The Lord of the Rings Musical - My review

[Alatar]

Its taken me a long time to get around to writing this, cause I'm still not entirely sure what I think. I know I certainly want to see it again, if only to firm up some of the scenes in my mind.

First, the good. Its spectacular, genuinely spectacular. The visual design is excellent, as is the music, for the most part. Costumes are wonderful and the set pieces are fantastic. There's some lovely acting moments and the genuine "heart" of the story is there.

The Bad. Its a little uneven. At times it's rushing headlong, like a slideshow of spectacular scenes one after another, then every now and then it tries to change tack and become a character piece, but with no buildup or denoument. The story has been compressed so much, but still remains very sparse. One would think that distilling the plot into its basic components would allow them to be handled in depth, but not so. Also, some forced moments with Aragorn and Arwen felt like they belonged in a different show. Finally, the Ents were dreadful.

Spoilers Follow!

The show began with hobbits catching fireflies through the audience. Nicely done and set the scene well. The set design at ths point is basically a wooden tangle of roots and branches stretching far beyond the proscenium arch out into the theatre, even obscuring some of the theatre boxes. At the centre of the stage we had a circular opening where the Title was projected.

The show began with a narration, straight into Bilbo's Birthday party which culminated in a fantastic stage illusion where Bilbo disappeared before our eyes. Not in a puff of smoke or a trapdoor, just a fade-out. I suspect they used the "pepper's ghost" trick, but however it was done, it set the bar very high for the rest of the show.

Bag End was created in a minimalist style using the Door, two chairs and a "fireplace". This was highly stylised and worked well. Gandalf threw the Ring into an open space of the surround and a burst of flame sprang out. Very effective. When Frodo left Bag end we saw him walk to the door and exit, then the stage was spun to see him coming out. A simple effect but nicely achieved.

The first appearance of the Ringwraiths was superb. As you may know, the Black Riders are stilted stuntmen with a horsehead and rear attached to them, the black cloak trailing over the back of the horse. Truly chilling in a way that PJs Nazgûl failed to be (for me at any rate). The attack of the Nazgûl takes place in the Prancing pony instead of Weathertop and this works nicely. Finally the Ford of the Bruinen is achieved without the use of Asfaloth but with clever use of projections and white cloth which formed a cone of "water" around the Nazgûl.

I may have this out of order, but Sarumans imprisonment of Gandalf was achieved with simple light and sound effects. When Gandalf attempts to leave, we hear a sort of "clang" and a cone of light spotlights him "trapping" him. Also, from a story point of view, Saruman strongly plays up the whole "pretending to serve Sauron" angle as opposed to PJs "servant of Sauron" and Tolkiens "seeking to become the new Sauron". I'm not sure how well that worked cause it sounded a bit too sensible and I found myself wondering exactly what Gandalfs objection the the plan was.

The escape from Orthanc was simply recounted by Gandalf, after Arwen sings a pointless (if very nice) song at Frodo's bedside. Then we had the council of Elrond, where Boromir, with a strange Scottish accent, informs us that his Father, the "Steward of Men", has fallen into a strange enchantment and no longer has any hope. After an initial WTF? moment I could see the benefit in combining Denethor and Théoden into one single character for dramatic purposes, but it does lead to the unfortunate loss of Wormtongue and of course Éowyn.

Moria was achieved with the use of pillars made from chain and bars. I liked the look, but missed the sense of scale. Gandalfs fall was troublesome. The setup was fantastic as we saw the first part of his confrontation from the Balrog's perspective. Looking at the brightly lit Gandalf standing on the bridge challenging something over our heads and behind us. We also had a blast of hot air and black crepe paper swirling round us like ash to immerse us further in the moment. It should have ended there, but instead the stage spun and the Balrog was revealed as a sort of deformed butterfly. Bad move. Also, Gandalfs fall was not explained as he just sort of "fell" with no apparent aid from the Balrog.

Lothlórien on the other hand was fantastic. The Elves descended from above the stage on vines and ropes, in wonderful costumes and a truly ethereal musical interpretation. Laura Michelle Kelly as Galadriel was the standout performance for me. Her temptation at the hands of Frodo was superbly delivered.

