Review: DISNEY'S THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME at Ronacher Theater

The Bells of Notre Dame are chiming in the Heart of Vienna!

Disney's THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, based on Victor Hugo's novel, directed by Scott Schwartz, is this year's second grand opening from the Vereinigte Bühnen Wien after REBECCA. Another Opus Magnum for Austrias Musical Capitol.

THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME offers one of the best and most abundant Opening Numbers in Musical Theatre. The whole score emphasizes the talent both of Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz.

Disney is well known for family entertainment and family-friendly shows. Still, this Musical adaptation is much darker than the animated movie and not as Disney-Ish as many expect it to be.

Religious extremism, sexual repression, and persecution of others are still appallingly current, sinister, dark, and tragic topics. Too much for the youngest, but is it grown-up enough? That's where the entire journey gets complicated. The narrative is growing intense with too many loose ends, weighing heavy on your chest without any relief! The show's climax is losing bits and pieces when the music stops playing, and only the opulent score pursues the story forward. Peter Parnell's adaption from the novel is the Achilles heel in this opulent production.

Of course, there are gargoyles, but the ones from the movie are sorely missed, as well as their exhilarating A Guy Like You! Imagine Les Misérables without the Thenardies or MISS SAIGON without the Engineer. Devastating.

The Ensemble (supported by a vast amateur choir) marks the best part of the show. David Jakobs is an outstanding Quasimodo, but Andreas Lichtenberger is stealing the show with one of the best performances of his career. Hellfire became the evening's showstopping number. Lichtenberger's portrait is a far more human and complex character than the usual go-to villain.

Abla Alaoui ( Esmeralda), Dominik Hees ( Phoebus de Martin), and Matthias Schlung ( Clopin Trouillefou) are suffering from the pale book, Emotions are rare and often only created with a bit of help from the (most outstanding) VBW-Orchestra under the direction of Michael Römer. Never before sounded Alan Menken's score as profound as it does right now.

THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME marks the stage collaboration of Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz.

The Powerful Ensemble (even the smaller parts are well cast) and the fantastic VBW Orchestra make the unexceptional show exceptional. A dusky, rigmarole Opus Magnum.

With
Quasimodo David Jakobs
Esmeralda Abla Alaoui

Archdeacon Claude Frollo Andreas Lichtenberger
Phoebus de Martin Dominik Hees
Clopin Trouillefou Mathias Schlung

Ensemble:
Bianca Basler, Martin Berger, Andrea Luca Cotti, Christopher Dederichs, David Eisinger, Roy Goldmann, Gerben Grimmius, Anne Hoth, Charles Kreische, Hannah Leser, Salvatore Maione, Jan-Eike Majert, Sophie Mefan, Sina Pirouzi, Jo Lucy Rackham, David Rodriguez-Yanez, Lucia Scarpolini, Thijs Snoek, Alex Snova and Lucius Wolter.

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