LOTR onstage

A lot has been said about the Lord of the Rings musical. Reading other bloggers' reviews, I felt ready for this spectacle. I also wanted to see Laura Michelle Kelly (Galadriel) before she leaves at the end of the month.

It's the most expensive show I've seen this year, and it's easy to see why. There are around 150 people working in the production, of whom 50 are in the cast, 80% of whom are men. About 500 costumes, 150 wigs. A revolving stage with 17 lifts. It reportedly cost £12.5M to stage (£1M on the stage alone), which would make it a staggering flop if it closes too soon (it could). The school groups are keeping the show alive.

The stage looks amazing. The tree branches creep over to the boxes. There are some effects that puzzle me (I don't want to give too much away, but you can see a lot in the website). The audience interaction is so Ricky Abad.

LMK and Rosalie Craig, who plays Arwen, have such beautiful voices, the best I've heard all year. Owen Sharpe (Pippin) was quite funny. Peter Howe (Sam) and Michael Therriault (Gollum) share my vote for best actor. But in general, the acting can be uneven because they're on different levels.

From a 5 1/2-hour show in Toronto, it is now 3 hours including interval, which I think is a reasonable length. Of course a lot is simplified and the use of narration is necessary. Though the idea for the musical came into being before the movies were shown, no doubt, the films had some bearing on this show. On that note, Malcolm Storry (Gandalf) has a McKellen-ish voice.

I caught the pre-show Q&A and the post-show one as well, which was odd because the school groups didn't stay afterwards, so there were just five of us who were there in that big place. I got to ask a few questions to Stevie and Stuart, who are part of the ensemble.

I looked at the pit and was not surprised that there were synthesizers, not a full orchestra. There are some beautiful melodies. I would like to get a copy of the cast recording when it comes out early next year.

The show is playing at the historic Theatre Royal Drury Lane, which has been in that spot since the 17th century. Incidentally, the longest running musical in that theater's long history is Miss Saigon.