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Interpretation
The musical is based on the 1831 novel Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo. While not a literal adaptation of Hugo's classic novel, this project is truer to the original than most movies and musicals bearing the same name.
This CD is a concept album, a work in progress. The story and the songs changed somewhat for the September 1997 world premiere at the Tennessee Repertory Theatre in Nashville, and Dennis DeYoung continues to refine this emerging masterpiece.
The following is the context of the songs as printed in the liner notes:
PROLOGUE
Paris; the Parvis of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Quasimodo Sunday A.D. 1470.
A solitary woman carrying a baby struggles across the rainswept cobblestone square in front of the great church. Once inside, she places the infant at the foot of a large alabaster statue of the Madonna and Child. She makes the sign of the cross and whispers, "Sanctuary Virgin Mother, sanctuary for my child," then runs out. The sudden cries of the baby attract the attention of a young priest, Father Claude Frollo, and a small group of parishioners. The parishioners are horrified to discover that the abandoned child is hideously deformed. Convinced that the infant has been fathered by the union of Satan and a gypsy, they demand it be removed from the church. Incensed by their behavior, Frollo chastises them as they depart. Alone with the baby, he prays. (WHO WILL LOVE THIS CHILD?)
He adopts the child and baptizes him Quasimodo, in honor of the holy day he was found.
ACT ONE
The Parvis, 20 years later
The Feast of Fools celebration has begun and the streets are teeming with every conceivable class of Parisian. Today, the citizens of Parish will choose the ugliest among them to be king for a day. A door with its window removed sits on a platform. People line up, stick their heads in the opening, and make grotesque faces. Clopin Trouillefou, the gypsy King of Thieves, emerges from the crowd to instruct a young pickpocket on the true meaning of the celebration. (KING OF FOOLS)
Sergeant Gudule of the Kings Archers attempts to arrest Clopin, but he escapes.
At song's end, the horribly misshapen face of the full grown Quasimodo crashes through the window. Unaware of the reason for the festivities, he has nonetheless joined in. At first the crowd is stunned by the sight of Quasimodo, but they quickly realize that they have found the perfect king. Quasimodo wears the crown proudly as they carry him in mock triumph throughout the square. (HEY QUASIMODO)
Quasimodo's coronation comes to an abrupt end as Father Frollo, now the Archdeacon of Notre Dame, emerges from the cathedral doors. He is furious over the crowd's mockery of his ward. (BY THE GRACE OF GOD)
A dejected Quasimodo follows Frollo to the steps of Notre Dame. Suddenly exotic music explodes from a side street bordering the church. Esmerelda, a beautiful young gypsy girl, intoxicates the crowd with her dancing and singing. (WHEN I DANCE FOR YOU)
As she dances past Frollo and Quasimodo, she pauses to give some rose petals to the pathetic hunchback. Sergeant Gudule comes forward and arrests Esmerelda for breaking the ordinance which forbids dancing on the church steps. In the melee that ensues, she breaks free and runs to Father Frollo to enlist his help. She grabs his hand and asks for his mercy. Completely taken with her beauty and purity, he agrees to help, if she promises to attend vespers mass. She tells the priest of a recurring dream she has, in which she is rescued from her life on the streets by her one true, pure love. Frollo explains that the rescuer in her dream is God, and that through the church she will find a better life. She agrees to come to vespers.
A dark and forbidding street, just steps away from the mysterious Court of Miracles, the place where thieves, gypsies, and beggars live apart from French society.
Three beggars, one without legs, one blind, and one without arms, plead for money from passing strangers. We will discover later that they are faking their various infirmities. (ALMS FOR THE BEGGARMAN)
An unfortunate citizen accidentally wanders into the forbidden Court of Miracles. Clopin orders the man hanged. Esmerelda intervenes on behalf of the stranger, and convinces Clopin to free him. This unexpected incident keeps Esmerelda from being on time for her meeting with Frollo.
