OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – On select nights through Oct. 22, you can take a trip back to 15th century Paris, where Quasimodo has been living in shadows, and will finally step out into the world. The performance from Osceola Arta has songs from Disney’s popular animated film, but this show will go even deeper. The production is more inspired by the 1831 novel by Victor Hugo.
The show’s director said it will bring a darker and more sinister side to the narrative we all know.
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“With this added depth, the show touches on social issues of the time that are unfortunately something we are still dealing with today. The audience can expect to laugh, cry, and most of all think,” said Christopher Robinson.
Not only will it tell a story of love and acceptance, but it also will offer performances for people who have trouble seeing or are hard of hearing.
Osceola Arts recently received a generous donation from the Walt Disney Company, which helps the theatre be able to offer these services.
“Osceola Arts is committed to making the arts affordable and accessible to everyone. We are a member of the Central Florida Audio Description Initiative that works to provide accessibility to the arts for people who are blind, have low vision, or simply have trouble seeing,” said Jeremiah Krivinchuk, chief operating officer.
Krivinchuk says all five shows during their 63rd season will have one audio-described performance and one American Sign Language performance. He said it’s an initiative they plan on continuing.
For The Hunchback of Notre Dame, those performances will be on Oct. 20 and Oct. 21.
The director behind the show said they first got started in May.
“Creating that first concept deck and vision is really where a lot of preliminary decisions are made that carry on throughout the process — things like cast size, ideas for the set and lighting, costume thoughts. With those solidified, I’m able to bring on a production team that can execute that vision which happened in late May/early June and we have our first production meeting prior to even having auditions,” said Robinson.
Auditions were in early August, and then they started rehearsals just a couple of days after callbacks.
At the beginning of the process, they rehearsed four nights a week, but by September, they were up to five nights.
Esther Olivo plays Esmeralda. She says her full-time job is very understanding of her performance schedule. She talked about how the role can be both physically and emotionally demanding.
“Without going into too much detail and give away spoilers, that second half of the show really calls for me to give my all and be very vulnerable, not just in front of my fellow castmates, but complete strangers as well. So a lot of it is mental and physical preparation. Making sure I allot time for meditation, breathing, and stretching,” said Olivo.
Carlos Ashby plays Quasimodo while also working remotely a full-time job as a recruiter for accountants in South Florida. He says while he has flexibility with his job, a lot of preparation goes into the role. He says he has to do a 15-minute stretch before each show, and he makes sure to get medical massages to realign his muscles and spine once a week. He also has to make sure his vocals are warmed up.
“I make sure to run 4 miles before every show to warm up my body and vocal folds, then I do an actual 15-minute vocal warm-up, and finally I steam my vocal folds for 30 minutes before driving to the theater,” said Ashby.
On show dates, his diet mainly consists of chicken soup and tea.
Robinson said what also makes this show so beautiful to watch, is that it is quite the undertaking just to direct.
“Each of the actors begins as a congregant — or a storyteller if you will. They welcome you to the theatre, they establish the setting, and then they begin to take on the roles you know and love,” said Robinson.
“In the script, many of the lines and solos aren’t specifically notated to any performer, rather they just say ‘Congregant’ and it is up to us to decide which member of the cast will be delivering it. Just dividing up the lines and solos took the production team upward of 12 hours... It truly does take an incredible amount of people and work to just make it from the prologue to the final scene,” he went on to explain.
The audience can expect to see a cast of characters we all know and love, and they will also be joined by chorus students from St. Cloud High School.
Tickets range in price from $25 to $30. You can click here to find tickets.
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