The new book by playwright Peter Parnell strengthens the original by hewing closer to the source material of Victor Hugo’s novel: He wisely chose a much darker tone, eliminating those ridiculous vaudevillian gargoyles, and made the evil Frollo corrupt through conflict not magic, making him a much more sympathetic villain. Under the direction of Scott Schwartz, this rendition contains songs from the movie alongside some new ones by original songsmiths Alan Menken (music) and Stephen Schwartz (lyrics). This is the second stage version of Hunchback the first, in 1999, played in Berlin under the direction of James Lapine (recorded as Der Glöckner von Notre Dame ). It is now available on CD and download from Ghostlight Records. While the stage version at the La Jolla and Paper Mill Playhouses both improves and makes less of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), the Studio Cast Recording of the Paper Mill cast is quite a knockout.

While Disney has encroached Broadway with film-to-musical adaptations, not one has come out which bettered its source.

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