The Original Story 

The story of the famous Cathedral on the L’île de la Cité in the middle of the Seine in Paris has been told in many guises and through many mediums since the publication of Victor Hugo’s novel in 1831. The title, Notre-Dame de Paris was specifically chosen by Hugo because the main character of the book itself is not the legendary Hunchback, but rather Notre-Dame herself. When the English edition was published in 1833 it was given the title The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, a title which Hugo disliked because it put the focus on the eponymous bellringer as opposed to the Cathedral. Hugo, who had a deep appreciation for Gothic architecture, its flying buttresses, vaulted ceilings, gargoyles and grand scale had wanted the piece to be an ode to Notre-Dame and the mistreatment of this forgotten architecture that he was witnessing in 19th century Paris. 

The story has subsequently been adapted into many operas, ballets, films (famously the 1939 Charles Laughton and 1996 animated Disney versions), television, music, theatre and of course musicals. All of these adaptions have focused on various aspects of the story, whether that be the plight of the Gypsies in Paris, the Catholic Church, the Cathedral herself or indeed Quasimodo. 

When Disney began their production in 1993, they did so because they wanted a new challenge by adapting a literary masterpiece that was sophisticated and serious in tone. This type of challenge was something that very much appealed to Artform when we took the decision to produce the 2014 Disney stage musical version in April 2024. Artform have strived to stretch and develop as a production house with our routes in Sondheim but also looking at hard hitting plays like Blood Brothers and The Elephant Man, along with poignant pieces like Oh! What a Lovely War, classics such as Sweet Charity and indeed comedic cabarets like Forbidden Broadway. 

There are many differences in the Disney animated film to the book and indeed the tone is noticeably uneven.  Subsequently a German adaptation was created in 1999, Der Glöckner von Notre-Dame, which was a huge success, prompting Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz to rework the piece to reach the definitive version of their vision and bring it even closer to the original novel.