The breaking of the Fellowship at Parth Galen was well done, with a magnificent moment for Frodo on Amon Hen. The Eye, which had not appeared till now filled the back cyc and dwarfed poor Frodo. Wonderful. Boromirs death was ok, but the other hobbits simply ran off into Fangorn rather than being captured and chased.

Less said about the Ents the better. The Physical representation was ok, if not brilliant, but the characterisation was just wrong. We got a rushed scene that ran something like "We are Ents, we are not hasty" "But you have to help us they're killing trees" "Ok so...". Lame.

The destruction of Isengard was not shown, we simply had a battle with Orcs on the revolving stage followed by Gandalf saying "Look, the Ents have arrived". This is as good a place as any to explain the stage floor mechanics. The stage consisted of three concentric revolves, each of which was split in sections, and each of which could be raised and lowered independantly. Also each revolve was capable of independant movement clockwise and anti-clockwise at different speeds. This allowed for a myriad of dynamic combinations as the characters could, for example, walk up the outer ring in a climbing action as the moving revolve kept them centre stage, then move to the middle ring, moving in another direction and perhaps stepping down in stages. Hard to describe, but very, very effective.

The orcs wore spring loaded stilts that allowed them to bound across the stage and even at times into the audience. Some also had blades on their arms which allowed them to move about on all fours in a creepy insect like fashion. The battles here was interesting to watch and not overly extended. As I said, it culminated with the offstage arrival of the Ents and the breaking of Sarumans staff. I was hoping for a little more here, but he basically just walked off to go meddle with the hobbits.

Gollums entrance was brilliant. Headfirst down the front cyc from the top of the stage. Very physical performance. Great stuff. Michael Thierrault, who played the role in Toronto also played it in London. He jack-knifes his body, twisting as turning as an external manifestation of his inner psyche as his dual personalities each take control. I was exhausted just watching him.

It was at this point that the show started to attempt suddenly to change tack and become a character driven piece. After the driving narrative of the previous hour and a half, its a hard thing to ask your audience to suddenly stop and smell the roses. That said, one of my favourite scenes in the show came here. Oh, and Faramir fans, if Théoden and Éowyn get cut do you really expect Faramir to survive? Well, he didn't.

Instead we get a brief exposition of Gollum swearing to serve the master of the precious, then more or less a straight cut to the stairs of Cirith Ungol. This was a lovely moment as Frodo and Sam sing a song of the old tales, wondering if they will ever be part of those songs. As Sam falls asleep Frodo sings softly of "stouthearted Sam... holding my life in his hands" Lovely. Here's a clip for those who might be interested:

Frodo and Sam

It follows straight into Gollums big scene where he debates whether or not to cheat the hobbits, into his decision to take them "to her". Most of this can be seen in the clip below, but the London version was slightly different, with us seeing Gollums almost change of heart as he gazes at Frodo, being interrupted by Sams "sneaking" line.

Gollum

Aragorns arrival in Gondor was a bit disappointing. He basically went up to the nameless "Steward of Men", who ranted a bit about there being no hope for men because the old kings were all gone. Aragorn promptly whips out his sword and says "Aha!", and the Steward of Men is suddenly cured. "What should we do?" he asks, and Aragorn says, "Lets go challenge him at the gates of Mordor!"

Erm, ok. Just a tad rushed. Now I would forgive the rushed nature of this as a necessary evil in compressing the storyline were it not for the fact that its almost immediately followed by an Aragorn/Arwen power ballad. You know, if you're going to challenge the conventions of theatre in a groundbreaking new way, its kind of pointless to try and shoehorn in a standard theatrical "Song that goes like this".

Somewhere around now we have Shelob, who was a fantastic giant puppet, again very stylised. Each leg was manipulated by a cast member, who made no attempt to hide themselves. Instead it was very much in the style of "theatre sans fils" where you are asked to simply ignore the puppeteers and watch the action. Worked very well, and Sam had his moment, as did the phial of Galadriel.

Sam takes the ring, thinking Frodo dead, but Frodo wakes almost immediately, making Sam look like an opportunistic bastard, which Gollum naturally points out. I can't remember exactly how this worked, but I remember thinking it was a little weak.

