Dream Cast

So, let's say you could create your own production of NDDP, and cast anyone in the roles from any production, who would you choose and why?

Quasimodo: It's a hard choice for me, I'd love to say Garou just because I know he'd be perfect and magical, but I'm going to say Doug Storm from the Las Vegas production. Unlike so many of the other Quasimodo's that try to copy Garou, Doug doesn't do that at all. He created something special with this Quasimodo. I love his voice: it's so soothing and dreamy almost. Plus his acting is utterly heartbreaking, and yet he captures an essence of novel!Quasimodo no other actor has been able to do, I think.

Esmeralda: Federica Callori, from the latest Italian Tour. She reminds me of the novel Esmeralda so much. She's young, beautiful, fiesty, a great dancer, and easily vocally one of the best Esmeralda's ever.

Frollo: Alexander Marakulin from the Russian Production. He truly became Frollo; capturing his anguish and pain, his longing for Esmeralda, and loyalty to the church.

Gringoire: Deven May from the Las Vegas production. He was so amazing! Easily one of the best Gringoire's ever! His voice is alluring, and the way he moves really captures you.

Phoebus: I haven't really found a Phoebus that for me has done the role perfectly. They're either too nicey, and not enough of a jerk. I would have to go with either Mark Smith from the Las Vegas production, or Alberto Mangia Vinci from the Italian Production. Both are really strong vocally.

Clopin: Emanuele Bernardeschi from the current Italian Tour. He IS Clopin. If you haven't seen any footage of him, stop what you're doing and check some out. He nails the role, and brings such passion and fire to the role.

Fleur-de-lys: Natasha St. Pier from the Canadian and British Production. I adore her voice, and she's both sweet and vindictive at the same time.

What's your dream cast?

Quasimodo: I think I'll have to agree with Doug Storm. He nearly moved me to tears with his version of "The King of Fools", a song which I never liked prior to hearing his version. It's really stirring.

Esmeralda: Tahis Ciurana. I think she has the most spectacular voice and has the right look for Esmeralda by being alluring, sometimes downright sultry, but other times very youthful and innocent. I don't know much of her acting, since there's almost no video footage of her in the show (that I've been able to find, at least) but her rendition of "Mi Febo" sounds very expressive.

Frollo: I'd like to see Alexander Marakulin just because I've heard such great things about him. If not him then Enrique Sequero, who manages to actually make me enjoy Frollo's solos rather than be lulled to sleep by them. It may be overdone but at least it's passionate.

Gringoire: Daniel Anglès. Guh, I just love his voice and he's so consistent. His performances on the studio album and the two live recordings I've heard are all spectacular.

Phoebus: Lisardo Guarinos. Okay, I need to try to branch out from the Barcelona cast but his voice is so magnificent! I'm a big fan of vibrato and he's got it in spades. If not Lisardo then maybe Steve Balsamo, if only because he seems very capable but sadly underrated from what I've seen and I'd like to actually see his performance.

Clopin: I really don't know. I've seen some of Emanuele Bernadeschi's clips but not a full performance so it's hard to judge, though I did like what I saw. I suppose I'll go with him since he's the only one I can think of on whom I haven't fully formed an opinion.

Fleur-de-Lys Really tough call. I want to say Elvira Prado soo badly but I'm going to try to stay away from the Barcelona cast. I do love Natasha St. Pier's "My Heart if You Will Swear" but I didn't like her as much in the earlier songs, Claudia d"ottavi has such great attitude during "La Cavalcatura" in her expressions and body language but I don't love her voice as much, Claire Cappelletti and Anne Meson seem like sweethearts with really pretty voices... you know what, I'm just going with Elvira. I love her.

Basically my dream is just to see the original Barcelona cast, apparently!

This is where my ignorance of the show's history really shows though. I really only know the recorded casts and am vaguely familiar with a couple others.

This is my dream cast:

Quasimodo: Garou. I haven’t heard much of Doug Storm really, and while other Quasimodos are nice, Garou will always be my favourite. His performance really gets to me, especially in “Dieu que le monde est injuste”… you can feel his pain and sadness!

Esmeralda: I really enjoyed Shirel, the Mogador Esmeralda! I haven’t had the chance to see any actual videos from the show, but I’ve heard the audio and she sounds spectacular! I also loved Lily Dahab, the alternate Spanish Esmeralda!

Frollo: I enjoyed Enrique Sequeros’ performance very much, it was powerful! And I haven’t seen anything else from him, but Vincenzo Nizzardo’s “Un prete innamorato” was amazing!!

Gringoire: Bruno Pelletier. It will always be Bruno for me. I adore Cyril Niccolai, Daniel Anglès (I’ll never get over how adorable Daniel is!!) and Matteo Setti, but Bruno is just amazing on stage. His voice, his acting, everything! I don’t even know how to express how much I love him as Gringoire!

Phoebus: Patrick Fiori will always be my Phoebus! He’s charming (with his perfect sweet voice, his looks and his everything!) and I can understand why Esmeralda would fall for him! I really, really love his voice!

Clopin: I honestly don’t know… I don’t dislike any of them, but they don't impresses me too much either… I guess I’ll go with Boddy Julienne from the Mogador cast =)

Fleur-de-Lys: Julie Zenatti is my Fleur-de-Lys! Her performance in “La monture” was perfect, and she made me feel a bit sympathetic for the character. And her voice, it’s so sweet and innocent! If not her, Claire Cappelletti from the Mogador cast (I really liked that cast, yeah!)!

I will say just this instead of going in depth because I'm pathetic when I go in depth: My dream cast is the original cast. It always is for me. Because they make the characters grow and evolve past words on a page into people with emotions and desires and all that. Plus, every other production's actors draw something from the previous person who held the role, and so on and so on until you get back to the first ones.

I know, it's sad, but at least I get to see my dream cast!

Sarastro wrote:

I will say just this instead of going in depth because I'm pathetic when I go in depth: My dream cast is the original cast. It always is for me. Because they make the characters grow and evolve past words on a page into people with emotions and desires and all that. Plus, every other production's actors draw something from the previous person who held the role, and so on and so on until you get back to the first ones.

I know, it's sad, but at least I get to see my dream cast!

Don't say it's sad!! I love everyone in the original cast!! They are all amazing

Even though I love everyone from the original production, I'd like to see some actors interact with others from different casts... for example, I'd love to see how Bruno's Gringoire would interact with Shirel, for example, or with a not-so-mature Esmeralda like Lily Dahab. You know what I mean? I wonder how they'd adapt to each other

musicskies, you win at life for mentioning Vincenzo Nizzardo as Frollo! After Alexander Marakulin he's my favorite. I really just can't get over how impressive he is!

undyingly wrote:

musicskies, you win at life for mentioning Vincenzo Nizzardo as Frollo! After Alexander Marakulin he's my favorite. I really just can't get over how impressive he is!

I haven't seen the whole performance, but there were some videos going around on Tumblr and I was really impressed!

By the way, your icon is gorgeous!