HUNCHBACK Review
The Edmonton Sun

Hunchback is the kind of play that steals your attention before the lights even dim.

It's a mesmerizing spectacle of cool costumes, strong personalities, and fearless talent.

The 180-minute show opens with the narrator announcing a grim declaration to the crowd.

"Love," he says. "It's never stronger than when it's most unreasonable."

And if this review were to be a short one, that quote would sum Hunchback up nicely.

Hunchback is, of course, a love story.

Those looking for a fairy tale ending, though, should stick to the made-for-Disney version.

There's more destruction and pain in this dark-themed Hunchback than there are laughs and feel-good moments.

Themes in the play are just as relevant today as they were when the story was first penned in the 1830s.

Based on a Victor Hugo novel, the play begins in Paris during the Festival of Fools, a day when all the city's freaks and outcasts emerge from their holes for a celebration.

Here Quasimodo (Ron Pedersen) makes his first appearance while being crowned the King of Fools.

From his debut scene, the hunchbacked, deaf and lonely Quasimodo forces the audience to feel all his pain.

Through a series of haunting, gutwrenching performances, the Notre Dame bell-ringer has little trouble gaining sympathy.

His role, still, is relatively minor in this Hugo adaption.

He only appears when he needs to.

Quasimodo's hideous exterior is matched by the beauty of Esmeralda (Ava Jane Markus), a charming and fearless gypsy dancer working the streets of Paris.

The tale centres around Esmeralda's search for love and Quasimodo's quiet quest for acceptance in a cruel world.

The real star of the show is Claude Frollo (Scott Walters), a troubled priest who struggles with his unhealthy obsession with Esmeralda.

Walters' creepy, dark, performance — sometimes bold, sometimes eerily subtle — is enough to make you shudder.

It's what brings this modern, gothic version of Hunchback to life.

Complemented by a talented song-and-dance ensemble, the musical portion of Hunchback is outstanding, and brings the right dash of menace and mischief to the stage.

The costumes are terrific too.

The sometimes-whimsical, sometimes wacky, and sometimes gothic get-ups are as much works of art as they are clothes.

Between the outfits, music, and bold performances, Hunchback is a visceral feast for the senses.

There's little to criticize about the play, though it does get a bit drawn out toward the conclusion.

There are also times when cheesy moments (you'll know them when you see them), steal from the play's black, raw heart.

Overall, though, Hunchback exceeds the hype surrounding it.

Catalyst takes a powerful, rich story and tells it like it's meant to be told.

The Hunchback plays at the Citadel until March 27.

Rating: Four and-a-half Suns out of five.

Link to original story

*Photoby Ian Jackson, Epic Photography. Featuring: Ava Jane Markus and Ron Pederson