Anyway, they get to the cracks of doom (with no "I can carry you" moment) Frodo refuses to destroy the ring, and in an unusual move Gollum seems to repent, take the ring and throw himself in the fire. I can't swear that this was the intention, but I think thats what was being suggested. Initially I thought the cracks of doom were a bit of an anticlimax, but they made up for it with a nice theatrical effect. As Gollum threw himself into a hole onstage, the entire playing area was washed in a red light and a Gollum double fell from the top of the stage, somersaulting slowly while calling out "My! Precious!".

No attempt was made to show the Eagles, so we cut straight to the Coronation and then to the Scouring of the Shire. Well, sort of. They arrived back to find the Shire destroyed and Saruman conveniently gone. Sam used his box of earth to heal the Shire and Hobbits came out and decked the stage in flowers.

Finally we had Frodo's departure from the Grey Havens with Elrond, Galadriel, Gandalf and Bilbo. This was touching and there were more than a few tears shed, but I can't honestly say that the weight of my own knowledge of the backstory didn't inform that sentiment. Would I have felt the emotion without knowing the story before going in? I don't know.


This review reads back a bit critical, but I really think they did a wonderful job of getting the heart of the story up there on stage. All in all, a spectacular production, and one I defeinitley want to see again, but one that I fear still needs tweaking if its to survive on the West End alongside such heavyweights as les Miserables and Wicked.


Here's a trailer of the Toronto version that shows much of what I mentioned.


My apologies for any inaccuracies as I writing this from memory and its been a week since the show.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Thanks for the great review, Al!

[yovargas]

Despite your statements to the contrary, this doesn't sound like something I'd enjoy much at all. The story sounds like the mangled mess I'd expect from such a heavily compressed adaptation. I know it's hard to really answer but how do you think you would have responded as a LOTR n00b?

[Alatar]

I think a complete LotR noob would be completely confused. Thankfully, PJ has made sure there's very few of those left. That said, its a theatrical experience, not a movie and not a book. Those who go expecting either will be disappointed. I just happen to love theatre.

Oooh, new clips of London up now. The new design for Galadriel and Lothlórien can be seen here. Open minds people!

http://lordoftheringsmusical.com/showfootage.php

[Pearly Di]

Hey Al, I saw it tonight with Jewelsong and three other friends, and I really liked it!

Like you, I love theatre and I thought this production was beautiful, original, DIFFERENT and ... best of all, the people who made this REALLY get Tolkien.

More so than PJ did, in some ways. Of course I love PJ's LOTR - he gave us so many wonderful iconic Tolkien moments up there on the silver screen. And without his films, this musical production of LOTR would never have happened ... there simply would not have been the interest or the audience.

But I think what the LOTR musical conveys more successfully than perhaps the films did is Tolkien's great theme of LOSS. The Fading of the Elves is a really strong motif in the LOTR musical, and it is well done.

I really liked Arwen in the musical - not only did she sing very nicely, she looked like Tolkien's Arwen should, and her performance was touching and graceful.

Laura Michelle Kelly is a glorious Galadriel, just glorious. What a wonderful voice! Boy, I wish I'd gone to see her in Mary Poppins. She was working that Galadriel vibe, baby! I thought her Galadriel was powerful and ethereal, and I was moved by her performance. The temptation scene when Frodo offers her the Ring was FANTASTIC. Really caught the spirit of the book!

Michael Thierrault was beyond awesome as Gollum. The standout performance (followed by Kelly's). Absolutely FANTASTIC.

It's not really a musical, is it? It's a PLAY. The music is kind of superfluous - although very nice!

Quibbles? - they could trim the story even more. I'm sorry, this is a PLAY, and the essence of the story has to be distilled as purely as possible. I think they did a good job. I loved the spirit of this production - it was made with love, and a real understanding of the story, and it showed. But honestly I thought it could do with even more trimming. Purism be blowed, you have to make the thing work as a play.

Daftest moment for me? - Frodo and Gandalf have what I think is a very touching scene, Frodo is full of sadness and guilt post-quest (this was another thing the play did well) and Gandalf tells him to go back to the Shire and then he says: "I'm off to see Tom Bombadil."

