<i>Lord of the Rings</i> musical ends 5-month run
News
oi-Staff
By Super Admin
Toronto
(Reuters):
The
curtain
will
fall
on
the
blockbuster
Canadian
production
of
the
Lord
of
the
Rings
musical
in
September,
just
five
months
after
it
opened
to
mixed
reviews,
the
show's
producers
has
said.
The
Toronto
world
premiere,
which
took
four
years
to
bring
to
the
stage,
opened
March
23
to
critics
applauding
its
leaping
Orcs
and
menacing
dark
riders,
but
complaining
of
getting
lost
in
the
tangled
plots
of
Middle
Earth.
''If
the
critics
don't
believe
they
have
power,
believe
me
they
do,''
lead
producer
Kevin
Wallace
told
a
news
conference
at
the
Toronto
Princess
of
Wales
Theatre
held
to
announce
the
closing.
The
news
comes
just
as
the
C$28
million
($25
million)
show
won
some
of
Canada's
top
theater
awards
earlier
this
week.
It
will
close
on
Sept.
3.
Tickets
had
been
on
sale
until
Sept.
24
and
producers
had
earlier
said
it
might
take
up
to
a
year
to
test
the
show
before
debuting
in
larger
markets.
A
reworked
and
shorter
version
will
reopen
for
previews
in
London
on
May
9,
2007,
and
will
take
over
at
London's
historic
Theatre
Royal
Drury
Lane
from
the
award-winning
Mel
Brooks
musical
''The
Producers''.
It
is
hoped
the
show
will
then
go
to
Germany
in
2008.
Calling
London
the
spiritual
home
of
the
production,
British
critics
responded
more
favorably
to
the
world
premiere,
while
many
North
American
reviews
gave
Lord
of
the
Rings
a
rough
ride,
which,
in
part,
hit
ticket
sales,
said
Wallace.
''We
are
doing
respectable
business
here,
but
we're
not
sold
out,''
he
said.
''A
show
of
this
scale
needs
to
be
doing
that
level
of
business.''
The
Times
of
London
branded
the
musical
''A
stirring
triumph
of
theatrical
magic,''
while
The
New
York
Times
said
the
show
was
''largely
incomprehensible'',
noting:
''Everyone
and
everything
winds
up
lost
in
this
...
adaptation
of
Tolkien's
cult-inspiring
trilogy
of
fantasy
novels.
That
includes
plot,
character
and
the
patience
of
most
ordinary
theatergoers.''
Naysayers
saw
the
spectacular,
high-tech
production
as
being
a
huge
risk,
unable
to
successfully
adapt
J.R.R.
Tolkien's
masterpiece
to
the
stage
in
the
same
way
that
Peter
Jackson
brought
the
trilogy
to
movie
theaters.
Despite
this,
the
closure
does
not
tarnish
Toronto's
reputation
as
in
the
theater
world,
said
producer
David
Mirvish
of
Mirvish
Productions.
''I
think
that
this
is
going
to
be
a
moment
in
theater
history
no
matter
what
happens
to
the
show
in
the
future''
he
said.
''We
took
the
risk
and
we
are
willing
to
take
risks,
and
we
think
that
we
are
capable
and
that
we
can
play
on
an
international
forum.''
The
story
follows
the
story
of
Hobbit
Frodo
Baggins
in
his
quest
to
save
Middle
Earth
by
destroying
the
ring
of
power.
The
musical's
three
acts
take
the
audience
through
the
dream-like
and
misty
Mines
of
Moria,
Forest
of
Fangorn
and
to
the
final
battle
at
Mount
Doom.
The
55-member
cast
slipped
into
500
costumes
and
engaged
in
fight
scenes
and
acrobatics
atop
a
40-tonne,
computer-controlled
stage
floor
featuring
17
elevators,
which
spun
and
rose
amid
magic
and
illusion.
Some
members
of
the
Toronto
cast
will
join
the
London
production
with
details
to
be
announced
in
September,
said
Wallace.