Lord of the Rings..the Musical

[lasslaer]

Well getting back from Toronto the only thing I have to say is wow! They were very true to the books and it Tolkien, they even stuck in some direct quotes! The set was really astounding it was a lot of branches that wrapped around the whole theater. The music was..oh there are no words to describe it. The Instrumentals added so much and all the actors were terriffic singers. But i have to say the two best singers I heard were Legolas and Galadriel. It was so enchanting to listen to them. Strange thing though all the elves had some kind of war-paint on and Legolas had dark hair, I thought that that showed some courage from the hair and makeup people. The actor who played gollum won a Dora Award for his performance adn he definitly deserved it, he put alot into it. If you ever get the chance you really should see it it is absolutly amazing.

[curandir]

What instruments accompanied the songs? Was it a whole orchestra?

I think the differences, such as Legolas' hair, were likely quite academic (They above all needed someone who could sing, I guess); and it doesn't seem to have spoiled it for you!

The set sounds fantastic, enveloping the audience... Cool!

War paint would look good on the wandering bow...


The war paint may represent their brave exploits. As much as they are often portrayed as 'diminutive' (in sense of presence); they were counted among the bravest, if least well equipped, of the elven hosts at Dagorlad (and the wars of the 1st age)... ever the first to engage the enemies!
After all they stood their ground (along with the men of Esgaroth) against heavily armoured Dwarves; and then against the hordes of the north... Woodelves are not to be trifled with!

[lasslaer]

Yes it was an entire orchestra.
It may have been acidemic but it was a wig anyway.
That might be an explination for the war paint on the elves of lothlorien and legolas but elrond is another story. well i will leave that mystrey to be unraveled by another. It was an interesting addition none the less

[curandir]

A wig! I see, well that just... crazy.
I can't see Elrond in warpaint or a wig! What did he wear with said face paint? I hope it was tasteful. lol

It didn't distract from the overall... ambiance, did it?

[Lady Arwen]

Hm. If it ever wanders towards Seattle or LA I might check it out, but I don't think I will be going to New York to see it any time soon. I just don't have the funds....

But it sounds like a lovely show, interesting, anyway. Perhaps I should wait for the bootleg version to come out on youtube. Not that I don't love LotR, but I'm already hounded for being a geek as it is, let's not add to that by going to see Lotr: The Musical, right?

XD

[lasslaer]

yeah that is what my friends said I think they are scared of me now. No Cu it didn't really distract and it was tastful in its own way but it was just the strangest thing

[curandir]

I suppose they had to make it 'their own', so to speak...

[naur]

Ha, that's hilarious xD I should get some of my friends together and we should perform a version of Lord of the Rings the Musical and post it on youtub, bet it'd get a lot of hits

[aurora]

I think its coming to london sometime next year, I'd love to go and see it, if it does, but what I really would have loved to have seen was the Orchestral tour, when they played all the film music and had Alan Lee's artwork projected behing the musicians... that would have given me uber goosebumps.

Oh god, someone near me did that with 'theyre taking the hobbits to isengard', filmed it on their mobile phones and slapped it all over youtube... it was awful! lol!

[anwyn]

I also saw LOTR in Toronto and I agree about the theatre/stage, Just walking in there was a staggering experience!

I went last April/March with my mom and it had been running for abit then and the critics were so harsh about it! I was a little unsure, they really picked apart the cost, but I have got to admit, being a HUGE fan, I was abseloutely delighted to be able to look around Toronto, which I usually hate, and see LOTR *everywhere* for those couple of months.

Alot of people were really upset by the Legolas being a brunette in the show, but the man could SING! At the opening of the second act, the council of Elrond he was belting something out and I still remeber getting a chill by it, he was definately the strongest male vocal lead, even at the end when the ENTIRE cast is on stage and singing together I could pick him out easily. And you have got to give it up for a guy who can make firing invisible arrows look so good ;D Though Rebecca Jackson Mendoza who played Galadriel also had quite a voice I thought.

I think alot of people went to see it expecting it to look a certain way, and it was very unique in its interpratation and alot was left becuase it was three and half hours long, though through-out its run the lengh kept changing.

