Vox Lumiere-The Hunchback of Notre Dame Rocks On PBS This Fall

Vox Lumiere brings its unique brand of “rock concert meets silent film” to Public TV this Fall with broadcast and national distribution of Vox Lumiere-The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

2008-09-18, Kevin Saunders Hayes

Posted by khmusic 112 days ago (1)
Category: Entertainment - Performing Arts | Tags: entertainment performing arts music

Vox Lumiere, the radically unique live, theatrical performance that combines music, theatre, dance and silent film has signed with DPTV-Detroit Public TV for national distribution of Vox Lumiere-The Hunchback of Notre Dame this Fall.

Vox Lumiere, whose all-star cast of singers, dancers and musicians joins forces with new music, multi-media, light show and film to retell timeless movie masterpieces such as Metropolis, The Phantom of the Opera and Peter Pan, will kick off their Public TV debut with the 1923 classic starring Lon Chaney as the deformed, but noble bellringer of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Vox Lumiere-The Hunchback of Notre Dame is slated to air in December as part of the PBS National Pledge Drive.

“Vox Lumiere is a perfect marriage with Public TV on so many levels,” says Kevin Saunders Hayes, creator of Vox Lumiere. “Vox Lumiere is an amazing concert, great theatre, and a. wonderful way of introducing our beautiful film heritage to a whole new audience. We're bridging the gap between classic films and the 21st Century as we've created a whole new way for everyone to experience these films through a remarkable theatrical event.”

PBS will be rolling out a CD, DVD and Special COMBO CD/DVD (featuring the original 1923 silent film with Music and Lyrics by Kevin Saunders Hayes) of Vox Lumiere-The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Release dates are currently set for mid-October.

Vox Lumiere will also be supporting the release of their Public TV Special and the product roll-out with extensive touring through the remainder of this season and for 2009-2010. "There are still some great priced routing dates available for the '08/09 season," said Adrienne Crane-Ross of Harmony Artists, "and we will be working on the '09/10 tour as well at the upcoming Performing Arts Conferences. The response to this show has been tremendous prior to this, and we expect Vox Lumiere will be even busier after Hunchback hits the airwaves."

Vox Lumiere currently offers five (5) full productions. See video, photos and hear music from each show. In addition, Vox Lumiere has performed throughout the US and Europe, receiving awards, critical acclaim and outstanding audience reviews. Vox Lumiere was honored by the Cinematheque Francaise with special performances at the world-renowned Paris Cinematheque.

The classic 1923 film starring Lon Chaney was the first film adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel about the hunchback Quasimodo's love for Esmeralda. It is one of the grandest spectacles of the silent cinema, fueled by Lon Chaney's wonderful (and many times painful) performance as Quasimodo, the deformed bellringer of Victor Hugo’s famous French novel. Chaney wore a hump and harness weighing over 50 pounds, twisting his torso to feel the pain of Quasimodo and delivering a performance that earned him worldwide fame as “The Man of a Thousand Faces”