Say what? WHO? Look, if you cut Tom from the production, just don't mention him. It sounds silly. And us fans don't really need it. No disrespect to Tom B intended, this really doesn't work.

Other quibbles? - Boromir and Aragorn were a bit hammy! Gandalf was good though.

But, joy, all the Hobbits were EXCELLENT - especially Sam. A lovely Sam, really got the spirit of Book Sam. Not played for cheap laughs, not a lovable clown ... just the lovely, loyal, courageous Sam of the book.

Frodo was good too. His accent was all wrong though! Sorry, I do reserve my right to be a Frodo-purist. He should sound like an English aristocrat, not a Gloucestershire farm boy. But hey. James Loye's performance grew on me - it was stronger in the second act.

I thought all the scenes with Frodo, Sam and Gollum were excellent, actually - and really great theatre.

Loved the Cracks of Doom!

And Shelob, WOAH!!!!!!

Oh, and Déagol 'swimming' down from the ceiling, down to the bottom of the River, whilst Elrond is recounting the sad story of Déagol and Sméagol at the Council ... that was FAB!

I thought the final farewell scene (a smooshing together of the Healing of the Shire and Frodo's invitation to join the Elves at the Havens) was really beautiful, and very poignant. Frodo to Sam,"I have chosen the Evening, you have chosen the Morning."

And then the audience is showered with autumn leaves.

Yup, I liked it a lot. Glad I saw it.

PS. I was tickled pink that Bill Ferny was elevated to one of Saruman's spies, reporting to him at Isengard.

PPS. I also enjoyed the play's take on Saruman as a subtle, double-crossing politician.

[MithLuin]

Thanks for the review, Alatar!

I'm going to see it on July 16th or 17th - I'm so excited!

Some things they have clearly changed from Toronto - Éowyn was cut. She was there in Toronto, and she killed the King of the Nazgûl in the final battle (but with no dialogue, so it was a moment if you didn't know the story already). They had more dropped Denethor and kept Théoden before...it sounds like they've altered that towards Denethor now.

They've given Galadriel more stage-time, and apparently to great effect. The descending-on-sashes was not used here in Toronto, but earlier, for their female-version-of-Gildor. Hopefully, they've cut that scene, as it was fairly odd. They've actually changed the most about her costume, of all the characters. The idea of Lothlórien as her "child" is new, I think. The song "Lothlórien" is new (again...I think - it has been a year!). Though the "fading of the elves" was handled very well and poignantly in Toronto.

They have greatly improved the Cracks of Doom scene! In Toronto, he just jumped into a hole in the stage. I don't even think they used much red light. It was like....that's it? So, the whole slo-mo falling thing sounds like a much better idea.

Also, Saruman appeared in the Scouring in Toronto. He was wearing a black trenchcoat, and I think they had Bill Ferny kill him. It probably works just as well without him, though that is a bit odd that they cut him.

Unfortunately, it sounds as though the ents are about the same as in Toronto. They didn't work there, either.



The did find a woman at the opening performance who claimed never to have read the books or seen the movies, but she loved the show! My first thought was...where did they find this lady??? and my next thought was...then who dragged you to the theater? So, even though it probably makes no sense, it still offers something to people who aren't familiar with the story, I guess.

I disliked that Frodo started out a bit too much of an everyman, country bumpkin. He wasn't really set apart from the other hobbits. But then, when he finally realized that his quest means the end of places like Lothlórien, he seemed to have suddenly grown... (I'm not sure if that scene would have remained in unchanged). Not my view of Frodo, but not one that completely grated, either. And his song with Sam on the stairs was awesome!


Oh, and for anyone else considering seeing it, HERE is the deal that Jewel and Di found.

[rosiethehobbit]

Thanks for the review. It's been about a year since I saw it in Toronto. It sounds like some things have changed. I enjoyed it when I saw it. Yes, it was rushed at times. I'm sorry to hear Éowyn was cut, though the version in Toronto was not explained and you wouldn't have known what was going on if you weren't already familiar with the story. The scouring of the shire with everyone, including Saruman, in black trench coats looked a bit to modern style as far as clothing goes. The special effects were incredible, particularly with what they did with the stage. I had a hard time with the Lothlórien scenes, just because it was so different from either the way I had imagined it from the book, or PJ's version. Though I think it would grow on me if I could have seen it more than once. The music was good. Yes, it had its flaws, but overall, I thought it was a great show.

