Esmeralda, priest Frollo and Quasimodo are back again—with music from the Styx frontman.
|
|
|
Bailiwick Repertory
|
| $25-$40 |
|
Dennis DeYoung (new adaptation)
Official website
|
| Friday | 7:30 p.m. (preview 5/9 & 5/16) (no show 7/4) |
| Saturday | 7:30 p.m. (preview 5/10 & 5/17) |
| Sunday | 3:30 p.m. |
| Thursday | 7:30 p.m. (preview 5/8 & 5/15) (no show 7/3) |
|
A musical adaptation of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" written by Styx frontman Dennis DeYoung? No, you are not watching "Family Guy," you are experiencing live Chicago theater, and it takes itself just seriously enough. From the opening seconds (Thunder! Lightning! Synths!) this show is unabashed melodramatic fun, like Les Miz with cheesier music and even less restraint. DeYoung handled book, music and lyrics, and in nothing is he unduly guided by taste: it's all quaking emotion, key shifts and, when necessary, bad puns. Director David Zak's vast, open-throated cast, led by the pleasantly Meatloafian George Andrew Wolff as Quasimodo, blares out DeYoung's harmonies with endless vigor. Sadly, there's nothing quite as catchy as "Mr. Roboto" in the score, but there's plenty to hum, probably for days afterward.
