THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME Having Its New England Premiere at Maine's Ogunquit Playhouse

With music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and book by James Lapine, the stage version of Disney's 1996 animated musical THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, based on Victor Hugo's 1831 novel, premiered in Berlin. The 1999 production, performed in German, enjoyed a three-year run.

The musical's English language debut came in 2013 at The King's Academy Christian college-preparatory school in West Palm Beach and Clewiston, Florida; a production made in collaboration with Walt Disney Executive Studios to help evaluate the material.

With a new book by Peter Parnell, which embraced the darker, gothic mood of Hugo's source, an October 2014 La Jolla production moved to New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse in March of 2015, and while many assumed a Broadway run would be in the works, it never came to pass.

Music Theatre International has now begun licensing THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME for regional productions, although general release is not expected until 2017.

Those who are anxious to take in the love story of the beautiful gypsy girl Esmeralda, the scorned bell-ringer Quasimodo and the dashing Captain Phoebus, can now head to Maine's Ogunquit Playhouse, where the musical's New England premiere begins performances July 13th and runs through August 6th

Director Shaun Kerrison's cast contains many Broadway veterans. F. Michael Haynie (WICKED, HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME) will play the distraught Quasimodo, with Sydney Morton (MEMPHIS, EVITA, MOTOWN, AMERICAN PSYCHO) as Esmeralda.

Christopher Johnstone returns to the Ogunquit as Captain Phoebus after playing Lt. Cable in The Playhouse's award-winning production of South Pacific (Best Actor nominee Broadway World). Bradley Dean (A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, THE LAST SHIP, COMPANY) joins the cast as Claude Frollo and Paolo Montalban, most recognized as the Prince in the ABC television production of CINDERELLA, plays Clopin.

For ticket information, visit ogunquitplayhouse.org or call the Ogunquit Playhouse Box Office at 207-646-5511.

Melbourne, Florida's Henegar Center For the Arts will be mounting THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME in a production that runs from March 10th-26th, 2017. Visit henegar.org.

The video features scenes from the La Jolla/Paper Mill production of THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, starring Michael Arden, Patrick Page, Ciara Renée, Andrew Samonsky and Erik Liberman.