His love of musicals led Karl Hugo to contribute his talents as an arranger, orchestrator, musical director and live musician to numerous official Canadian productions of works such as Fiddler on the Roof, La Cage aux Folles, My Fair Lady, Nine and The Sound of Music. Building on this experience, in 2008 he created and produced his own musical, Noémia, for which he wrote the book and the music.
The Sound of MusicMusic by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Howard Lindsay et Russel Crouse
Arrangements and live virtual orchestra by Karl Hugo
Directed by Denise Filiatrault
Starring: Florie Gauthier-Valiquette, Catherine B Lavoie, Robert Marien, Yves Soutière, Étienne Dupuis and Noëlla Huet.
Produced by Just for Laughs
Théâtre St-Denis, Montreal and a grand tour of Quebec
Karl Hugo came full circle by performing in the musical that ignited his passion for the genre and that inspired him to write his own. He joined with musician friends Pierre Benoît, Marc Bonneau, Jacques Roy, Patrick Vetter and made new ones: Philippe Dunnigan, Lucie Cauchon and Heather Schnarr, becoming part of a large family with whom he shared many magic moments over the course of 175 performances.
Music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and book by Joseph Stein
Accompaniment tracks by Karl Hugo and Pierre Benoît
Directed by Denise Filiatrault
Starring: Sylvain Larocque, Linda Sorgini and Émily Bégin
Produced by Théâtre du Rideau Vert and Just for Laughs
Théâtre du Rideau Vert, Montreal and a grand tour of Quebec
NoémiaBook and music by Karl Hugo and lyrics by Pier Davi
Directed by Karl Hugo
Starring: Caroline Riverin, Stéphanie Bédard, René Lajoie, Daniel Do, Christian Belleau and Jean-François Guay.
Produced by Musivarts and the Verdun’s Economic Forum
Jean Grimaldi Hall, Montreal
Noémia is a musical that tells the unusual story of a young scientist who is trapped in a love triangle and desperately searching for her ill sister. For his first “true” musical, Karl Hugo wrote the book and composed the music. He asked his friend, lyricist Pier Davi, to join him for this emotional adventure. Almost three thousand people were deeply touched by this deluxe workshop production. A musical is a timeless work that is constantly reinventing itself. Stay tuned for the next version of Noémia coming soon to a theater near you.
Music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and bokk by Arthur Kopit
Arrangements and live virtual orchestra by Karl Hugo
Directed by Denise Filiatrault
Starring: Serge Postigo, Catherine Sénart, Marie-Denise Pelletier, Patsy Galand et Émily Bégin
Produced by Théâtre du Rideau Vert and Just for Laughs
Théâtre du Rideau Vert, Montreal and a grand tour of Quebec
With their talent and ingenuity, Karl Hugo, Pierre Benoît, Marc Bonneau and Jean-François Ouellet ended up surprising Maury Yeston, who thought he needed to put together a full orchestra. The creator of Neuf encouraged Karl Hugo to produce his own musical, which at that time existed only on paper. Noémia was presented to the public the following year…
Book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe
Accompaniment tracks by Karl Hugo and Pierre Benoît
Directed by Denise Filiatrault
Starring: Catherine Sénart, Benoît Gouin, Joël Legendre and Émily Bégin
Produced by Théâtre du Rideau Vert
Théâtre du Rideau Vert, Montreal and a grand tour of Quebec
Play by Eve Ensler
Original music by Karl Hugo
Directed by Denise Filiatrault
Rôles principaux : Louise Marleau, Sandra Dumaresq, Nicole Leblanc and Geneviève Rioux
Produced by Just for Laughs
Théâtre St-Denis 2, Montreal
Play by de Linda A. Carson, Jill Daum, Allison Kelly, Robin Nichol, Barbara Pollard et Deborah Williams
Original music by Karl Hugo
Directed by Denise Filiatrault
Rôles principaux : Sophie Faucher, Caroline Dardenne and Valérie Blais
Produced by Just for Laughs
Théâtre St-Denis 2, Montreal
Play by Peter Shaffer
Original music by Karl Hugo
Directed by Denise Filiatrault
Starring: Serge Postigo, Pierette Robitaille and Isabelle Blais
Produced by Just for Laughs
Théâtre du Nouveau Monde (TNM), Montreal
Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman Book and book by Harvey Fierstein
Arrangements, orchestrations, additional music and musical direction by Karl Hugo
Directed by Denis Bouchard
Produced by Sandler-Poulin Productions
Starring: Rémy Girard, Normand Chouinard and Luc Guérin
Théâtre St-Denis, Montreal
In this quasi-burlesque musical, Karl Hugo found himself conducting a madcap array of excitable folles… The flamboyant arrangements, orchestrations and additional music kept Karl Hugo on his toes.
