This interview originally aired on 5/15/2026 on KEDT-FM.
ROB BOSCAMP: And a good afternoon, South Texas! I'm Rob Boscamp. Joining me in the studio this afternoon, we have some special guests. Several cast members from Harbor Playhouse's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," which opens [Friday, May 15]. We have Matt Simpson as Quasimodo, Travis Escobar as Claude Frollo, Izzy Cantu as Esmerelda, and Jacob Zamarron as Captain Phoebus. Everyone, welcome to the studio, and thank you for joining us!
"HUNCHBACK" CAST: Thanks for having us, appreciate it.
ROB BOSCAMP: "Hunchback of Notre Dame," so much history behind the production. There's so many adaptations — from Victor Hugo's original French Gothic novel in 1831 to the 1996 animated movie — which for a lot of our listeners will probably be their first thought. What's unique about this adaptation?
MATT SIMPSON (QUASIMODO): I would say, if you are familiar with the book and the Disney film, this adaptation is a great mix of both. It's the songs from the Disney film that you love, while staying truer to the book itself. Personally, I think this is the most beautiful score ever written for the stage by the wonderful Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz. But there really is some great moments to laugh at, moments to cry at. So if you're looking for a good time to feel feelings, come see the show.
ROB BOSCAMP: And that's coming from Quasimodo himself. Right now, we have four members of the main cast today. As you all know in theater, you know that when you develop a character, in exchange, that character develops you. Going into "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and going through rehearsals and developing your characters; What is something that you've learned about yourself during this production?
IZZY CANTU (ESMERELDA): Something that I have learned. I'm gonna get a little personal real quick. Esmeralda is very confident, and she has her insecurities, of course. But she's overall seen as a confident person. You know that is in, during this time, in order to get through the message of what she wanted, she had to be perceived as confident. Even though, deep down, she really isn't. And that's something I kind of have struggled with my entire life, is my confidence and self esteem. And I feel like allowing myself to portray Esmeralda has allowed me to bring out parts of myself that I was like, "Oh, hey, it's really in there!" So I'd really say I've learned a lot of her confidence, and it has made me confident in all of my abilities and stuff. And I'm really just having a fun time playing her.
JACOB ZAMARRON (CAPTAIN PHOEBUS): I think I can echo that sentiment, as well. Phoebus is a character that likes to have his chest puffed out. His chest is puffed out into the room before he is; you know, very confident and cocky even. I think you could say, and it's kind of opposite from the person that Jacob [Zamarron] is. He's very quiet and reserved. And also, with this character, it's given me an opportunity to just reflect on some, at least some, life events that have happened over the last couple of years. Phoebus has this struggle with past trauma in the show that he's wrestling. He's kind of wearing his confidence as a guise is to cover that up and kind of to dig into that. It allowed me to, kind of just to revisit the passing of my father that happened last year, and that's been something to help, I guess, grieve; but doing something that I love as well with that energy by being on stage.
ROB BOSCAMP: Well, first, I'll take a quick break to say my condolences for your loss, and you'll make your father proud in this role.
TRAVIS ESCOBAR (CLAUDE FROLLO): I just want to say that it's, it's been such a challenge. Because, obviously, whenever you take any role, you want to incorporate parts of yourself into everything. Very difficult to do so with such a cruel person. But I would definitely say reading the script countless times and being able to incorporate the physicality of it. I think that everyone can sort of — it sounds horrible— but relate to his cynicism, right? I mean, everybody has held grudges before in their life. But I think that a lot of people, when they're quick to judge someone's entire personality or things that they've gone through, they they don't realize, you know, the stakes of a grudge, right? If a friend does something to you and you don't like him for a very long time, I think that— I don't know how to explain it, because I have never said it to another person when thinking about the role. I definitely think that it's such an interesting, incredible thing to portray, because you have three different forms of love throughout the show. And I think that that's something that people really need to look into. You have Quasimodo's naivety, right? And his childlike innocence is sort of what fuels his love. And Frollo's cynicism, I think that it's, it's very cyclical, right? You have, you look at the three stages in life, right? You have people who have been hurt. And I almost think that if you view the three characters of Quasimodo, Frollo and Esmeralda —sorry, Phoebus — if you look at the three of them, I think that you you see this cycle of naivety cynicism and wisdom, right? So, you have Quasimodo, as I said before, his love is because he doesn't know anything other than love. He's lived in this protected shelter time. And Frollo, it's the wrong kind of love. He has not matured yet to that point because he cannot let go of that past. And Esmerelda, she's been wronged in so many ways, but she possesses the wisdom to understand that it's never nothing in life. And the way that the universe is to her, it's never personal. And I think that she knows that, and that's really what it means to be a gypsy in that that play: to understand that nothing is out to get you. Now, I wish that my character knew that.
