Went to see Synetic Theater's Hunchback of Notre Dame tonight with ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
greenygal as her treat.
This one was a wordless production, but fairly true to the book, including the 'everyone's dead' end.
The use of masks in the production was fantastic, especially with Frollo. There are several scenes where he seems to be fighting his mask -- his real feelings against what he should present to the world -- and in the finale it is Quasimodo against Frollo's mask, to the point where Frollo was killed when Quasimodo broke his mask into two.
Actually, some of the best sequences were of Frollo against himself, generally protrayed by Frollo, a dance troupe of six gargoyles mimicing his every move, and his fevered image of Esmerelda, portrayed in a change of dress and a concealing full-face mask to show this was Frollo's image of her, and not actually her, as Esmerelda wore lighter colors and was one of the few actors not wearing a mask as at all, though she did have make-up making a partial mask across her forehead, as did many of the 'beggar' characters. Phoebus and the guard were portrayed in shiny, military-style gasmasks, which emphasized their authority and also allowed several members of the ensemble to play soldiers (gasmask), gargoyle (plague-doctor mask), or beggar (domino make-up) as the scene required.
The next and final production of the season is going to be Mark of Cain, an original (instead of adapted) peice. I'm not sure if I'll go see it, but generally Synetic doesn't disappoint me.
Next season is already available for subscription, being: The Adventures of Peter Pan, The Trial (Kafka), Titus Andronicus, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which is a bit of an odd mix, in my opinion. Of course, it all depends on my employment status when next season rolls around.
greenygal as her treat.This one was a wordless production, but fairly true to the book, including the 'everyone's dead' end.
The use of masks in the production was fantastic, especially with Frollo. There are several scenes where he seems to be fighting his mask -- his real feelings against what he should present to the world -- and in the finale it is Quasimodo against Frollo's mask, to the point where Frollo was killed when Quasimodo broke his mask into two.
Actually, some of the best sequences were of Frollo against himself, generally protrayed by Frollo, a dance troupe of six gargoyles mimicing his every move, and his fevered image of Esmerelda, portrayed in a change of dress and a concealing full-face mask to show this was Frollo's image of her, and not actually her, as Esmerelda wore lighter colors and was one of the few actors not wearing a mask as at all, though she did have make-up making a partial mask across her forehead, as did many of the 'beggar' characters. Phoebus and the guard were portrayed in shiny, military-style gasmasks, which emphasized their authority and also allowed several members of the ensemble to play soldiers (gasmask), gargoyle (plague-doctor mask), or beggar (domino make-up) as the scene required.
The next and final production of the season is going to be Mark of Cain, an original (instead of adapted) peice. I'm not sure if I'll go see it, but generally Synetic doesn't disappoint me.
Next season is already available for subscription, being: The Adventures of Peter Pan, The Trial (Kafka), Titus Andronicus, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which is a bit of an odd mix, in my opinion. Of course, it all depends on my employment status when next season rolls around.