The Lord of the Rings Musical: What HAPPENED??
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- Опубликовано: 3 июл 2024
- In this video, I talk all about the LotR musical, and the time that I saw it! Shoutout to my parents for guest starring in this one to help fill in the blanks. The Lord of the Rings is an award winning, world-changing story, so why does no one remember the time they spent a few million dollars to make a musical out of it?
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I had the privilege of watching this in the West End in 2007. This is easily the best musical I have ever seen. I still have no idea how they got Bilbo Baggins to disappear before eyes. I loved that Gollumn was literally climbing the walls and that the orcs were running through the aisles. I was mesmerised from beginning to end!! Beautiful music and story telling. I still talk about it to this day and now my children also love LOTR ❤
I suspect it was a VERY well done, peppers ghost effect.
@@calliemyersbuchanan6458 very. I figured second time. And it was delightfully simple. But so effective. Light. Mirror. Timing.
If you saw it, that was why there was such heavy leaf-falling effect. They could get it all off stage without one really noticing it had been there. One second we are surprised he disappeared. The next our attention we have and overwhelming visual and narrated to the next chapter.
Yes same here and i was so young it felt so real, especially the wind machine!
@@thepolymathacademy4891 yep. But the thing it... It was right? If we had long enough arms we could have touched it. ...and I wasn't even that young.
I actually own a copy of the original cast recording and always thought the music and effects were to die for, sadly trying to smoosh together three books into one show just isn't possible. That being said, seeing the show as a child will still be one of the most treasured memories I have.
The music and effects were definitely impressive! Unfortunately, without the structure of a solid story to lean on, I don't think it could have withstood the test of time...definitely an incredible look into what is possible in terms of spectacle/scale though!
Thanks for the comment!
I'm late to the party but @charliecastle with cast recording, do you mean just the audio or an actual legal recording of the musical? Because if it's the latter, I would be super interested in that, I'm doing academic research about Tolkien adaptations nad have only found the soundtrack so far
Thank you for covering the Lord of the Rings Musical! Very few Tolkien RUclipsrs talk about it and even fewer people have actually seen it.
The music and visual effects were some of the most stunning EVER put on stage.
Without having seen it, I have to say that I quite admire the ambition behind this musical. And to it's credit, some of the songs that I've manad to track down online are beautiful. Like Howard Shore levels of beautiful.
It was definitely an ambitious project, with some absolutely stellar moments! (The Lothlorien scene will always be jaw-dropping)
I've found songs from this musical long time ago and fell in love with it. Truly magical, powerful and in my opinion true to the spirit of Lord of the rings.
“Moderate to severe” lol describing Tolkien fandom like it’s a case of chronic pain
Wow, this video brought back some fantastic memories that I had forgotten and some that I had clearly erased - Gollum in particular! I was lucky enough to see the show multiple times as a student in London.
I’ll never forget hearing Laura Michelle Kelly’s breathtaking performance of Lothlorien for the first time. The talent involved really did make this production, even though all else seemed to fail them!
The show was an enormous feat not just in the staging but also as you quite rightly point out, story telling! But as a Tolkien fan the music was what kept drawing me back to the show and I was sad to see it leave. The soundtrack still gets a regular play in our house, much to the dismay of my suffering husband and children!
I wish there was a full bootleg somewhere because I’m so curious on how the story was edited from the books since the director never watched the movies. I absolutely LOVE the cast album, I think every song is gorgeous and needs more recognition
There is a sound recording on youtube with few scenes and pictures. They fused Theodin and Denetor. Had a lot of focus on Sam an Frodos journey. Arwen took over some parts from what I remember
I've seen a full video on RUclips recently
I saw the production in 2007 at a preview for 5 Pounds!
The stage mechanics were amazing.
This is the best I’ve found yet. Only acts 1 and 2, but… just wow!
ruclips.net/video/lZvhdK72zzo/видео.htmlsi=PbfrMVe_ERJJ-A0t
Had the absolute pleasure of seeing this musical twice.
It's the best musical I have ever seen. It had all the elements that make a show great. The choreography, the songs and special effects were phenomenal. So very sad it closed as it really deserved to keep running.
It's the only musical that really blew me away with its complex and magical sets.
