Milwaukee Ballet Presents Dark Tale “Hunchback of Notre Dame”

Milwaukee, WI – March 7, 2023 – Milwaukee Ballet performs Artistic Director Michael Pink’s Hunchback of Notre Dame for the first time in over a decade on March 23-26 at Marcus Performing Arts Center. This full-length ballet is based on the classic novel by Victor Hugo, author of Les Misérables, as part of the Company’s 2022/23 Season of Timeless Tales.

Created by the same artistic team that produced Dracula, Hunchback of Notre Dame recounts the dramatic story of the ostracized Quasimodo, the beautiful Esmeralda, and the wicked Frollo. Pink’s choreography viscerally highlights the dynamics of lust, power, and betrayal that Hugo presented in his work. An original score by Philip Feeney elevates the haunting tale.

“Restaging this ballet after so many years has been invigorating,” says Pink. “It is a serious and difficult work that encompasses the spectrum of human emotion, which showcases both the technical ability and full artistic range of our dancers.”

Milwaukee Ballet Leading Artists Marize Fumero and Lahna Vanderbush will play the role of Esmeralda opposite Garrett Glassman and Benjamin Simoens, respectively. Davit Hovhannisyan and Craig Freigang will dance as Frollo, with the remainder of the cast rounded out by Artists of the Company and dancers from Milwaukee Ballet II.

Audiences will be transported to medieval Paris through exquisitely detailed costumes and an immersive set. The grittiness of fifteenth-century France will be tangible for viewers as they watch the tragedy unfold.

“Victor Hugo’s narrative world has the complexity and scope of an epic, which is what makes it so challenging and rewarding to create on stage,” says Pink. “Yet its real power comes from its intimacy, from the scenes shared by just three principal characters. They are who really drive this story.”

Story Summary 

The beautiful dancer Esmeralda is condemned by Archdeacon Frollo as depraved, yet he finds himself lusting after her and plots to have her kidnapped. Phoebus, the Captain of the Guard, intervenes and begins to seduce Esmeralda. Enraged, Frollo murders Phoebus and frames Esmeralda, but she is rescued by the beleaguered hunchback Quasimodo, who provides her with sanctuary in the belfry of Notre Dame Cathedral. Tragically, it is not enough to save her from a horrifying end caused by the evil men around her and the unjust power they wield.

Performance Information 

Hunchback of Notre Dame runs March 23-26 at Marcus Performing Arts Center. Tickets start at $44 and are available for purchase via the Milwaukee Ballet Box Office at 414-902-2103 or online at milwaukeeballet.org.

The performance schedule is as follows:

• Thursday, March 23, 7:30 PM
• Friday, March 24, 7:30 PM
• Saturday, March 25, 7:30 PM
• Sunday, March 26, 1:30 PM

Please Note: This ballet contains mature themes and is therefore recommended for audience members aged 16 and older.

Milwaukee Ballet’s 2022/2023 Season of Timeless Tales is presented by Donald & Donna Baumgartner with support from United Performing Arts Fund, Wisconsin Arts Board, CAMPAC, Milwaukee Arts Board, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.