Quasimodo is the main protagonist in the musical adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, based on the character of the same name.
Background[]
In the German musical, Quasimodo is more morose in demeanor and he has trouble communicating verbally, though he is not deaf. He is able to freely express himself when he sings, which leads one to believe his numbers actually take place in his mind. His fate at the end of the musical is much different than in the film: he kills Frollo out of anger following Esmeralda's death and carries her corpse from Notre Dame (much like in Hugo's book). The musical also establishes Quasimodo's gargoyle friends as figments of his imagination, created due to his loneliness.
In the North American musical, Quasimodo's role and personality are very much the same as in the original musical. However, in this version, Quasimodo's father, named Jehan, is revealed to be Frollo's brother, placing Quasimodo in the care of his cruel uncle. As in the novel, Quasimodo is rendered deaf from the ringing of the bells and only speaks coherently when talking to the gargoyles (in this case, his friends are portrayed as stone saints) or when singing. Some productions cast a deaf actor as Quasimodo with another actor providing his singing voice. Additionally, Quasimodo's fate is less ambiguous than in the German musical and stays true to the novel: he takes Esmeralda's body to the crypts beneath Paris and starves to death. His remains are later found clutching Esmeralda's. When it's attempted to separate them, Quasimodo's remains crumble to dust.
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