The Hunchback of Notre Dame at HCT

I have been anticipating HCT's production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame since the 2018 season was announced and I finally had the opportunity to see it last night! It is amazing and you should probably stop reading right now and go here for tickets because they are going fast (with good reason). I loved just about everything in this show! Victor Hugo's classic tale about outcasts who find sanctuary in a Gothic cathedral is full of so much pathos!  Quasimodo (James Bounous) has been hidden by his master Frollo (Josh Richardson) in the bell tower of Notre Dame Cathedral all of his life because he is deformed until he decides to walk the streets of Paris during the Feast of Fools.  When the crowd turns on him, he is rescued by the gypsy Esmeralda (Rebecca Burroughs).  She also catches the eye of the captain of the cathedral guard Phoebus de Martin (Preston Yates) who falls in love with her and she bewitches Frollo who becomes obsessed with possessing her. When Esmeralda rejects Frollo, he orders Phoebus to arrest her but when he refuses they both become fugitives who are aided by Quasimodo until the final confrontation in the bell tower. The music by Menken and Schwartz is so amazing!  I liked every single song but my favorites were "God Help the Outcasts," "Top of the World," "Heaven's Light," "Someday," and "Made of Stone." All of the lead actors have beautiful voices but I think my favorite characters were the gargoyles (Jacob Theo Squire, Brock Dalgleish, and Kaitlyn Dahl) who act as a sort of Greek Chorus. The set for this show is absolutely incredible! I loved the many different levels of the bell tower and it was so cool to see Quasimodo ring the bells! I also really loved the stained glass windows shown on the LED screens throughout the theater.  This, along with frequent Latin chants, adds so much to the Gothic feel of the story. This show is much darker than the usual Disney musical so some might not like it as much as I did but I think the theme of being an outcast is an important one and I think the redemption at the end of the show is incredibly powerful. I highly recommend this show (I may need to see it again!).