TCR Playbills The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Page 27

world—watched as Notre Dame was
engulfed in fire. The famous spire fell and
the roof was largely destroyed. The entire
structure came within 15 minutes of collapse
but, due to the 400+ brave firefighters who
scaled the towers and fought the fire from
inside, the towers, bells, the Great Organ,
and Cathedral structure were saved.
Many of the relics of the Cathedral including
the Crown of Thorns, the Tunic of Saint Louis,
and the Mays paintings survived. A chaplain
of the fire department organized a human
chain to get the priceless works of art and
relics out of the building. Unfortunately,
many gargoyle statues and some works of
art were destroyed. By happy circumstance
sixteen bronze statues of the Apostles and
other figures had been removed from the
spire just days earlier to keep them safe
during the construction.
As our cast and crew watched the blaze
an ocean away, we lamented the losses—
and cheered for the saves—of this historic
landmark we have come to love. Only a few
of us have visited Notre Dame, but we had
all spent weeks and months learning about
it and imagining its interiors at the time of
our story.
“One of the blessings of theater is that,
while physical places change through
deterioration, fire—or, tragically, by force—
we can keep history alive through the art of
storytelling,” says TCR artistic director, Angie
Toomsen.
Though there has been much focus on Notre
Dame itself, The Hunchback of Notre Dame
is a story about compassion, acceptance,
and the destructiveness of fear-based power.
We hope the cathedral will be restored to
new glory but, moreso, we dedicate this
story to those whose lives have been touched
by intolerance and judgment.
Photos, top to bottom: TCR production
photographer Michael Huang of Studio
Reserved captured this image of the Notre
Dame Cathedral during a trip to Paris in 2018.
The North rose window of Notre Dame
Some of the statues of Notre Dame who come
to life in the musical.