The Hunchback of Notre Dame The Musical Clio Cast and Crew, Inc.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame The Musical

By: Randall Darren

Clio Cast and Crew, Inc brings to life their production of the beautifully tragic tale from Victor Hugo’s book The Hunchback of Notre Dame in a musical format set by the Disney film’s musical score.

Set in the 15th century in Paris, France, the story centers around Dom Claude Frollo (William Adamo) who takes in his nephew, Quasimodo (Brady Stewart). Quasimodo was named as such by Frollo due to his physical congenital deformities. Frollo raises the boy and teaches him and  keeps him from the outside world in his “sanctuary”. 

 

As Quasimodo gets introduced to the wonders of the world outside of the bell tower, encounters some of the townspeople, soldiers, and Gypsies.  Quasimodo meets a beautiful young woman, Esmeralda (Sonya Mckerchie), and falls in love with her kindness towards him. However, Esmeralda’s heart is captured by the strapping Captain Phoebus (Collin Brown). Unbeknownst to anyone, Esmeralda has also captured the attention of someone else, which leads to bigger problems later.

The production was wonderful and we highly encourage you to go see this show. You could definitely feel the intensity of the characters’ emotions as the cast put their all into the  show. The casting (director Sally Eilersen) was spot on for all the characters. 

Some standouts include Matthew Crachiolo (Clopin) and Grace Loescher, Rebekah Loescher, and Christina Revlett (Gargoyles) all brought humor and stellar vocals to their performances. Sonya Mckerchie (Esmeralda) truly embraced her character and her costume was beautiful. Todd Clemons (Father Dupin + Ensemble) made the audience bust out into laughter with his flamboyant King Louie. Both Brady Stewart (Quasimodo) and William Adamo (Frollo) demonstrated incredible vocal range and both demonstrated amazing emotional depth.

The set (Audrey Chrysler and John Chrysler) was simplistic and appeared to be a struggle for stage hands to move at times which resulted in longer pauses in scenes or interruptions in the scenes. The set felt as if something was missing from it. The costumes (Dennis Swedorski, Johanna Kurnik, Lizzy Davis, and Emily Ruelle) were all beautiful, however a few costume malfunctions were observed and the ghosts' costumes appeared odd.

The lighting was simple and did not really change much during the show. Some areas were much darker in scenes which left characters hard to see. There were also no blackouts which also pulled you away from the story.

Some actors did not have a microphone and were hard to hear at times (Sound: Frederick Rynbrandt and Sarah Schellhas). There were also some blocking issues observed as characters were hard to see or blocked completely. The choreography was simple, but there were a few lagging behind a bit. 

Overall this was a wonderful production and definitely a show worth seeing.  Please keep in mind that this show comes with a PG 13 rating, as there are some intense parts. This is NOT the Disney version. 

This show runs September 25-October 4th, 2026. For tickets, visit www.cliocastandcrew.ludus.com or contact the box office at 810-687-2588. Discounts are available by calling the box office.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

9 to 5 The Musical-Clio Cast and Crew, Inc.

Image
By: Marshall Summers Judy (Kristen Rossiter), Violet (Melanie Kratz) and Doralee (AshLeigh Kreiner) are three female coworkers who are fed up with their sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical boss, Frank Hart, Jr (Eric Lewis Johnson).  Together, they conspire to get back at their boss and take over their company. This musical is based on the book by Patricia Resnick, with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton and is based on the 1980 hit movie.  The set was very interesting (Set Design and Construction, Travis Palmer). At first, it appears to be a boring beige hallway of an office building - which is what it is supposed to be. Throughout the show, the side panels were moved out and turned around to reveal another set piece. One side completes Hart's office and the other is a bathroom. There is also an elevator that "works". At one point a whole bed is pulled down from a panel on the stage. You would have never guessed there was a bed hiding behind a sign.  Sometimes when...
Read more

Clio Cast and Crew, Inc. present Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs

Image
Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs - Clio Cast and Crew By: Laura Anne Miller The Prince (Frederick Rynbrandt) and The Dark Queen (Madeline Speed) are soon expected to arrive at the palace of Snow White (Audrey Chrysler) and her royal family! Princess Snow White has not seen The Prince since they were children, but once he arrives, they will be betrothed. That is, if Princess Snow White can survive the Dark Queen.  Instead of the Prince, a Jester arrives, much to the chagrin of Gretchen (Dawn Sabourin), the main housekeeper for the palace. The Jester delights Princess Jeanne Marie or “Freckle Face” (Reagan Wray), Snow White’s younger sister. A frightening magic mirror (Wendell Hopper) also arrives at the palace, much to the apprehension of the giggling palace maids (Alicia Hopper, Emma Gagnon, and Sonya McKerchie).  After the mirror declares “the Queen was fairest yesternight. Now the fairest is Snow White”, the Dark Queen is determined to get rid of Snow White. She orders the ...
Read more

Clio Cast and Crew, Inc Present The Only Christmas Pageant in Town

Image
  The Only Christmas Pageant in Town - Clio Cast and Crew By: Laura Anne Miller ‘Tis the season for Christmas songs and Christmas pageants. Clio Cast and Crew, with the direction of Jan Palmer and the Show to Go Singers deliver a solid, family friendly Christmas production, ”The Only Christmas Pageant in Town”. Olive Green (Nicole Dunckel) directs the church’s Christmas pageant every year. Every year, something seems to be missing and in an effort to change things up and figure out what is missing, Olive hires the Hollywood Theater of Peace and Tidings of Great Joy Traveling Troupe to put on the show this year.  A big snowstorm keeps the Hollywood troupe away and the existing church members get stranded at the church. They decide to put on the Christmas pageant instead, including the pastor, Reverend Holly (Bill Fagerstrom), and the church board, and women’s auxiliary.  Seeking shelter from the storm, Allen (Tom McCarty), Fred (Malachi Kittell), and George (Aaron Cole...
Read more