I really wish I could see it again, Even just for the fight of Balrog. That was abseloutely amazing and scary, and I kept finding bits of "Balrog" in different places for days after!

Though I have to say I did not like the Battle at Helms Deep, I guess I wanted more fighting and less cherographed dancing, that entire part just struck me as weird, and ditto for the Elves "flying" off stage (I really wish I was making that up)

[naur]

The elves... flew? O.O Wow... xD

[anwyn]

Ya, It was REALLY weird since half the elves walked away and about 3 flew off stage.

The songs were really good for the most part, espically the one that is done upon there arrival at the Prancing Pony, Not just the song itself but the way it is done, Its alot of fun.

Here is some video of the show I found, including the infamous "dark haired legolas"

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ngg7wcbwEU

Really hoping for a soundtrack to be released to the show, but I do not see that happening in the near future.

[atarielxaldarion]

Is it just me, or does Arwen look a bit pudgy? Hm... And at the end, Frodo and Sam higging was really funny. I don't know why... they are so fluffy!

[aurora]

I do really awnt to see that now. Lol, I dont think she looks pudgy.... its nice to see and elf with boobs for a change!
I do really want to see that now, I think it opens in London this year, I might save up and go, me and my mother were thinking of spending a weekend there. I remember seeing the auditions on the news, I didnt know whether to laugh or cry when I heard I was short enough to qualify as a hobbit.

[anwyn]

The hobbits were very excerated in the hair/bellies/feet, I guess it was becuase of such a large theatre that they really wanted that to come across even to the people at the very back.

They sing a song that has been stuck in my head for a few days, Its so sweet and I feel true to their friendship in the books.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r_HgqohtM0

It opens May 9th in London.

www.lotr.com

I thought the girl who played Arwen was pretty, she was not exceptionally tall and did have a figure which some people do not consider "elvish", I can't say I thought much of her singing voice though. I also abit of a Star Wars geek, so I though it was pretty amusing that Galadriel is also the Queen of Alderaan in ROTS.

The only character I felt looked somewhat "Elvish" out of the entire cast was the guy who played Legolas, and I looked in the playbill which I still have and found he has own site with some great pics of him from the show so you can judge for yourself on that.

www.gabrielburrafato.com/newbio.html

Aurora, I thought the same thing becuase I heard that too! (When it was in Toronto) I was just right on the height restriction! I considered going for a laugh but I can't sing or dance, though it might have been fun to just have gone out.

[aurora]

lol, I shuold have jumped on a bus and gone to london and the auditions that day! Would have been nice, lol.
My birthday is in may, so I think we might go up, we have to see it, I was lucky in being able to see the LOTR exhibition a few years ago because we happened to go with the college, this time I have to go myself.
Its so expensive though, the 'cheap' seats are about£18 and the good seats are about £50!
ouch! Thats without the £20 bus fare to get there, a hotel for the night, and of course... the shopping! Im going to have to save. A lot.

ooh, he does look very cool!

[anwyn]

If you get the chance, definately go to see it. I am glad that I did, I knew it was only on for a limited time (Not like Phatom of the Opera which is going to be playing FOREVER and a day) I went with my mom as well, and we got a packaged deal from a travel agency. It was $180 each for the show, the bus to Toronto and we went to a nice resturant beforehand for lunch. It wasn't bad considering the average ticket was about $145 by itself, but I am glad that I did it, its kind of those "once in a life time" experiences that you always remeber, and it was a great day out with my mom who I think secretly likes LOTR more then she will let on.

They had cheap shows towards the end of its run, for $20 (!!!) but I of course, did not learn of these until AFTER it had ended for good. I would have definately gone again for that.

I'm terrible at saving, Its actually my new years resoluation for this year is to get better at it.

[anwyn]

I also heard that Michael Therriault is following the production from Toronto to London as well, Which is good becuase I felt he did a really good job as Gollum, he stole every scene that he was in., though I think that his performance was influenced far more by Andy Serkis than anything Tolkien ever wrote about Gollum.

I found a clip of Micheal in action from the show

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XMRGfCmXlo

During the show and knowing it was moving seas afterwards I was wondering if they were going to be shipping props/costumes/parts of the set or if they were just going to rebuild them all over again, becuase the abseloutely huge puppets for Shelob and the Balrog are too amazing to *ever* be destroyed.