And I'm still waiting for them to release the soundtrack, dangit.

[MithLuin]

Well, I've seen it myself now...and I must say, this is a very altered show from Toronto.

The 'look', the 'feel' of it, the sound is all the same. So, it was very recognizable. But many scenes were completely rewritten, and the direction seems different to me. Most of the changes were serious improvements, tightening up the story and pulling it all together (simplifying and streamlining). Also, most of the alterations moved the musical's story closer to the movies than it had been originally.

For instance, we no longer have a re-telling of the Hobbit in the opening voice-over...it has become an introduction of Bilbo's party. They've learned the 'show, don't tell' rule a bit better. Gandalf is still very abrasive and energetic, but some of his worse lines were cut.

One disappointment was Aragorn and Arwen. Their romance is a bit cheesy, but it's worse than Toronto, not better. In Toronto, she is introduced by singing over the sleeping Frodo...and Strider comes in and finishes the last two lines of her song. They have a bit of dialogue, and then they kiss, or mean to, when Frodo wakes up and says "where am I?" causing them to spring apart. (That was funny!) Merry and Pippin explain the half-elf, mortal/immortal thing to Frodo.

In London, she sings her song. He comes in, but waits patiently for her to finish. He then has some line about how he used to follow her around as a kid and she must view him as a little boy. Later, Elrond tells Arwen that her feelings are obvious, and he recommends against the relationship with a mortal thing. It just...I dunno, wasn't so great.

Towards the end, Aragorn is marching into battle, and tells Gandalf, "if I die, tell Arwen that I've always loved her, and always will." Well, if you're dead, what does that count for? They don't have their wedding (just the field of cormallen, really), but at the very end, Elrond announces that Arwen will be staying for love, and she and Frodo can exchange places. That did work, but meant that Arwen had to just chill with Rosie for the rest of that scene.


The most schizophrenic moment in the whole thing was the 'leader of men' character. He's an amalgamation of Denethor, Théoden, and Faramir. He has one scene, and only a few lines...

"You've come to tell me my son is dead." Ah, okay, you're Denethor. Boromir talked about his father...
Aragorn tells him to wake up from his curse by looking at his fancy sword. Okay, you're Théoden, and Aragorn is playing White Rider at the moment.
"I will be your steward and you will be my king." Oh, okay, you are Faramir in the Houses of Healing, good to know.

Then they run off and have a battle.

Speaking of Boromir, he was well done. He's very noble, looking for help, and anxious for the king to come back. They did not make him a villain at all, which is why his fall is clearly do to desperation more than anything else. Aragorn ends up partly culpable in this version, for not revealing who he truly is until such a late point.

In Toronto, we knew Legolas and Gimli had become friends because when they part with the hobbits, Gimli says "namárië." I loved that part! But the actor said no one ever got that line, and we (the Gathering) were the only audience that laughed at it. So...yeah. Here, there's more of a dialogue like the "side by side with a friend" one in the movies. The musical tries to keep the elvish to the songs, and simplify the names as much as possible. He's simply "the Dark Lord" the first few times he's mentioned, and then "the Dark Lord Sauron" to distinguish him from Saruman.

It was so great to see book-moments that weren't in the movies. Frodo's defiance at the Ford, "Praise them with great praise" while they all kneel to Frodo, and...oh, I was just thinking of one that wasn't so Frodo-centric. Never mind. Gandalf's voice at Amon Hen, and the "verily I come to you" part was in. That was really cool - I don't remember that in Toronto.

