Rumor Mill: Patrick Page in Disney's Hunchback?

[ILOHTFAHA (Aida Man)]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 7:37pm

According to this he'll play Frollo in the show and sang a song from the show at his 54 Below show (the song was written for the character). What do ya'll make of this?
Page as Frollo in Hunchback?

[RockStarNYC]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 7:45pm

I remember reading an article where it was stated he was involved in the workshops in Dec/Jan so I don't see why not.

[LiveLoud22]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 11:15pm

Yup, he's definitely involved. I was at his wonderful 54 Below show a few weeks ago, and he confirmed his involvement. He talked about the part of Frollo for a bit - his motivations as a villain, etc. - and said "we're doing the show out of town this year, and hopefully we'll get to bring it into town after that."

He closed the show with a KICK ASS performance of "Hellfire." I actually got audio of it, will upload if you guys want me to.





Updated On: 2/23/14 at 11:15 PM

[LiveLoud22]

Posted: 2/23/14 at 3:15am

*HELLFIRE AUDIO from 54 BELOW in Youtube Link*

In response to a request I uploaded the audio! He's incredible. The clip doesn't quite do it the same justice as being there live - we all got chills. It's the second half of the song (I was sitting in the bar area at 54 below so the beginning had some light background noise - glasses clinking, etc - that I have to remove, once I do I'll upload the full song.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLk-9IF-Yns&feature=youtu.be









Updated On: 2/25/14 at 03:15 AM

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 2/23/14 at 8:07am

Wow, he's FANTASTIC! He sounds almost just like Tony Jay. He'll be great as Frollo!

Updated On: 2/23/14 at 08:07 AM

[aasjb4ever]

Posted: 2/23/14 at 9:14am

Good for Patrick, I’ve always liked him! He was the one bright spot of Roundabout’s Cyrano revival a few years ago.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 2/23/14 at 11:43am

I've been a fan of his since I saw him play Lumiere in the national tour of 'Beauty and the Beast'. He then gave another amazing performance as Scar when I saw the national tour of 'The Lion King'.

[LiveLoud22]

Posted: 2/23/14 at 2:45pm

I'm a huge fan of his. He is one of those rare breed of actors who intuitively know how to thrill an audience. Tremendously intelligent actor, too. He easily stole the show in Spiderman, and elevates a show's material even if it is kinda crappy (example: A Time to Kill).

I can't believe I did this, but I actually saw A Time to Kill twice - even though the play itself was a complete piece of junk - just for his incredible performance. That level of craft, performance and skill blew me away. When he roared "there was no hanging, and the little girl in the case was BLACK!" it seemed to make the theater quake, and the audience realized that his character, Rufus Buckley, was really a racist.

His Scar was equally astonishing. I have encountered a number of *cough* audio recordings *cough* of the show, and the one with him as Scar is just on a whole different level. Just thrilling hearing the way he delivers Scar's lines. When he throws Mufasa off the cliff, his sinister "LONG LIVE THE KING!" is imbued with all of the pent up rage/jealousy/sheer evilness that drives Scar. No offense to the other Scars, but many of the actors Disney has had play the part throughout the last decade have been a dissapointment compared to Patrick.


Updated On: 2/25/14 at 02:45 PM

[ageorges3]

Posted: 2/23/14 at 7:49pm

Updated On: 3/19/15 at 07:49 PM

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 2/23/14 at 9:49pm

He would be a wonderful Frollo, he sounds great in that 54 Below clip. I've only ever seen him onstage in the first version of Spider-Man but he was the only one I felt walked away from that mess unscathed, he gave a genuinely good performance in a truly awful show.

[LiveLoud22]

Posted: 2/24/14 at 11:50am

Definitely agree with Riedel on Page as Hook. If they can get a giant star like Pink to play Peter or, (if the brass at NBC really want to go the male route) someone like Harry Styles from One Direction to get every teenage girl in America to tune in, they'll have their bankable star. No reason then for them not to round out the cast with a healthy mix of Broadway and TV folk. Page could definitely represent Broadway by playing Hook - a la McDonald or Benanti in the Sound of Music telecast.




Riedel on Patrick Page as Hook Updated On: 2/24/14 at 11:50 AM

[theCucumberSandwich]

Posted: 2/25/14 at 2:13am

Ignore Post. Updated On: 2/25/14 at 02:13 AM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/25/14 at 2:32am

If he's playing Frollo in La Jolla October 26th through December 7th then he can't be rehearsing and playing Hook for NBC at the beginning of December.

Updated On: 2/25/14 at 02:32 AM

[ageorges3]

Posted: 2/25/14 at 2:56pm

Updated On: 3/19/15 at 02:56 PM

[finebydesign]

Posted: 2/25/14 at 2:59pm

Hook will be a star.

[RockStarNYC]

Posted: 2/25/14 at 3:01pm

**whoops didn't realize it was Menken & Schwartz** Speaking of which, I saw Stephen Schwartz yesterday. When I told him my excitement for the show, he stated, rather enthusiastically, that he had just come from a meeting. Fingers crossed for more official news soon!!!

Updated On: 2/25/14 at 03:01 PM

[LiveLoud22]

Posted: 2/25/14 at 3:27pm

I think Disney has major balls, because I think they might be returning Frollo to his original position in this production. At his 54 Below show, Page introduced Frollo as the "Archdeacon of Notre Dame Cathedral." That was Frollo's position in the original Victor Hugo book - Frollo was supposed to be emblematic of the hypocrisy and corruption of the Church in France during Hugo's era. A priest who represented the very worst of the Church - it's high-strung sanctimony, but failure to protect the poor and powerless.

When Disney was creating the film, one of the biggest issues when they were in production was with Frollo's character. Disney executives were concerned that, if they didn't change Frollo's occupation to a more secular one, the audience might view his depiction as an outright attack on the Catholic Church.

Disney was terrified of being that overt, so "Archdeacon Claude Frollo" was changed to the much less controversial "Judge Claude Frollo." If they truly are returning to Hugo's depiction of the character, so much kudos to them.





Updated On: 2/27/14 at 03:27 PM

[willep]

Posted: 2/25/14 at 3:31pm

He sounds fantastic. I've always loved that song. Hope this turns out to be a great show.

[finebydesign]

Posted: 2/25/14 at 3:40pm

The casting break down for the lab has called him an Archdeacon, not sure how "brave" all of this is but it's not the animated film.
Casting notice

[darquegk]

Posted: 2/25/14 at 3:46pm

Based on that casting notice, they've dropped the "Quasimodo is physically AND mentally handicapped" angle from the German production, but most likely also dropped Clopin's very very long high D5.

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 2/26/14 at 5:14pm

Anyone have any leads about who's being courted for the other lead parts?? Or who appeared in workshops?

[ILOHTFAHA (Aida Man)]

Posted: 2/26/14 at 9:39pm

Ciara Renee was Esmeralda in the workshop

[Emmaloucbway]

Posted: 2/27/14 at 5:03pm

I'm pretty sure I read that Michael Arden played Quasimodo in the workshop.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 2/27/14 at 5:08pm

Darque, I'm curious where you get that. The description of Quasi doesn't sound all that different from how he's performed in the video of the Berlin production.

[darquegk]

Posted: 2/27/14 at 8:47pm

In the film Quasimodo can speak and somewhat articulately. In the Berlin production he is monosyllabic and is only able to communicate fluently in his sung soliloquies.