Weekend Showcase: Bunce Backyard Productions Offers “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”
Bunce Backyard Productions is at it again. This summer, the outdoor theater offering is a free production of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” on stage in a backyard in Dayton.
“We’re honored to be able to bring you this evening of free theater,” said Sharayah Bunce, show director, in welcoming the crowd to the opening night show in the Bogel backyard in Dayton, MN.
The fact that “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” is offered for free is a testament to the pure love of theater the many volunteers provide.
“We have 50 people in the cast itself and then we have 21 in the choir and 23 in the orchestra,” said Bunce.
“This is our fifth year here. We did it five years in our backyard, one year at the Town Green in Maple Grove and five years here,” says Lorie Bunce of Bunce Backyard Productions Theater Company.
A More Serious Version of Bunce Backyard Productions
“The Hunchback of Notre Dame” is a bit more serious play than recent shows put on in the Bogel family backyard in Dayton.
“There’s a lot of reasons that I think it’s important right now. There’s a lot of things that it says that I think are still true today. A lot of things about hypocrisy, about outcast groups of people, about people that are looked down upon and ridiculed, and I just think that all of those messages are so important especially now,” said Sharayah Bunce.
Michael Wesley plays Captain Phoebus de Martin.
“I think the audience will have a cathartic moment toward the end, but they will also walk away feeling uplifted and inspired and believing that there is still hope in the world and that someday life will be kinder,” says Martin.
” The Hunchback of Notre Dame” is on stage now through Wednesday, August 1. The show starts at 7 pm.
For more information and directions to the Bogel backyard in Dayton, visit Bunce Backyard Prodcutions Theater