The simplification of things was mostly good. Merry and Pippin are considered resourceful enough not to get caught, rather than just abandoned to their fate. The Tower (present in Toronto) has vanished, so that everything important happens in Shelob's lair. Frodo tries to send Sam away (I realize it is dramatic necessity to separate them at this point), but really, he just goes fey and runs off himself. And Sam does take the Ring (after saying "don't you go where I can't follow"), so Gollum's accusation is true. They do something really cool where Gollum and Frodo stand up at the same moment in mirror image - just as they had Frodo and Galadriel fall down during her temptation in opposite directions. But the scene ends with Gollum being chased off at sword point, so it is a bit like the side of Mount Doom as well. Frodo's "if you touch me ever again" line is in, which I really, really liked.

The ents were the same as in Toronto, but this time they seemed...angrier...so their sudden decision fit, rather than being ridiculously comical. So, a lousy scene, but with better direction it improved...slightly. Pippin's fear of trees is ridiculous, but at least has a point. Even Gildor (who seems superfluous) is referred to here again.

[Alatar]

I suspect this show will not survive long. It's already available on TKTS for most performances (the half price ticket booth in Leicester Square). Now, that doesn't necessarily mean anything, so is Les Mis, but to be there so early in the the full run ddoes not bode well. Billy Elliot, Wicked and Spamalot are running over a year now and still no half price tickets.

Go while you can! I just hope its still there in January when I go back.

[JewelSong]

Elrond announces that Arwen will be staying for love, and she and Frodo can exchange places. That did work, but meant that Arwen had to just chill with Rosie for the rest of that scene.

I actually really liked that bit and was touched that Arwen would go stand by Rosie's side. Remember that Elanor became lady-in-waiting to Arwen later on.

I thought that the London production was much improved from the Toronto one...but I still think it is missing "something." I am not sure what the "something" is but I agree with Alatar - it won't last long, unfortunately.

Go see it if you can, while you still can!

[Crucifer]

I just saw this, and I thought it was excellent...

Mostly. Everytime Rwen and Aragorn sang I cringed.

But galadriel was amazing. She had all the best songsaswell.

Apart from the overacing by Arwen and Aragorn , I really enjoyes it. Te stage was fantastic, as were the speial effects.

Things that annoyed me:

5 Nazgûl, only at weathertop.

1 lord of men, the Steward, i.e. no Rohan.

Arwens bawled singing and overacting.

Aragorns ditto.

That was all really.

[Ophelia]

Well, I love it. Wholeheartedly. I feel all the warmth and passion for it that I would so have liked to feel for the films but never could.

I would have liked Pippin to be more serious (but his understudy is, so that's OK), and yes, the Balrog is a bit Bakshiesque, so to speak. But there is nothing I actually dislike - it would be like disliking the BBC version for the creaking doors and Merry's sports commentary. It has become its own canon for me in an equal sense, and I place these two dramatic versions on the highest pinnacle of excellence in joint first place.

Eglerio.

[Crucifer]

I just followed the youtube links... The Frodo/Sam one is beautiful...

[Ophelia]

Check out the one of Gollum's song afterwards - it ends with the flying Ringwraith scene.

[Crucifer]

I know... I did see it live.

But "Sing me a story" gets me every single time.

[Ophelia]

I know... I did see it live.

So did I, but I wanted to point out the differences between the delivery of this scene in the Toronto and London versions.

(Perhaps you saw both live, in which case you're extremely lucky!)

[Crucifer]

Ah. Right. I saw it in London... I think these videos are from Drury lane...

Was it good in Toronto? Anyone see it there?

Edit: Just noticed the name of the person who posted the video is lotrtoronto, so this is obviously from Toronto...

Did they build that whole stage in Toronto aswell?

[Ophelia]

The only You Tube clips of "Now And For Always" are from the Toronto version. Their faces look different, if you look closely, because the hobbits wore facial prosthetics in the Toronto version. Gollum also "speaks/acts" his song more than sings it (as he does in Drury Lane) - which I rather like. And Frodo hides from the Ringwraith and is more afraid of it in the Toronto version.

Following Crucifer's Edit:

Yes, they did. I think they shipped it over to Britain (although how that would work I don't know!)

[Alatar]

If you read back up the thread Crucifer, you'll see that both Jewelsong and Mithluin saw both productions. And yes, the show premiered in Toronto, so the stage was designed there.

[Crucifer]

Ah right. But Drury Lane has always had a funky stage hasn't it?