For the final MainStage production in the 2022-23 Season, Theater Works will present “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” from Feb. 17 to March 5 in Gyder Theater at Peoria Center for the Performing Arts, 10580 N. 83rd Dr. The Feb. 26 show will be an ASL accompanied performance.
From the Academy Award-winning team comes a lushly scored retelling of Victor Hugo’s epic story of love, acceptance, and what it means to be a hero.
Based on the Victor Hugo novel, with songs from the Disney animated feature, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” showcases the film’s Academy Award-nominated score, as well as new songs by Menken and Schwartz. Peter Parnell’s new book embraces story theater and features verbatim passages from Hugo’s gothic novel.
The musical begins as the bells of Notre Dame sound through the famed cathedral in fifteenth-century Paris. Quasimodo, the bell-ringer, who longs to be “out there,” observes all of Paris reveling in the Feast of Fools. Held captive by his devious caretaker, the archdeacon Dom Claude Frollo, he escapes for the day and joins the boisterous crowd, only to be treated cruelly by all but the beautiful gypsy, Esmeralda. Quasimodo isn’t the only one captivated by her free spirit, though––the handsome Captain Phoebus and Frollo are equally enthralled. As the three vie for her attention, Frollo embarks on a mission to destroy the gypsies- and it’s up to Quasimodo to save them all.
This production is directed by Chris Hamby with music direction by Lincoln Wright and choreography by Paul Pedersen. A sweeping score and powerful story make “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” an instant classic. Audiences will be swept away by the magic of this truly unforgettable musical.
Tickets are $40 to 48 and are available at the Peoria Center for the Performing Arts Box Office or online at [email protected]. The Peoria Arts Commission and the Constance W. McMillin Trust of Sun City are the production sponsors.
For more information about Theater Works, visit theaterworks.org. For ticket information, call the Box Office at 623-815-7930.