ROB BOSCAMP: Yeah, that's one thing about being in the audience too, is we're always on the outside looking in—and also looking inward, in a way when you think about it. My next question is, and we'll try to keep this spoiler-free: What are you most excited for the audience to experience?
MATT SIMPSON: The incredible amount of local talent that we have on the stage. A lot of people come into the theater, and I've been with the Harbor Playhouse for over 10 years now, and I hear it all the time. It's like, "Oh, you know, where'd you guys come from? You know, is this your career?" It's like, "No, we do this because we love it." We don't make a dime when we're on stage. We're here every night because we love what we do. We love the stories we get to tell. Everybody is pretty much local, and we've got a few people that are trained actors and vocalists, and they're great to have. But a lot of the people on that stage, you know most of our cast, they've never done this before. By watching during rehearsals, I'd never be able to tell and so I think people are going to be very surprised at the talent that is on that stage. If you know music, you will understand how difficult this music is. Most shows you have your singular cast that includes your ensemble and your lead actors. The way the show is written is: we have our lead actors, our congregation and then an entirely separate choir. We're all singing different things at the same time, and it comes together just so beautifully. So, I think people are really in for a special treat when they come into the theater.
JACOB ZAMARRON: You guys would just like to give a quick shout to our production team and technical crew as well. They put a lot of a lot of hours into building our set and our lighting design. It's coming together so beautifully, and we're so excited to share this final product of our, and their, hard work with the community come Friday.
ROB BOSCAMP: This question is bit of a fun one for all four of you. If you had 24 hours to visit Paris, what would you do?
MATT SIMPSON: Everything!
IZZY CANTU: I'd probably get a ton of baguettes everywhere. Honestly, I love bread.
TRAVIS ESCOBAR: I had gone to Paris once. I was extremely fortunate that I was able to actually visit the Notre Dame Cathedral before it burned down recently.
And honestly, I just want to go back after doing this production, because it's just ... it's still one of the most enchanting. It's, I mean, it's, I was gonna say wonders the world, is it? It's not, but, you know, but it should be. It's a beautiful place, and I feel like that's absolutely number one destination. You got to go, right? City Gates, Riverson, Notre Dame.
MATT SIMPSON: Yeah, for me, this show is a dream role. Actually getting to go to Paris one day and visit the cathedral that's captured the hearts of millions over the years. And Paris itself is such a historic town in general. So many movies and books and so many things have been written about Paris and its surrounding areas. To me, there's so much to do. It's hard to pick where to start, but I guess for me, it would be Notre Dame: going from there, hard to top that.
JACOB ZAMARRON: All right, the Cathedral of Notre Dames is one of the many beautiful churches and pilgrimage sites that Paris has to offer. And so that's certainly where my heart lies. France being the eldest daughter of the church. It's certainly a place that I would love to go visit; and see all the other beautiful and just majestic shrines and churches that it has to offer. And,of course, would not also mind giving a smooch to my bride at the top of the Eiffel Tower as well.
ROB BOSCAMP: Oh là là. If you're just joining us, we have the cast of Harbor Playhouse's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" — Matt Simpson as Quasimodo. Travis Escobar as Claude Frollo, Izzy Cantu as Esmeralda, and Jacob Zamarron as Captain Phoebus. The show opens this weekend [May 15] at Harbor Playhouse. And how long will that show be running for?
MATT SIMPSON: Through June 14.
ROB BOSCAMP: And that's Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays?
MATT SIMPSON: Yes!
ROB BOSCAMP: And you can get more information at harborplayhouse.com. Anything else you'd like to add before we sign off?
MATT SIMPSON: Get your tickets now!
IZZY CANTU: Come experience the magic. It's incredible, and you're really going to feel like you've stepped into the world of Notre Dame.
ROB BOSCAMP: Thank you very much for your time, and thank you all for joining us.
"HUNCHBACK" CAST: Thank you for having us.
For more information about the production visit: https://www.harborplayhouse.com/
