Daniel Lavoie: official website

The last night of NDP for Daniel Lavoie in London – 30th September 2000

By Alma Mulalic (webmaster)
30 September 2000

Daniel Lavoie plays Frollo for the last time.

"Notre-Dame de Paris" it's at an end for Daniel Lavoie who has played the part of Frollo for three years, both in French and in English. It's in London, at the Dominion Theatre where he has played in the English version of NDP since May 2000, that his last show takes place. He's the last one from Québec (his friends Luck Mervil, Garou, Natasha St. Pier and Bruno Pelletier having left earlier) who stayed on with the English cast, which for this last night is made up of Steve Balsamo (Phoebus), Patti Russo (Esmeralda), Ian Pirie (Quasimodo), John Partridge (Gringoire), Carl Ellis (Clopin) and Kate Pinell (Fleur de Lys).

For the show on Saturday 30th September, all the singers were on top form. Many fans of Daniel had come especially for the event. About the songs, there were some changes to the songs, even though they weren't that different. The famous "I loooove" of Frollo was never ending. Obviously, Daniel Lavoie hadn't managed to escape the fooling around of a last night. And then he earned himself shrieks of "Danieeel" from the hall after each of Frollo's songs. Many odd things happened to him which were dreamt up by the understudies who were in the wings. All of a sudden, during the matinee (there were two shows a day at 2.30 pm and 7.30 pm), two singers who showed up on the balcony (having reserved their seats) started to brandish a giant sunflower while Daniel and John Partridge were singing "Talk to me about Florence". They were doing it directly above Daniel Lavoie but, great professional that he is, nothing made him lose his concentration … Next Frollo had some difficulty taking off his cassock at the beginning of the song "I'm a priest" at the moment that he had to throw the cassock down the stairs.

On this day Daniel Lavoie received many presents and bouquets from fans who had come for the occasion. From the last note of Quasimodo at the end of the song "Dance my Esmeralda" it was finished, everyone rushed to the stage. The understudies then put up a madman's chant of "Danieeel" and they threw red roses and panties onto the stage. Daniel Lavoie gathered all up and smiled all the time. Gringoire came to the front of the stage to sing "The age of the Cathedrals", bringing Daniel Lavoie with him but Daniel didn't sing much … it was because he wasn't used to singing that song solo but he did try, a bit tentatively, before the rest of the cast joined in. To thank his audience he said "thank you" and "merci" before disappearing behind the lowered curtain and going on to the party held at the Dominion Theatre until 2 am. He was catching a plane the next day for Canada and home.