The Hunchback of Notre Dame in Concert (Prince Edward Theatre, West End) – ★★★ REVIEW

Podcast: MickeyJoTheatre
Host: MickeyJoTheatre
Episode Date: August 29, 2025

Episode Overview

Mickey Jo reviews the first professional UK staging of Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame musical in a concert format at London’s Prince Edward Theatre. As a lifelong fan of the original film, Mickey Jo discusses the ambitious staging, musical execution, choices in representation, and his mixed feelings about the adaptation’s changes from the Disney source material and the Victor Hugo novel. Expect a critical deep-dive full of honesty, theatre geekery, and trademark wit.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Context and Production Background

• Personal Attachment:
  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame is Mickey Jo’s favorite Disney film and, in his opinion, boasts the “strongest Disney score” (01:31).
• UK Premiere Significance:
  • This concert represents the musical’s first professional UK staging, despite prior amateur, student, and church productions (01:45).
• Venue Logistics:
  • Only three performances were staged over two weekends, utilizing the Prince Edward Theatre during MJ The Musical’s Sunday dark nights. Production had minimal setup time, making the smooth technical execution a feat in itself (02:51).

2. Production & Performative Highlights

• Orchestral Brilliance:

  • The orchestration was “expanded from the licensed version” with musical director Alan Williams and described as “impactful and powerful…booming and heavenly” (03:41).
  • Orchestra fixer David Hornberger earned a special shout-out for assembling a large-scale, quality orchestra reminiscent of West End’s “golden days” (05:20).

• Staging Aesthetics:

  • The concert was “pretty fully staged” with rotating church benches, suggestive choreography, and modern-dress-inspired costuming. “It was slick, it was professional” (06:24).
  • Artistic compromises—such as a lack of stained glass lighting, replaced by “honeycomb reminiscent lighting fixtures...invoking the honeycombs and beekeeping”—left Mickey Jo visually underwhelmed (09:03).

• Notable Costume Commentary:

  • Esmeralda’s costume: “Boohoo. New bombshell has entered the villa. Love island two piece.”
  • Frollo’s look: “A little capelet...over a nice, just contemporary, like going to a nice dinner outfit...It was a big day for capes.” (08:45).

3. Dual Casting of Quasimodo & Representation

• Dual Quasimodo Approach:

  • Ben Joyce (able-bodied, vocal and acting) + Oliver Hewing (deaf dancer, interpretive choreography inspired by BSL).
  • This approach aimed for meaning but “ultimately sort of felt like an afterthought and never really crystallized into a strong enough sense of meaning” (12:48).
  • “For the most part, he [Oliver] seemed to act a little bit more like Peter Pan’s shadow.”
  • Mickey Jo suggests that inversing the formula—having Oliver as the principal, Ben as the supplement—would have made more symbolic sense (14:24).
  • Representation discourse: “The role as it is written is something of a paradox...the specificity of his disability are inherently sort of at odds with each other” (11:54).

• BSL Interpreter:

  • Only present at one of three performances. Mickey Jo praises the emotional clarity and insights gained, especially during group choreography (15:54).
  • “Some of the most joyous moments for me...were seeing the parity between those movements and the actual BSL interpretation” (15:41).

4. Critical View: Flaws of the Stage Adaptation

• Major Script Changes:

  • The stage version is “darker, a little more gritty, a little more realistic” than the film (17:54).
  • Major plot deviation: Esmeralda dies and the ending is more tragic, mirroring the novel (18:49).
  • Mickey Jo does not object to a tragic ending, but finds the adaptation’s message muddled:
    • “There’s even a line in there saying, we wish we had a nice moral for you, but we don’t...It feels very disempowered” (19:42).
  • Wishes the show fully embraced the Les Misérables model for both tone and message (20:17).

• Loss of Charm & Isolation:

  • Removing witty sidekicks and the fun animal companions (“no Jali the goat, no Achilles the horse”) saps whimsy and emotional contrast (23:47).
  • Dual Quasimodo staging undercuts “his isolation because he has a best friend that is running around with him” (21:38).

• Specific Story Critiques & Song Additions:

  • Extra backstory for Frollo viewed as unnecessary:
    • “I don’t think we need to humanize the character of Judge Claude Frollo...his bigotry...stand[s] by itself” (25:41).
  • New Act One ensemble duets (like “Top of the World”): derided as “Disney theatrical act one duet filler songs” (27:18).
  • Odd staging choices, e.g., the Topsy Turvy scene, render key moments less powerful and compromise Esmeralda’s characterization (29:39).