I wonder what they mean by "adapted" unless they mean a smaller set for a smaller theatre becuase the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto is quite large, There wasn't even balcony seating becuase the set took up that space as well and gollum is up there for one of his scenes.

[anwyn]

Its actually bigger than the Princess then that can only seat 2,000. I had only been to a large stage production once or twice before, and there are a few sizeable theatres in Toronto but I had never seen inside the Princess of Wales, Abseloutely Georgeous.

Now sadly its being converted back to play "Phantom of Opera" which has already been on stage for forever and a day there, which I would have to be dragged kicking and screaming to see, I saw the movie version only becuase it was a free rental having worked at a video store at the time, and found THAT boring and overly wrought, I really don't understand why people like it, or even more get so emotional when watching it.

I'm not a huge fan of musicals, and it would be impossible to find any subject to base a musical on that would intrest me more than LOTR, and its kind of surprising in a way that it has not be done before considering that it already comes with a strong plot, good drama and LOTS of music. I was reading Treason of Isenguard the other day and realized that some of Galadriels Song, the lyrics were taken directly from what Tolkien had written.

"The Hobbit" as a childrens Opera has been running for some years somewhere in the US, but I definately would not take kids to see this one, firstly becuase it would be incredibly ignorant if the kids starting to act up during the show and ruin it for the other guests, and secondly becuase in some parts its very dark and scary.

[anwyn]

I would love to see Hobbit as musical, even more so a Movie *Makes gesture in New Lines general direction* But this one, I would have left any kid under 12 at home, becuase the last thing I would have wanted to hear was some kid whining "Whats happening nooow" during a really moving part. I can handle kids, just not when they are being rude and ignorant and there parents are just letting them.

Alright, I admit that when I was little I had a huge obession with the movie "The Little Mermaid" and it became my childhood goal to actually become a mermaid, it never happened and the only thing that cane of it is that I became a fairly strong swimmer after hours upon hours spent in the pool and still remeber all of the lyrics to "Under the Sea" Apart from that, I never really watched Disney and was far more into the muppets, and more specifially "Jim Hensens: The Storyteller"

I think it would be hilarious to do the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" sometime, though from what I understand, the theatres around here have not shown it...In the last 20 years

Though given a chance I would definately go out to it, even my mom said she snuck into once, and I refuse to be outdone by her! lol

[anwyn]

I saw Rocky Horror,eeek, years ago now, I can't remeber why I decided to watch it, I think it was a matter of it was on TV and just one of those things that you start to watch it and can't look away from

My uncle, to this day, who is now in his 40's brags that he was able to sneak into it when he was 17, and went home and bragged to my mom who of course could not be outdone and went and did the same thing!

I love Tim Curry, He is just so distinctive and I looked at his credits page which is longer than my arm, Though alot of it has been voicework, the guy has done *alot*

Edit: Now I am going to work with "Lets do the timewarp" stuck in my head, They used to play it at school dances, half the kids didn't even know where it came from, only that it was fun to dance too.

[anwyn]

Its a great song to dance too, becuase technically there is no "wrong" way to do it, the song even tells you want to do "You put your hands on your hips..."

I just found the video of that part online, thats some weirded out fun XD.

No one dressed up in costume for the show that I went too, but it would not completely surprise me if they had for other showings, I had considered wearing my Eowyn costume but then remebered sitting through the opening night of ROTK in it was abseloutely no fun. So ultimately I just wore an outfit with a new top I bought specifically for the show becuase I felt it looked very "Elvish"

[anwyn]

Just giving this update becuase I was just at TORN and they have a bunch of character portraits off the new show opening in London, and I took a peak and the character costumes look exactly the same with the exception of Arwen and Boromir who look nothing like I remeber them. I do realize its all new actors (except for Golllum, He will be played by the same guy)

But they have kept the exact same costumes, Except for like I said Arwen and Boromir, Which does make me kind of wonder why change them and no one else.

www.lotr.com/sights.php

[Galadriel]

How fabulous!! I would so, so love to see this.

Tis my new goal

[pippin]

Im waiting for this thing to come to America!
I want to see it!