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The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Dennis DeYoung
The production of Dennis DeYoung's new adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame brought together an ensemble of talent that is becoming more and more the "norm" at the Bailiwick Theatre in Chicago.
In the first minutes of the show, we meet the domineering Frollo played by Jeremy Rill whose full, dark baritone fills the theatre to the rafters. Mr. Rill's progression as a performer has been one to observe and enjoy over the last few years as he's successfully tackled roles such as the Warm-up Man/Satan in Jerry Springer: The Opera, and Count Ludovic in Passion. We recognize in Frollo a stern authoritarian to be reckoned with as he takes the baby Quasimodo into his protection. Fast forward a number of years and we encounter the charming soldier, Phoebus, played by James Rank as he is taking part in a celebration of "The King of Fools."
Mr. Rank is one of those actors who is naturally liked and heroically cast–such as he was in his dual role as Clark Kent/Superman in It's a Bird, It's a Plane…It's Superman and as Lt. Torasso in Passion. This time, his charms are used to be the dashing soldier who tries to claim the gypsy Esmerelda for his own. But first, Phoebus introduces us to a grown Quasimodo played by George Wolff. In terms of voice, Mr. Wolff has the edgiest role to perform. It's no doubt in range, or style, that Dennis DeYoung is the vocal template behind Quasimodo. George Wolff effortlessly creates a blend of gentle "ugliness" with his vocal performance. His tone can be truly hard rock (like a Robin Zander or a Ted Neely) which works beautifully with the musical arrangements (including some unique opportunities to slip into an emotional softness that at times can startle and move the listener). There were only one or two missed opportunities to capitalize on this beautiful juxtaposition with his interaction with Esmerelda but, overall...an excellent performance.
Esmerelda played by the lithe Dana Tretta also has a demanding vocal roller-coaster performance to deliver. At times, she is beautiful in movement and voice and at other times, she is emotional, enraged, and throaty. This is not an easy order...and at times, you observe that in moments of her performance, Ms. Tretta is pushing herself to her edges. She succeeds effortlessly in her moments of young beauty, and in her "duet" with Quasimodo, you marvel at the connection, blend and harmony of their two styles intertwining.Two other performers who stand out for both their acting and singing are Liz Pazik (Mariette) who delivers just enough wild gypsy to her character with a high vibrato that rounds out the sound of the ensemble beautifully, and a member of the ensemble, Cameron Brune, who all should keep an eye on. Mr. Brune was always present in the moment on stage and an active participant in the story. I believe we have much more to see from Cameron, and if I picked out his voice in the ensemble correctly, we have another leading man moving up in the ranks.
Musically, the score was more complex than I had expected with chord progressions that went in directions sometimes opposite of where one would have expected them to go. This was a welcome escape from a more traditional tried and true pattern of melody progressions that sometimes plague musicals. The music direction and performance was excellent especially considering the small area that serves as the pit for the musicians. I found myself wondering how much more depth would have been brought to the show had it been performed with genuine strings and other instruments that were truer in sound than the keyboards that oftentimes used dated sounding electronic voicing. David Zak's use of the theatre space was some of the best I've seen at the Bailiwick recently as it brought the story into the audience and encircled them. The choreography by Brenda Didier and the fight scenes used the space to its advantage which was no doubt a challenge with a cast of twenty in such small quarters.
So far as the story line and development of the characters, we've seen variations of this story before albeit with a slightly different ending. Numerous Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals come to mind; Jesus Christ Superstar, Phantom of the Opera, and even a touch of the Rocky Horror Picture Show peaks through from time to time. This isn't a bad thing at all. I think the success of The Hunchback of Notre Dame comes from there being a fusion of these different style elements in one production in an atypical reversal of roles. Hunchback contains an evil priest and a dashing lecherous soldier– handsome villains who have lush voices and contrasts them against a rougher, edgier rock-style belonging to the deformed heroic character. I would recommend seeing this cast perform Dennis DeYoung's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I imagine it will be a while before you are able to see such a combination of diverse talents in the same production at the Bailiwick Theatre. But you never know...the Bailiwick has been pushing the bar higher and higher in the last year and a half.
Dennis DeYoung's The Hunchback of Notre Dame is playing at The Bailiwick Theatre in Chicago through July 6th. For tickets and reservations call the box office at 773.883.1090.
