Complete casting is now set for the Paper Mill Playhouse production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Michael Arden, Patrick Page, Ciara Renée and more will reprise their performance from last year’s run at California’s La Jolla Playhouse. Performances will begin at the New Jersey venue on March 4 and run through April 5. Opening night is set for March 15.
Arden, who takes on the titular role of Quasimodo, has appeared on Broadway in The Times They Are A-Changin’ and Big River, as well as Bare, Swimming in the Shallows and It’s Only Life off-Broadway. Page, who will play Dom Claude Frollo, most recently appeared on Broadway in Casa Valentina, as well as A Time to Kill Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Cyrano de Bergerac, A Man for All Seasons, The Lion King and Julius Caesar. Renée made her Broadway debut in Big Fish before going on to star as the Leading Player in Pippin. She takes on the role of Esmerelda.
Also joining the cast are Andrew Samonsky (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Scandalous) as Captain Phoebus de Martin and Erik Liberman (Lovemusik) as Clopin Trouillefou. The ensemble will consist of Julian Decker, Mary Joe Duggan, Ian Patrick Gibb, Beth Kirkpatrick, Samantha Massell, Neal Mayer, Nora Menken, William Michals, Anise Ritchie, Vincent Rodriguez III, Richard Ruiz, Joseph J. Simeone, Jeremy Stolle and Dashaun Young.
Based on the novel by Victor Hugo and featuring music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, a book by Peter Parnell and directed by Scott Schwartz, the musical is a darker take on Disney’s 1996 film and Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel about Quasimodo, a deformed bell ringer at the Notre Dame cathedral, and his unlikely relationship with the gypsy Esmeralda.
The production features set design by Alexander Dodge, costumes by Alejo Vietti, lighting design by Howell Binkley and sound design by Gareth Owen.