An Epic New Musical Comes To PCPA's Stages

The Hunchback of Notre Dame A sweeping score and powerful story make The Hunchback of Notre Dame a truly unforgettable musical and an instant classic. It plays in the Marian Theatre April 26 - May 13 then June 14 - July 8 in the Solvang Festival Theatre.

Inspired by Victor Hugo's gothic novel and songs from the Disney animated feature, this version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame was adapted for the stage by the creative team of Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz, and Peter Parnell in 2014. Quasimodo, the deformed bell-ringer of the Notre Dame Cathedral, has spent his life locked in a tower by his guardian, archdeacon Dom Claude Frollo. Longing to be with other people, Quasimodo escapes to spend one day 'out there,' which leads to his chance encounter with the enchanting gypsy, Esmeralda. Quasimodo isn't the only one captivated by her free spirit though. The handsome Captain Phoebus and Frollo are equally enthralled. As the three vie for her attention and Frollo attempts to destroy the gypsies, powerful forces propel each of them toward their fate, be it malevolent, graceful, loving, or heroic.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame cast includes Erik Stein* as Frollo, Nick Tubbs* as Quasimodo, George Walker as Clopin, Jeff Salsbury as Phoebus, and Amani Dorn* as Esmeralda, as well as Karin Hendricks, Andrew Philpot*, and Leo Cortez. Under the direction of PCPA veteran Brad Carroll, the creative team includes Choreographer Katie Fuchs-Wackowski, Music Director Paul Marszalkowski, Scenic Designer, Jason Bolen, Costume Designer Eddy L. Barrows, Lighting Designer Jennifer 'Z' Zornow, and Sound Designer Elisabeth Weidner. Production Stage Manager is Ellen Beltramo*.

Over the past hundred and eighty-five years, Hugo's masterpiece has been adapted numerous times. In fact, it's been made into 13 films, 5 movies made for television, 5 non-musical adaptations, 8 musicals, 6 operas, 5 ballets, and a video game. Clearly, this universal story of unrequited love and a yearning for acceptance resonates as powerfully today as it did when Hugo created it.

In an interview with PLAYBILL, composer Alan Menken spoke to the character of Quasimodo, saying, he's the perfect example "of ugly on the outside and beautiful on the inside. That strikes a chord with everyone." In the same interview, lyricist Stephen Schwartz agreed. Quasimodo "resonates very much for me. I write a lot of shows with outcasts in the lead."

What's more, Schwartz was so determined to connect to Quasimodo's perspective on the world that he wrote the lyrics to "Out There" in the bell tower of the Notre Dame Cathedral. "I brought my little yellow pad up there with me and scrawled lyrics," Schwartz recalls. "It was very helpful just for getting a feeling of what it must have been like for the character of Quasimodo to have lived his entire life up there." "This story has been told countless times. People keep trying to do it in various forms - a film, a television movie, a musical, an opera," Schwartz explains. "The story, as they say, has legs."

This adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame uses the age-old convention of "Story Theatre," a theatrical device in which an ensemble of storytellers not only narrate the story but also take on various roles. "I find this style of theatre particularly captivating," Carroll explains, "Because it asks the actors and the audience alike to journey together into a realm of shared imagination." In telling this epic story of "love rendered impossible," the musical features theatrical elements of melodrama, medieval pageantry, religious ceremony, musical theatre, opera, and of course, Disney. For Carroll, the larger-than-life yet completely human characters that populate this story each represent a conflict of opposites. "Frollo and Esmeralda are both, at once, fire AND ice; Quasimodo is inner beauty but external 'damage,' Phoebus is external beauty but inner 'damage.' These opposing factors, so human and so real, are the forces that drive the action of the play," Carroll says. "The compelling question posed by this musical - 'What makes a monster and what makes a man? - is a question that seems to be both as old as time and as current as today's headlines. And then there is the larger question, are we either one or the other? Or, does the potential exist in all of us for both?"

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is best enjoyed by children 9 years and older, with a note that there is some representation of violence against women.

*Member, Actors' Equity Association

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.MTIShows.com

Visit The Hunchback of Notre Dame web page for more information.

Box Office: (805) 922-8313

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is generously sponsored by
Joan Gellert-Sargen
Sandy and Albert Mills
Linda Stafford Burrows

Just the FactsSanta Maria What The Hunchback of Notre Dame When April 26 - May 13, 2018 Venue Marian Theatre, 800 S. College Dr., Santa Maria
GPS 870 S. Bradley Rd.
Tickets $34.50 - $46.50
With discounts for Senior, Student, Child, Military, and preview performances April 26 and 27.
Pricing based on day, time, and may increase upon demand.
Box Office (805) 922-8313
Internet www.pcpa.org

Just the FactsSolvang What The Hunchback of Notre Dame When June 14 - July 8, 2018 Venue Solvang Festival Theater, 420 Second St., Solvang
Tickets $39.00 - $57.50
With discounts for Senior, Student, Child, Military, and preview performances June 14 and 15.
Pricing based on day, time, and may increase upon demand.
Box Office (805) 922-8313
Internet www.pcpa.org

PCPA Season 54

Disney's
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
A New Musical
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Book by Peter Parnell
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.MTIShows.com

Marian Theatre
Solvang Festival Theater

April 26 - May 13
June 14 - July 8

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
by Christopher Durang
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York

Marian Theatre
Solvang Festival Theater

June 28 - July 7
July 12 - 22

Mamma Mia!
Music and Lyrics by
Benny Andersson &
Björn Ulvaeus
Book by Catherine Johnson
Originally conceived by Judy Craymer
Mamma Mia! is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.MTIShows.com

Marian Theatre
Solvang Festival Theater

July 18 - 21
July 27 - August 26

Arcadia
by Tom Stoppard
Arcadia is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French Inc.

Marian Theatre
Solvang Festival Theater

August 16 - 25
August 30 - September 9

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*Member, Actors' Equity Association

For 54 years, PCPA, a professional conservatory theatre, has infused the national theatre scene with thousands of trained actors and theatrical technicians.

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