The Missing Song from The Hunchback of Notre Dame

"Drop the word 'aspiring'. Write. Then, write some more," -Joanne Harris

Don't get me wrong, I loved The Hunchback of Notre Dame. 95% of it, at least. 

Recently, I viewed Hunchback when our local theater put it on, and since my best friend was in it, I had to see it. Even though Lauren pretty much told me the whole plot and I had sampled some of the soundtrack with her while driving, I was mostly unfamiliar with the show to begin with. 

However, I loved it. Both the performances and the source material. The actor playing Frollo disappeared into his character was a full bass, and the actor playing Quasimodo was absolutely charismatic, and had a voice like butter on hot toast. No one else in particular blew me away, but the cast was solid despite any weak links. The set was exquisite and the atmosphere/staging added a lot to the show. 

The source material is a whole nother beast. On one hand, songs like "Out There" and "God Help the Outcasts" are spine-tingling and moving, and the musical motifs tie the musical together.

But on the other, it's lacking a climax. Sure, you could pinpoint the 'climax' on a story arc, but it's missing the intensity and the emotional power that a climax should have. 

The problem about the last song, specifically when Quasimodo has just killed Frollo, and he brings Esmeralda's body up front, is just that. There's no true last song. 

Hunchback is lacking a final number of just Quasimodo. Throughout the whole show, it is shown to be a character trait of Quasimodo that he expresses himself through powerful song - see "Out There" and "Made of Stone" - and the end almost feels out of character for him because of that. One could argue that he was too sad to sing because everyone he ever loved was dead, and to that I say, his emotions should have been more clearly shown through the music and Quasimodo's acting, which it wasn't. 

We, the audience, have come through this musical deeply caring about Quasimodo, and, as this show is an almost Greek-like tragedy, the audience also deserves that deep look into Quasimodo, that catharsis that makes tragedies so universal and great. The audience wanted - and deserved - to see Quasimodo go through the stages of grief in a heart-ripping song, and to also explain why he wasn't able to move on. Without the last long depicting how Quasimodo has changed and the depth of his grief, the ending doesn't feel final, unlike what the whole show was building up to. 

Hunchback needed that final Quasimodo solo, of the finality of the show and for the finality of Quasimodo as a character. The audience shouldn't have to infer this much on the thoughts and emotions of a character - the job of the writers and musicians and actors is to make the audience feel them, and this is one of the few places Hunchback fell flat. 

Overall, I liked it, and actually loved it. But you all know me, I get off on analysis, so try and enjoy it anyway. 

~The WordShaker