“Notre Dame de Paris” is based on the novel by Victor Hugo and is adapted by author Luc Plamondon with music composed by Richard Cocciante. The musical and dance piece is billed as a musical spectacle and this current production at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater lives up to that righteous claim. Containing fifty-one musical numbers and little spoken dialogue, the audience is bombarded with incredibly amplified ballads, in rapid succession, sometimes accompanied by acrobats, breakers and dancers creating a sort of choreographic mayhem. There are stone block towers that move about the stage, a huge cathedral wall with several changing apertures, splendid projections, a hanging, and of course the huge bells of Notre Dame Cathedral complete with aerialist clappers and ringers. The production is in French with English subtitles projected on screens that are place on both sides of the stage.

“Notre Dame de Paris” follows Hugo’s 1831 novel storyline quite closely with each of the lead performers introducing their characters through song before any of the real melodrama takes place. It centers around Esmerelda (Elhaida Dani) who dances in the cathedral square and has the mystical charm to attract men to fall in love with her. Her infatuated suitors are Frollo (Daniel Lavoie), the archdeacon of the cathedral, the wealthy Phoebus (Jeremy Amelin) who is married, and Quasimodo (Angelo Del Vecchio) whose love for Esmerelda is sadly unrequited. Things do not end well when Esmerelda is falsely accused of stabbing Phoebus and sentenced to hang. Phoebus returns to his betrothed to be married and Frollo is exposed as the true assailant. After witnessing the hanging of Esmerelda from high atop the cathedral, Quasimodo pushes Frollo down the cathedral stairs to his death. Quasimodo is left heartbroken cradling his beloved Esmerelda in his arms. This is a story of passion, love, and betrayal.

All four principals exhibit powerful vocals with a pop operatic delivery. Direction by Gilles Maheu is conducted in an operatic fashion but does not meld the highly energetic action of the supporting cast with the passionate ballads. The plot is clear but the activity surrounding the plot is a bit murky. There is the immigration problem with unwanted asylum seekers, along with peasants, bell ringers and workers building the cathedral who appear performing frenetic production numbers, including wall climbers, break dancers, aerialists, and militaristic synchronized choreography. What rings true, other than the bells of Notre Dame, is that this current production does live up to its claim of being a “musical spectacle” and a one-of-a-kind theatrical event.