The program for Houston Broadway Theatre’s mesmerizing production says “Disney” in the familiar font of the entertainment empire above the title of their musical production of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Maybe you know the story: the hunchback Quasimodo is adopted by a priest, who is his uncle, and who harbors all sorts of racist anger against “Gypsies.”
Quasimodo’s mother was one and he befriends another, the beautiful Esmeralda. The priest, Quasimodo and a soldier all are in love with her, and there are all sorts of problems including sexual harassment, career trajectories, jail time, and heresy. See how this story is not so long ago and far away? It’s enough to make you want to sing about all of it.
'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'
When: Through July 5
Where: The Wortham Center 501 Texas Avenue
Details: $63 and up; 20% discount for purchase of 4 or more tickets with promo code FAM4; houstonbroadwaytheatre.com
But you’re not going to Disney: instead, pack your bags for a far better destination, no animation required. This musical might spring from the music from the film by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, but it exceeds it along with a fine book version from Peter Parnell, and a deeper representation of Victor Hugo’s famous 1831 novel. The name recognition of “Disney” might bring people in, but this creative and captivating cast and impressive incarnation of Hugo’s novel is compelling in a way that animation is not.
Unlike much contemporary prose, which often preaches to an imaginary choir while simultaneously shaming anyone not on the same political pew, Hugo’s novel confronts humanity with sweeping moral questions that leave no one smug or off the hook. The heartbreaking life of the hunchbacked, deformed, and hard-of-hearing Quasimodo, juxtaposed with the challenges faced by the enchanting but exploited Esmeralda, not only make for a great story, but also are examples of Hugo’s crucial question for everyone: “What makes a monster and what makes a man?”
From the opening number to the poignant closing lines from Tyce Green, who brilliantly transforms himself into Quasimodo, you are completely transfixed by this musical that dramatizes how profound that question really is. It doesn’t hurt that there are exciting ensemble musical acts, including an “Entr’acte” with a full 30-member choir. You don’t see that every day, and even if you are familiar with the novel and Disney branded cinema, this show’s direction under Joe Calarco (who already wowed Houston audiences with HBT’s “Next to Normal” and “American Psycho”—which was totally psycho in a good way) doesn’t replicate — it re-creates.
In his director’s note, he explains “I don’t really believe in realism in the theatre. If I want realism, I’ll stay home and look out my window.” Thank goodness: this allows Calarco to take all sorts of risks ranging from how to convey physical deformity to the sublimity of the terrifying and the beautiful in Notre Dame Cathedral itself. And those risks sure pay off.
W.H. Auden was right: “About suffering they were never wrong, the old Masters: how well they understood/Its human position.” And Hugo was a master of making suffering something that was not just personal, but something that could be addressed spiritually, politically, and even practically through compassion and courageous actions.
But the production's magical realism reminds us of how the mind compensates for rejection and loneliness that defines Quasimodo's existence in a cruel and punishing world. There is the 21-piece orchestra on stage, directed by Andrew Orbison, which is the first time this expanded addition is being performed in the U.S. There are the spicy costumes that don’t stay within the confines of the 14th-century (Johanna Pan), and scenic design that spans everything from high-tech tromp-l’oeil images of one of the most recognizable cathedrals in the world to the shadows of the stone saints and gargoyles who are Quasimodo’s “friends” who converse with him.
From the wings on the stone sculptures to the imposing Gothic architecture depicted on screens, this original melding of form and function for scenic design (Tim Mackabee), lighting (Tyler Micoleau), and sound/video (Andrew Harper and Greg Emetaz) transports you to a place where realism and the imagination are not at odds, but depend on each other to mirror the base injustices of the real world with the miraculous transcendence of the ideal.
The songs are wonderful, but that is because of the superlative cast and their ability to deliver “Rest and Recreation” in a clever and naughty way, “Top of the World” in a way that really does inspire wonder, and “Someday” in a way that could be a stand-alone song.
But the performances are knockouts: the superlative physical and emotional portrayal of Quasimodo by Tyce Green, who contorts himself into the suffering and sympathetic Hunchback is remarkable. (Green is also an accomplished musician and was a former runway model for “Project Runway.”) Veronica Otim’s Esmeralda is stunning—her vocals are worth the price of the ticket alone.
The entire ensemble cast works so well together, with additional standouts as a compelling Alvin Crawford as Dom Claude Frollo, Diego Guevara as Clopin and Lieutenant Frederic Charlus played by Ethan Achee all add to the tensions and even comic moments in the production. With 31 actors, this is an ambitious and noteworthy production. How fortunate that Houston Broadway Theatre keeps delivering in surprising and satisfying ways as they unfold another winner on stage.
June 23, 2026
Doni Wilson