Melody Lane to stage ‘Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame’
A Cape Coral theater is taking on a classic while bringing the show to life for those with that are deaf or have hearing impairment.
Melody Lane Theater will perform Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame across four shows in mid-July. With the main character, Quasimodo, being severely hearing impaired, the troupe decided to partner with the Sally J. Pimentel Deaf & Hard of Hearing Center in Fort Myers.
The center will provide interpreting for one of the shows, and teach Melody Lane actors sign language they can use during the other performances and to take through life.
“We’re trying to bring awareness to the condition,” said Melody Lane Director Dana Alavrez. “Obviously Quasimodo has a lot of different challenges, and one of them is that he’s partially deaf. So wanting to represent the differently-abled in a respectful way and be able to talk with people who go through similar challenges.”
Two different young actors will portray Quasimodo: Connor Devall and Gabe Cruz. Alvarez said working with Sally J. Pimentel Deaf & Hard of Hearing Center will allow these young men to play the character with authenticity and respect.
Melody Lane decided to take on the Victor Hugo classic following requests by students for some time, which was surprising to Alvarez with the seriousness of the show.
“While it’s still a Disney musical, it’s very different from the animated movie,” Alvarez said. “This is a really big learning experience. There’s a lot going on in the world, and this show really has a powerful message of acceptance — that no matter if you are differently-abled or not, or have any sort of challenges, there’s something that you can relate to.”
Quasimodo, being the bell-ringer of the Notre Dame Cathedral, experiences severe damage to his ears over time, which causes him to have severe hearing loss. He communicates through sign language with a character named Frollo, a sort of guardian figure. His hearing loss also exacerbates his isolation from society, as his appearance of having a hunchback and growth over one of his eyes.
The cast is made up of actors ages 14 to 23, as this is not a “teen edition” of the musical.
Melody Lane reached out to Sally J. Pimentel to acquire its assistance in portraying the character authentically, and will speak with a group that done a lot of work in Southwest Florida raising awareness and providing accommodations for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Established in 1983, the mission of the Sally J. Pimentel Deaf & Hard of Hearing Center is “to empower Deaf and hard-of-hearing citizens and their families in Southwest Florida through education, advocacy, and community engagement.” Serving Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry, and Glades counties, DHHC offers services such as interpreting, ASL classes, mentoring, support groups, and advocacy.
“They will do some educating of our cast by coming in — and we would like to have the Quasimodo actors be able to, for at least of one their songs, use sign language phrases every single show, not just when there’s an interpreter,” Alvarez.
DHHC will have an interpreter for the entire show on Sunday, July 20, at 2 p.m.
Alvarez said the cast is looking forward to the experience with DHHC.
“They really love the opportunity to learn about the story and the character and be able to put themselves in someone else’s shoes, and to involve the community,” she said. “If you’re hard-of-hearing or deaf, how do you enjoy musical theater? Obviously that’s really challenging. For the students to be able to see how to make musical theater accessible to other groups is really eye-opening for them.”
Alvarez said having an interpreter at other shows in the future is something the non-profit would most definitely consider, as well as taking material from whichever show they are putting on and connecting with local groups to enhance and include.
Other cast members include Athena Rose Belis and Lia Jaquez, who will portray Esmerelda; Kerwin Cyriaque as Frollo; Keith Williams as Phoebus; Jonny Serat as Clopin; and Sophie Cruz as Florika.
Alvarez added the cast has done an exceptional job with the difficulty of singing in Latin.
“The students having to learn how to speak these phrases of a language that doesn’t exist natively anymore… has been a big challenge,” Alvarez said. “There’s also some Greek phrases, and some French, but a lot is Latin and has a very classical choir sound.”
The shows take place on July 18 at 6:30 p.m.; July 19 at 2 p.m. and 630 p.m.; and July 20 at 2 p.m. All performances are at North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts theater, at 1856 Arts Way in North Fort Myers.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and United Way partner agency, DHHC receives support from the Lee Board of County Commissioners, city of Cape Coral, local organizations, and private donors. For more information, visit dhhc.life, email info@dhhc.life, or call 239-461-0334 or 239-247-5821 (video phone for the Deaf).
For tickets to the show, visit ticketleap.events.
For more information on Melody Lane, visit melodylanepac.com.
To reach CJ HADDAD, please email cjhaddad@breezenewspapers.com