The Cathedral of Notre Dame after vespers
Feeling betrayed by Esmerelda, a humiliated and confused Frollo struggles with his conscience. He sings to the statue of the Madonna and Child. (AVE MARIA)
When Frollo finishes, Quasimodo emerges from the shadows. Each remains unaware of the others presence. Quasimodo begins to clean the statue of the Virgin Mary. As he polishes the beautiful icon, he climbs into its arms and embraces the statue. Suddenly an aura of light surrounds him, and the pure inner voice of Quasimodo is heard. (AVE MARIA)
At the conclusion of this duet, Frollo tells Quasimodo that God has called upon them to rescue Esmerelda from the evils of the city, and bring her into the embrace of the church.
An alleyway not far from Notre Dame
Esmerelda hurries to reach the church. Suddenly Quasimodo leaps out of the darkness and grabs her. Her cries for help are heard by Phoebus de Chateaupers, the Captain of the King's Archers. He draws his sword and vanquishes the hunchback. Frollo has remained unnoticed in the shadows. Soon after, Phoebus' entire regiment, including Sergeant Gudule arrive to arrest Quasimodo. The charming, handsome and brave Captain is the embodiment of the man in Esmerelda's dream. He shamelessly woos her affection and she is smitten.
As Phoebus and his men take the hunchback to the Prison at the Place de Greve, Esmerelda sings (PARADISE)
Esmerelda disappears down a side street.
Frollo emerges from the shadows. Having witnessed the aborted abduction, the arrest of Quasimodo, and Esmerelda's infatuation with Phoebus, Frollo prays for forgiveness. (BLESS ME FATHER)
The Parvis of the Cathedral of Notre Dame
Quasimodo has been convicted of abduction and sentenced to be whipped on the public pillory. As the unfortunate hunchback is led up in chains, the crowd mercilessly taunts and insults him. Frollo watches in agony from the church parapet. Esmerelda and Phoebus have come to watch this event together. However as the torture begins, she begs Phoebus to stop the punishment. He refuses. Quasimodo's cries for water only heighten the mob's sadistic enjoyment. Esmerelda can stand it no more. She ascends the pillory and gives Quasimodo a drink from her wineskin. He is stunned and overwhelmed by her kindness. As Esmerelda turns away, she and all other characters freeze in tableau, as Quasimodo sings his thoughts to her.
At the conclusion of Quasimodo's solo, he joins all other characters in tableau. Esmerelda sings her thoughts to Phoebus. When Quasimodo and Esmerelda duet, he sings to an unknowing Esmerelda, while she sings to an unknowing Phoebus. (WITH EVERY HEARTBEAT)
ACT TWO
The belfry high atop Notre Dame
A huge bell hangs suspended by thick rope. A beautiful quarter moon illuminates the joyous hunchback. Quasimodo has named the various bells of the church, but this one, Marie, is his favorite. (BENEATH THE MOON)
Quasimodo leaps onto the bell and rides back and forth sending its mighty sound throughout Paris.
Father Frollo enters the belfry and questions Quasimodo for ringing the bells so late at night. When Quasimodo explains that he is ringing the bells for Esmerelda, Frollo becomes enraged. He warns Quasimodo to never speak her name, for she has already caused them both enough pain.
A military encampment outside the city walls
The night before they are to leave, to lift the siege of Rouen, Phoebus and his men celebrate their final hours of freedom. Esmerelda and some of her friends have come to entertain the soldiers. As they begin their dance, Phoebus takes Esmerelda aside. In the glow of the campfire he takes her into his arms and begins to kiss her passionately. She pulls away, afraid to give herself completely without a promise of marriage. Not accustomed to being turned down by any woman, he retires to his tent. She follows him. (WHILE THERE'S STILL TIME)
At song's end, Phoebus pulls her down beside him. This time she does not resist. At the height of their passion, a dark hooded figure appears out of nowhere. He plunges a dagger into Phoebus, killing him. The murderer screams, "REPENT ... REPENT" then disappears into the woods. Gudule and his soldiers rush in to find their dead captain, and an hysterical Esmerelda. Her pleas for them to pursue the hooded figure are ignored. Gudule vows revenge on the gypsy.
