The Hunchback of Notre Dame Will Make Its U.S. Premiere at La Jolla Playhouse
(© Tristan Fuge, David Gordon)
La Jolla Playhouse has announced two additional productions to join the California theater's 2014-15 season.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, produced by special arrangement with Disney Theatrical Productions, will make its U.S. premiere from October 28-December 7 in the Mandell Weiss Theatre. The score, featured in the 1996 Disney animated classic, is written by the Academy-, Grammy-, and Tony Award-winning team of composer Alan Menken (Newsies) and lyricist Stephen Schwartz (Wicked), with a book by Peter Parnell (The West Wing, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever). Based on Victor Hugo's novel Notre-Dame de Paris, the story follows the scorned bell-ringer Quasimodo, the beautiful gypsy Esmeralda, and the dashing Captain Phoebus in 15th-century Paris.
Broadway veteran Scott Schwartz (Golda's Balcony) will direct, with choreography by Josh Bergasse (Smash), music supervision/arrangements by Michael Kosarin (Newsies), orchestrations by Michael Starobin (Tangles), scenic design by Alexander Dodge (Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin), costume design by Alejo Vietti (Beautiful — The Carole King Musical), lighting design by Howell Binkley (Jersey Boys), and sound design by Gareth Owen (A Little Night Music).
The Playhouse will also mount the West Coast premiere of Elizabeth Egloff's Ether Dome, directed by Michael Wilson (The Trip to Bountiful), in coproduction with Boston's Huntington Theatre Company, running from July 11-August 10 in the Mandell Weiss Forum. Based on the true story of the 1846 discovery of ether as an anesthetic, Ether Dome explores the pain that afflicts humankind, our attempts to find relief, and the beginning of healthcare as big business.
