Reviews

NODA Review - 8th June 2023

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Author: Andy Brown on behalf of Paul Douglass

This was my first visit to Trinity Players although I had seen members of the company before. In 2022 members provided entertainment at the West Midlands Conference, AGM and Awards during which they sang a couple of numbers from West Side Story.

Prior to curtain up it was great to meet the show director Dan Barnes who had clearly worked hard on the production along with his musical director and choreographer.

Based on the 1831 novel by Victor Hugo and the 1996 Disney animated adaptation with a glorious score by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, this musical is not for the faint hearted! It is also altogether a lot darker than Disney film and has an ending much closer to the original novel. Showcasing themes such as faith, power, discrimination, isolation, and sacrifice, The Hunchback of Notre Dame offers a powerful message of acceptance and includes representations of disability, women and Roma.

The production should not rely on huge elaborate sets but instead should focus on storytelling by the cast and the audience using their imagination. The set was well designed for this purpose with the main part of the stage as inside Notre Dame, while the stage right area was used most effectively as the bell tower and enabled the production to flow from scene to scene with ease. An elaborate looking stained-glass window was hung upstage behind the main set.

In front of the stage were the choir who handled the complexities of the music very well under the direction of musical director Peter Bushby with the task of the main storytelling falling to the Gargoyles, Statues, Gypsy Girls and Parishioners with some doubling up as the supporting roles. As there are too many to mention individually, I would like to compliment them on their excellent clear vocals which meant that the audience knew exactly what was going on and at no time did their level of performance drop. Much is usually said about the principals in a show but with this musical, without a strong ensemble and choir, much of the story would be lost.

Quasimodo is fascinating to portray as he has to deal with the challenges of a non-normative body and hearing loss and it would be incredibly easy to turn this into more of a pantomime character instead of the poor socially isolated person he needs to be. Steven Blower managed to get the characterisation just right with a strong vocal in ‘Out There’. Esmerelda, played by Janine Henderson, sang beautifully in the extremely moving ‘God Help The Outcasts’ and ‘Someday’ in which she was joined by Dan Holyhead who, as Phoebus, gave us a strong portrayal of this character.

Another complex character is Frollo, a man who blames the gypsies for the death of his beloved brother Jehan and who keeps Johan’s son Quasimodo locked in the bell tower because of his deformities. His obsession with Esmerelda leads him to believe that she is a demon sent to tempt him. Again, there is a danger that this could be hammed up but the part was handled very well by Paul Westcott. Lastly, we need to mention Dan McCloskey as Clopin, The King of The Gypsies.

Backed up by great choreography, costumes and lighting, this was an excellent production. My only criticism would be that backing tracks were used instead of a live band which did, at times, lead to pauses in the dialogue whilst the music caught up, but I understand that this is a huge cost for a company to bear and is only a little niggle!

Well done to all at Trinity Players, this was a huge musical to master. I look forward to meeting you all again soon.

NODA Review - 8th June 2023

Hunchback of Notre Dame

Author: Lee Williams

What an amazing show, full of exquisite colour and sound brought together in a play many of us would have heard of but don’t know much about. A classic Directed by Dan Barnes with music by Peter Bushby. Labled ‘A Journey from Paris to Sutton Coldfield’ this is the story of Quasimodo and Esmeralda which has endured many retellings since its original conception nearly 200 years ago. The version on display here is a culmination of centuries of adaptations. The main players are Quasimodo, played by Steven Blower – what a powerful and captivating performance. At times he just has you transfixed by the powerful story line and the emotional feeling and effort he puts in to the role, it’s something to behold.

Esmeralda (Janine Henderson) plays an amazing part. As a gypsy, she is an outcast and un-welcomed. Seen as different and something to be shunned, much like Quosimodo, this brings them together. All this with Jeanne Claude Frollo (Paul Wescott) playing a leading part of the religious leader who whilst attempting to be defiant, shows that even he can display weakness too. Then there is Phoebus, the dashing Soldier who falls for Esmeralda, which leads to both of their downfalls!! With so much colour, music and passion, this will definitely be a hit show to remember.

Theatre Whippet Review

Hunchback of Notre Dame - The Musical

Victor Hugo’s classic tale of Quasimodo is brought to life in all its musical glory by Trinity Players in a production at Sutton Coldfield Town Hall which successfully transports the audience from the West Midlands to medieval Paris.

Disney’s 1996 film brought the Hunchback’s story to a new generation and was followed in 1999 by the first stage production, featuring the original Disney music alongside nine new songs from Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. Trinity Players’ latest production is quite a coup for the group and for Sutton Coldfield: they are the first company in the West Midlands to be given the rights to perform ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’. Directed by Dan Barnes, an impressive cast and choir rise to the challenge of breathing life into this grand-scale musical.

Mark Crudgington and Dave Crump’s set, complete with giant stained-glass window, bell-tower and split levels, works well to take us into the contrasting worlds of church and city. Vocal performances are strong across the cast but the choral singing of the excellent choir provide some of the most atmospheric moments of the night, almost lifting the roof off the Town Hall.

Despite losing some of the darker aspects of the original novel, this musical version of the story remains an interesting and important exploration of the treatment of outsiders. It combines great family entertainment with important messages about tolerance, acceptance and love.

Steven Blower combines childlike sincerity with vulnerability in the title role of the hunchbacked bell-ringer who longs to be a part of the Paris he looks down on from the cathedral heights. Quasimodo (which we learn in the show means half-formed) is called “monster”, “thing” and “creature” because of his deformity. Blower’s performance of “Out There” in which he yearns to live a full life evokes our sympathy and there is a lovely connection with his only friends – gargoyles and statues played by members of the cast.

Paul Westcott is in fine voice as Archdeacon Frollo, Quasimodo’s adoptive father and master. Draped in a black clerical robe, he cuts a forbidding figure and is an excellent villain: domineering, cold and pious. His performance of “Hellfire”, accompanied by priests and the choir, is a highlight as he battles to reconcile his repressed desires with his faith. His hatred for the Roma community (referred to as ‘Gypsies’ in the show) throws into question who is the ‘monster’ and who is the ‘man’: Frollo or Quasimodo?

Inner and outer beauty unite in Janine Henderson’s moving performance as Esmerelda, the ‘gypsy’ girl who shows compassion to Quasimodo and is the love interest for both Frollo and Captain Phoebus. In a powerful vocal performance across the show, ‘God Help the Outcasts’ stands out as she pleads for acceptance in an intolerant world. Dan Holyhead is honourable and charming as Phoebus and Dan McCloskey is a mischievous Clopin, leading the revelling at the Feast of Fools in style.

The decision to use professionally recorded tracks rather than an orchestra works, allowing the choir to take centre stage and filling the Town Hall with one of the best instruments: the human voice. With a cast of over fifty, this is a large-scale, ambitious community production of a great musical which is not to be missed.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is playing at Sutton Coldfield Town Hall from 6th to 10th June 2023.

If you like what you see and are interested in learning more about what we do, or are thinking of joining us then please email us at info@trinityplayers.com or visit us on Facebook.