The sacristy in the Cathedral of Notre Dame
A hooded figure enters and collapses at the foot of a large crucifix. The man pulls back the hood to reveal the tortured visage of Father Frollo. In dialogue and song, Frollo confronts God with blasphemous allegations. He blames God for Esmerelda's temptation, and the evil that has befallen him. In a final act of insanity, he slashes his vestments.
A jail cell in the depths of the Place de Greve
Esmerelda has been found guilty of the murder of Phoebus, and sentenced to hang at dawn. She dreams. (THIS I PRAY)
Esmerelda is then led from her cell through the crowd into the Parvis, to the waiting gallos. As she passes Clopin and her friends from the Court of Miracles, they sing of the injustice.
Moments before the noose is tightened around her neck, Quasimodo swings down a thick rope from the parapets of the church. in one quick motion he pushes the hangman aside, sweeps Esmerelda into his arms, and carries her into the sanctuary of Notre Dame.
The belfry of Notre Dame
Embarrassed by his ugliness, Quasimodo hides behind the bell. He tells Esmerelda in halting speech that she is safe within the walls of the church, and that even a creature as lowly as himself is protected there. Exhausted by the events of the day, she falls asleep on a bed of straw that Quasimodo has provided. Quasimodo returns to the parapets, and imagines himself speaking directly to her. (ESMERELDA)
The streets of Paris
Enraged by the sanctuary afforded Esmerelda, Sergeant Gudule and the entire regiment of Captain Phoebus have petitioned King Louis II to revoke sanctuary for any and all gypsies. The King agrees, and the soldiers march to the cathedral to claim their prize. As the troops approach the church, a large mob of Parisians have joined them. They begin to batter down the doors of the great church.
Quasimodo races across the belfry hurling blocks of stone and large wooden beams down upon the intruders. Any object that is not attached becomes a weapon in his arsenal. All the while he fights the onslaught, he shouts "SANCTUARY ... SANCTUARY" at the mob. A terrified Esmerelda hides in a corner of the belfry. Suddenly the belfry door opens and there stands Frollo, wearing the same hood he wore the night of Phoebus' murder. He confronts Quasimodo. During this heated exchange Frollo curses Quasimodo and Fsmerelda with the words, "REPENT ... REPENT" Esmerelda recognizes his voice as that of the murderer. (CONFRONTATION)
When Frollo tells Esmerelda that he loves her and that he gave up everything for her, she slaps him across the face, leaving deep fingernail marks across his cheeks. He draws a dagger and moves toward the girl. A confused Quasimodo struggles with the priest. When Frollo attempts to stab Quasimodo, the powerful hunchback pushes him backwards away from Esmerelda. The priest stumbles and falls down the shaft of the bell tower to this death. Quasimodo falls to his knees in disbelief and cries out for the priest. Suddenly, Gudule and his men enter the belfry and drag Esmerelda out into the hands of the bloodthirsty mob. She screams for Quasimodo, but he cannot hear her. He kneels sobbing, with his back to the belfry door. (SANCTUARY)
When he finally turns and realizes she is gone, he races down the steps of the bell tower into the streets. The frenzied mob goes silent at the sight of the hunchback. It is too late, Esmerelda is dead. Her frail body lies on the gallows floor. The Parvis empties as Quasimodo ascends the platform. He kneels and gently holds her. (WITH EVERY HEARTBEAT REPRISE)
As the theme to "WHO WILL LOVE THIS CHILD?" swells, he gathers her in his arms and carries her off into the darkness.
EPILOGUE
After that day, no one ever saw Quasimodo again. Years later when a Bishop's tomb was dedicated, deep in the crypt beneath Notre Dame, two skeletons were found. One was that of a young girl whose neck had been broken. The other was that of a man ... though some said it could not be human. So close was their embrace, that when they tried to separate them ... the bones crumbled to dust.
THE END
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