Actor has history with ‘Hunchback’
Ian Patrick Gibb and Quasimodo go way back.
Back to the fall of 2013, to be precise, when Gibb auditioned for Disney Theatrical’s production of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”
He was cast, participated in the new musical’s workshop and performed in the first two productions, at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego and the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, N.J. Along with his various roles, he understudied title character Quasimodo — the hunchbacked bell ringer of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris — but he never took the stage in the leading role. Until now. Gibb will star in Central Florida Community Arts’ two-night concert staging of the show this week.
“It’s been great to revisit the show again,” says Gibb, a singer with Walt Disney World’s Voices of Liberty. “I always wanted to put my own stamp on the role.”
The stage show is based on Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel and is considerably darker than Disney’s 1996 cartoon version — although the musical uses the major songs from the film. Parents, take note: The show raises the themes of death, lust and discrimination.
“We’re not shying away from the gravity” of Hugo’s tale, says director Rob A. Lott. “This is an important story to tell right now. There are people in the world who feel marginalized right now, and we are going to speak to them.”
For Gibb, working on the show from its earliest days provided a chance to learn from the best.
“Working with Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz on something from the ground up was like a dream come true,” he says. “Seeing the whole creative process was really fascinating.”
Menken (“The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast”) composed the “Hunchback” music, while Schwartz (“Wicked,” “Pippin”) wrote the lyrics. For the CFCArts production, a 100-voice choir and 25-piece orchestra will bring the music to life.
“It’s going to really give this epic music the scale it deserves,” says Gibb, who also starred as the title character in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” for CFCArts.
As with many new musicals, change was constant as “Hunchback” developed.
“We would get rewrites every day — a new song or new dialogue,” Gibb recalls. “We had to be on our toes.”
“Hunchback” is not the only Hugo work on Gibb’s résumé: He toured in “Les Misérables.” Besides the author of their source material, the two serious musicals have something else in common, Gibb says: “Both those shows make audiences openly weep.”