La Mirada Theatre For The Performing Arts and McCoy Rigby Entertainment have announced that deaf actor John McGinty will play Quasimodo in the Los Angeles premiere of The Hunchback of Notre Dame; Dino Nicandros will perform as his singing voice. The casting comes following the success of Deaf West’s Spring Awakening on Broadway, which featured a diverse company made up of deaf and hard-of-hearing actors, who garnered critical acclaim.
The musical is set to kick off La Mirada’s 2016-17 season, with direction by Glenn Casale, music direction by Dennis Castellano and choreography Dana Solimando. Performances will run September 16-October 9 with an official opening set for September 17.
Hunchback debuted at New Jersey’s Paper Mill Playhouse in 2015 (a co-production with La Jolla Playhouse). The new musical is a collaboration between theatre heavyweights Alan Menken (composer), Stephen Schwartz (lyricist) and Peter Parnell (book writer). The show is inspired by Victor Hugo’s classic novel and the popular Disney film.
READ MORE: WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO HUNCHBACK?
The principal cast for the L.A. debut will also feature Cassie Simone as Esmeralda, Mark Jacoby as Frollo, Keith A. Bearden as Clopin and Eric Kunze as Phoebus. The ensemble features Brandon Burks, Doug Carfrae, Cherrie Badajos Cruz, Emily Dauwalder, Rachel Farr, Lance Galgon, Hannah Madeleine Goodman, Devon Hadsell, William Martinez, Kevin McMahon, Shanon Mari Mills, Shannon Stoeke, Stephanie Thiessen and Paul Zelhart.
The production will also have scenic design by Stephen Gifford; lighting design by Jared Sayeg; sound design by Josh Bessom; costume design by Marcy Froehlich; and hair/make-up/wig design by Leah J. Loukas. Casting is by Julia Flores, and the production stage manager is John W. Calder, III.
Tickets can be purchased at La Mirada Theatre’s website, lamiradatheatre.com, or by calling the La Mirada Theatre Box Office at (562) 944-9801 or (714) 994-6310.
