After touring the world for over two decades, the international musical phenomenon Notre Dame de Paris has finally arrived at New York City’s David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for a limited engagement. And we are so glad it did! The show, performed in 23 countries and translated into nine languages, is based on Victor Hugo’s 1831 timeless novel, Notre Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre Dame).
Set in the 1400s, it is a heart drenching musical of unrequited love, hate, intrigues, and larger than life characters on the background of the iconic Paris’ Cathedral.
The shows’ numbers range from exhilarating rock dances and acrobatics to heartbreaking lyrical segments.
Angelo Del Vecchio portrayal of Quasimodo, the disfigured bell ringer of Notre Dame, brought the audience to tears again and again, his raspy voice sending chills down the viewers’ spines.
International star Hiba Tawaji played the beautiful Esmeralda with softness and strength, a tragic heroine, the bewitching object of desire of so many men.
Additional characters of the sweeping epic included Frollo, played by show stopping Daniel Lavois, the archdeacon whose faith and vow of celibacy collapsed when encountering Esmeralda, and Phoebus, the army captain, played by Yivan Pedneault, whose obsession with Esmeralda almost brought to his ruin. On the background of the main story, we saw Paris’ masses of immigrants and undesired people (Esmeralda is one of them) living on the margins of society at the whim of the Church and Court. Their search for asylum is today more relevant than ever. Their exhilarating dances were supplemented by exciting circus-style acrobatics. The show’s narrator, who propeled the plot, was the troubadour Grigoire, played by Gian Marco Schiaretti, whose unforgettable voice still reverberates in our hearts.
The show closed with the audience on its feet, screaming, and demanding more. And the cast, led by Gian Marco Schiaretti delivered one more rendition of the show’s anthem, Le Temps de Cathedrals.
Click here to see the final song
The show ran thru July 24, 2022.
