The Lord of the Rings: The Musical
I think I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s one of those things that’s so amazing that I have to talk about it again. On Saturday 4th February (today) a musical version of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien will begin its run in Toronto.
The show is being produced by Kevin Wallace and will include work by Finnish group Varttina and Indian composer A.R. Rahman. Previews begin today at the Princess of Wales Theater in Toronto and the world premiere will be on March 23rd. The Lord of the Rings: The Musical features a cast of 55 and with 3 acts will run for over 3 hours. There are tentative plans for the show to go on to London and perhaps eventually to Broadway.
I’m just curious. Does anybody think this is a good idea? I know J.R.R. Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings got a huge popularity boost from the Peter Jackson movies, but a 3 hour + musical retelling the whole story?
Eoghann Irving is amongst other things the creator and Editor of Solar Flare. He has a life long interest in all forms of science fiction and fantasy and a pressing need to share this interest with anyone who will listen. Find out more at his personal website eoghann.com..
2 Comments, Comment or Ping
Ally
Im a HUGE LOTR fan. Okay, when I first heard of this play, i was all like “wow, that’s not going to work”. I still
feel that way. People already have a good idea about the characters, their appearance, etc. and
they will have to be extra careful. Second of all, what made the movie was also the set! And,
in a play, you have to rely on the audience’s imagination. which could work, but that gives the
play another problem. I haven’t seen it yet, and im hesitant. Three hours, and i want to make
sure my time and money will be worth it. Personally, I’d rather spend the money on some Tolkien
books or a Peter Jackson movie.
Feb 8th, 2006
pm
Save your cash. It was a disappointment, to put it diplomatically. Given, it was a “preview” performance, but it should still be more or less what the rest of the performances will be like (otherwise, it’s like the little digging “Under construction” web site animated gif of theatrical productions) On a positive note, the Hobbits and Orcs were great, but Gandalf was rushed and hyper. Plus, for a $27 million dollar production, they sure cheaped-out on the big ticket items: no balrog, no battle of Minas Tirith, and the seats were so crammed you couldn’t concentrate on the stage half the time anyway. If the movies were the comic book version of the book, this is the baby’s-first-fantasy/quest storybook version. Weak.
- Peter, Toronto, Canada
Feb 23rd, 2006
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