombastic international hit musical spectacle NOTRE DAME DE PARIS makes its long-awaited New York premiere

• By drediman
• July 19, 2022
• No Comments

Last week the 1998 French musical Notre Dame de Paris made its long-awaited New York premiere at the David H. Koch Theater (appropriately on Bastille Day). It’s not my first exposure to the piece, however. I had seen the international hit production in London more than two decades ago (when I was studying there), and it’s that same production that arrives here. As its title suggests, the piece is based on the famous novel by Victor Hugo — just like that other musical theatrical behemoth, Les Misérables – about a hunchback who falls in love with Esmeralda, a much besought gypsy who dances the streets of Paris within close proximity of the iconic cathedral of the work’s title. In theme, the show’s creators make it a point to empathize with society’s shunned outcasts, namely the stigmatized, the disabled, and immigrants/refugees.

It’s important to note that the work by Frenchmen Luc Plamondon and Richard Cocciante is more pageant and elaborately staged concert than your typical “proper” musical. If you accept it as such, then there’s actually much to enjoy about the spectacle. The emotive pop rock score has spawned some potentially recognizable songs (subsequently sung by the likes of Celine Dion and Josh Groban), a number of them placing rather high on the French pop charts. Beware, songs like “Vivre”, “Belle”, and “Le temps des cathédrales” have a way of naggingly sticking with you. Thankfully, the current production at the Koch is sung in its original French version (with English titles on both sides of the stage), which emphasizes passion and diffuses the banality of some of the lyrics. In construction, Notre Dame de Paris resembles musicals such as Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, and Les Misérables – episodic, sung-through British mega-musicals that put a premium on operatic feeling via big production numbers over nuanced character development.

The production remains as bombastic as I remember it, for better or worse. Dance is centrally featured in the staging, driving the story forward as much as the score; the acrobatic and breakdance choreography comes courtesy of Martino Müller and wouldn’t be amiss in a Cirque du Soleil show. The expansive yet simple set design by Christian Rätz is functional and fits nicely on the Koch’s large stage, and Gilles Maheu’s direction fills the vast playing area with movement and color. No doubt, the primary players bring passion and big yet distinctive vocals to their performances, notably Angelo Del Vecchio’s Quasimodo, Daniel Lavoie’s Frollo (the singing actor has astonishingly been with the production since the beginning), Hiba Tawaji’s Esmerelda, and Jay’s Clopin.

RECOMMENDED

NOTRE DAME DE PARIS
Musical, Tour
David H. Koch Theater
2 hours, 30 minutes (with one intermission)
Through July 24