Musical by Dan Goggin
Arrangements and musical direction by Karl Hugo
Directed by François Racine
Starring: Michèle Deslauriers, Sylvie Boucher, Michelle Labonté and Marc Poulin
Produced by Productions Marc Poulin
Théâtre des Érables, St-Eustache (1996) and
Théâtre de la Chèvrerie, Saint-Fortunat (1997)
Karl Hugo got together with his friend Marc Poulin for another comical adventure: this time, country style.
L’Écu du Roi ArtusMusical theatre by Marc Boucher
Original music and musical direction by Karl Hugo
Directed by François Racine
Starring: Marc Poulin, Pierre Poulin, Normand Carrière, Dominique Blier and Sonia Laplante
Produced by Productions Marc Poulin
Théâtre des Érables, St-Eustache
This satirical comedy on the tribulations of King Arthur provided an opportunity for Karl Hugo to compose grandiose songs with a mediaeval feel and, of course, a touch of humour…
Pastorale des santons de Provence d’Yvan Audouard
Adaptation by Jacques Dubuc
Original music and musical direction by Karl Hugo
Directed by Yorich Arneault (1990), Denis Larue (1991) and Marie-Danielle Boucher (1992)
Starring: Yorich Arneault, Karl Hugo, Bénédicte Décary, Marie-Danielle Boucher and Michel Lapointe
Produced by Groupe Foi et Culture de Montréal
Immaculée-Conception Church, Montreal (1990-1991) and
Gesù amphitheater, Montreal (1992)
Abbot Jacques Dubuc introduced Karl Hugo to the magical santons (Christmas figurines) of Provence. In addition to entrusting him with the composition for this musical play, the former professional dancer turned priest offered him his first professional acting experience. Karl Hugo played the angel Boufarou, who narrates and sings the story of the Nativity.
Al MaljaPlay by Naji Mouawad
Original music by Karl Hugo
Directed by Naji Mouawad and Wajdi Mouawad
Starring: Wajdi Mouawad, Naji Mouawad and François Papineau
As an author, composer and performer, Karl Hugo was invited by the Mouawad brothers to musically illustrate the depth of the confrontation between Muslims and Catholics in a Lebanon at war. This would be Hugo’s first soundtrack, produced with the help of his friend Luc St-Pierre.
Bach & HandelMusical theatre by Karl Hugo
Additional music by Karl Hugo
Directed by Sylvette Montal
Starring: Wajdi Mouawad, Vincent Ranallo and Stéphane Goupil
Claude Champagne Hall, Montreal
This is Karl Hugo’s first dramatic creation. Set in the early 18th century, this musical play oscillates between fiction and historical reality. The tax collector La Pouplinière and Princesse de Conti hold a literary salon at which they receive a number of guests who knew Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel. These include Friedemann Bach, the son of Johann Sebastian; Johann Mattheson, a close friend of Handel; and the notorious Rousseau, Voltaire and Rameau. The celebrated conductor Alexander Brott joined the project along with many actors, musicians, dancers, choristers and designers to put on a colourful show.