5. Performances

• Ben Joyce (Quasimodo):

  • “Terrific…he sounded fantastic, almost a shade too effortless...He characterized Quasimodo very well…a very endearing performance” (31:49).
  • Choreography with Oliver Hewing lauded, particularly bell-ringing sequences.

• Christine Nalardo (Esmeralda):

  • “Fabulous…stretched as an actress…she really tonally got Disney...she found humour...within a very bleak story” (32:37).
  • “She is a brilliant vocalist. She sounded amazing…best thing that Hunchback ever did...was to have Esmeralda properly belting ‘God Help the Outcasts’” (33:28).

• Dex Lee (Phoebus):

  • Characterization “felt quite distinct from the original film” and sometimes “sullies the relationship” with Esmeralda, but overall “enjoyed it” (34:11).
  • Odd script logic poked fun at (wounded Phoebus and the group’s concern for his travel plans).

• Adam Strong (Clopin):

  • Lost much of original showmanship, felt “flat” and “a disgruntled airport employee at a check in desk” despite a great singing voice (35:50).

• Zachary James (Judge Claude Frollo):

  • Praised for his “deep resonance” in “Hellfire” and a complex, layered approach—no “pantomime villain,” instead “complex and yearning and vindictive” (37:09).

• Special Mention:

  • James Gower Smith from the ensemble, praised for diverse, well-played supporting moments (36:57).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Orchestration:

  • “It made you miss the days when West End and Broadway shows had orchestras that were anywhere near that size and that quality.” (05:12)

• On Production Values:

  • “Far too often we see these concert productions with too little technical rehearsal...But this was not one of those times.” (04:24)

• On Visuals:

  • “It was a big day for capes.” (08:58)
  • “What we really wanted, I think if nothing else visually, was some sort of a stained glass window...I do think it would have made a difference to the atmosphere.” (09:38)
  • “Were there bees in Notre Dame cathedral in the 15th century? I don’t think they had bees.” (09:09)

• On Dual Quasimodo Representation:

  • “For the most part, he seemed to act a little bit more like Peter Pan’s shadow.” (13:36)
  • “The best way...would be to have Oliver be the principal performer and have Ben to the side...Just to invert it, I think would instantly have made more sense.” (14:24)

• On Adaptation Choices:

  • “If you look back to their earlier stage projects...What do you mean you can walk an elephant through the auditorium onto the stage, but you can’t have a goat?” (24:01)
  • “All of the death and the sorrow that follows is really the gargoyles fault, I’ll be honest.” (23:29)

• Performance Critiques:

  • “Loved that Christy Nalardo was a fabulous Esmeralda...She has the material that most closely resembles...the film” (32:37)
  • “Clopan sadly felt a little bit like a disgruntled airport employee at a check in desk who didn’t want to be doing their job anymore.” (35:50)
  • “Perhaps the MVP of the performance, Zachary James as the villainous Judge Claude Frollo...That deep resonance that he found while singing ‘Hellfire’ was just gorgeous.” (37:09)

Memorable Critique on Theatre Culture

• “We don’t need...the Cannes Film Festival standing ovation culture to start to make its way into the West End...Evita now has the longest curtain call applause in the West End with six continuous minutes. We don’t need that. It’s performative and it’s not real.” (16:33)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |-----------------------------------------------|------------| | Opening & Context Setting | 01:31-04:00| | Staging, Orchestration & Visuals | 04:01-10:00| | Casting, Dual Quasimodo, Representation |10:01-15:50 | | Adaptation Critique—Changes from Film |17:54-31:18 | | Performance Reviews |31:49-37:09 | | Final Thoughts & Recommendations |37:10-39:49 |

Final Thoughts

Mickey Jo’s review blends deep affection for the original film with clear-eyed criticism of the stage adaptation’s choices—praising the professionalism and sound of the concert, the clarity of performances, and the richness of the material, while lamenting changes that render the piece less charming or emotionally cohesive than the Disney animated classic. The episode is both a thorough review and a reflection on trends in theatrical adaptation and representation, making it valuable for Hunchback fans and newcomers alike.

Listen if you want:

• An honest fan’s take on one of Disney’s boldest musicals
• A theatre critic’s insight into how West End concert productions are staged
• Thoughtful discussion on disability representation and musical reinterpretation

Reviewer’s verdict:
Technical triumph & vocal glory, but a stage adaptation that struggles to balance Disney magic with darker, more ambiguous storytelling. Recommended, especially if you adore the score—but expect mixed feelings if the film is close to your heart.