Magical 'Hunchback' echoes with pathos, whimsy

Magic unfolds in Redmoon Theatre's West Town warehouse.Rooted in the ordinary, and often in the grotesque, Redmoon's magic is not the jewel-tone gossamer enchantments or Technicolor brilliance audiences expect from, say, Broadway in Chicago.Yet Redmoon's shows, or more accurately spectacles, are magical and enthralling theatrical events. And their evocative, inventively told "Hunchback" is no exception. Adapted from Victor Hugo's 1831 novel "Notre Dame de Paris," the show is a re-imagining of the 2000 production conceived and designed by Jim Lasko with Shoshanna Utchenik (creator of the striking masks), puppet designer Laura Heit and composer Michael Zerang, whose distinctive score and mesmerizing soundscape is nothing short of brilliant.Exquisitely directed by Leslie Buxbaum Danzig (who co-directed the original with Lasko) and updated by technical director Andrei Onegin, the show integrates actors (some masked), marionettes and a variety of puppets. They all come together to tell the tragic story of malformed bell-ringer Quasimodo's love for the beautiful gypsy Esmeralda, who in turn is pursued by the lustful Archdeacon Frollo."Hunchback" is not beautiful. The set is comprised of unwieldy crates and giant, rotating scaffolds (representing Notre Dame's twin towers) which surround see-sawing ladders (representing the rope Quasimodo uses to ring the bells). The colors are muted. The costumes are rough. The soundtrack is intentionally harsh and discordant. Still, "Hunchback" beguiles. The use of a pop-up book to relate the backstory adds a touch of whimsy, and the awkward seduction scene between Esmeralda and her knight Phoebus injects humor into this grim tale. (A word of warning, if puppet sex offends you, this is not the show for you.)There is pathos in Quasimodo's humiliation and poignancy in Frollo's expression of love for his brother. And when Quasimodo joyfully rings the bells while Esmeralda dances, there is a genuine loveliness I've not experienced since "The Sparrow." Credit for that rests largely with Jay Torrence who makes a moving and memorable Quasimodo, and with Katie Rose McLaughlin, a winsome Esmeralda. Samuel Taylor's tormented Frollo, Alden Moore's expressive performance as Quasimodo's puppet alter-ego and Jeremy Sher's disgruntled Author (Hugo himself) also deserve mention.After the curtain call, the cast invites the audience onstage to explore the set and talk about the show. I declined. I didn't want to spoil the magic."Hunchback"Rating: 3#189; of 4 starsLocation: Redmoon Central, 1463 W. Hubbard St., ChicagoTimes: 8 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays; 4 p.m. Sundays through Jan 20Running time: About 90 minutes, no intermissionParking: Street parking Tickets: $15-$35Box office: (312) 850-8440, ext. 111 or www.redmoon.orgRating: For teens and older