It needs to be brought back as I need to see it again.
That orc scarred me for life... on the flip side, I'm pretty sure I still have confetti from the Balrog hidden amongst my hoarded things back home
You have a piece of history!
I remember going to see it! When I was around the same age! I still listen to the music on Spotify!
I've never seen the show, but I've been a fan of the soundtrack for years at this point. That being said, I have a hard time seeing how one could successfully cram aaaaalllll of that story into a single musical. Barring them trying again with a musical for each individual book, I'm fine with just existing in the same world as the soundtrack. Shout out to "The Cat And The Moon" as an awesome pump-up jam
Shout out to "The Final Battle" for epicness!
I have seen it several times in London and loved it. I never thought that this wonderful book would ever be adaptable for the stage.
I think the music, and visuals etc are gorgeous. Part of me really wishes it would be revived but with a severe rewrite or something. Lothlorien and Now and for Always are just such beautiful songs and I feel sad that its' forgotten for all it's good and remembered for its' bad.
Lothlorien gives me chills still. I used to be able to sing every word
It’s getting revived in the UK now 😊
good news on the revival part!!
@@amazingabby25 I just looked at that cast's version of Now and for Always. What a voice on the guy I assume is Frodo and hubba hubba is he a looker! I got the impression it's the music and script but with minimal staging. Do you know anything about it?
I saw the new version of the musical last week! Rebranded as an immersive musical tale, but it was simply amazing, one of the best shows I've ever seen (I've seen a lot) I knew it had been on in the early naughties and had been gutted I hadn't watched it. The new version is stripped back and smaller scale, but it's the same show at heart, simply stunning and beautiful. The cast all play the music and it's partly outside. It's being shown at the Water Mill Theatre in Newbury, it feels like being in the shire, and is on until October, check it out!!
So do they kind of read the script and sing the songs like a reader's (singers?) theatre? Did they keep the choreography? I'm really curious now that bits and pieces are on YT.
@@minissa2009 It was a full reproduction of the musical but in a smaller theatre. The immersive bit was because it started outside in the shire, as it was in the real English countryside it felt just like the shire. The characters were chatting, and playing games with the audience during the prologue, Bilbo's birthday party. Then you go inside for the show as Frodo goes inside bag end, the story then takes off fully which was incredible, then back outside for the epilogue when the story returned to the shire. It worked really really well!
@@arancadneyThanks so much! I'm working my way through the upload of the 2007 production posted on YT. Sound and video are a little uneven but at least I can imagine what the production looked like. I really appreciate you replying with this description! Waiting for it to come to the US!
I got to see it as well. I thought it was a fantastic production, and I really hope it goes on tour. If you search for "Lord of the Rings Watermill" there's a couple of videos available.
Phenomenal, wasn't it?
So I watched it :D in London. My family and I went and are all big Tolkien fans. The plot was lacking yes, but I thought visually and musically it was amazing. I still have earworms of the songs years later. There are snippets online and the soundtrack is on youtube, too. I honestly loved it. I think it was a great musical.
I saw it and really enjoyed it. I immediately bought the CD and play it still. Lothlorien was amazing and makes the hairs on my arms tingle all these years later.
I was there in 2007! All i remember is Laura Michelle Kelly belting the Lothlorien song while doing aerial yoga hanging from the roof. That alone was worth the price. 😂 still gives me goosebumps
The Watermill production was absolutely amazing. Amazing. Obviously they had to really, really compress the timeline but my goodness, it is a fun adaptation.
Rankin Bass’ Hobbit was my intro to tolkien, and I saw the Musical LOTR before the films or reading the books.
The plot was definitely minimal, but I remembered following it quite well, the later half being more condensed than the fellowship sections. To me it was like watching an opera based on Greek or Roman mythology. You’re there for the spectacle, and if that interested you enough, maybe you’d go back and find the source material to have a better understanding of what you just saw.
I saw the show twice during its run in London. Still one of my favourite musicals I have ever seen. I think the songs were/are incredible. I still regularly listen to the music from it! (which is what led me tofind this video) I hope they one day do another version of it for an anniversary, but I doubt it!
Something I heard from someone who worked on the show, was that the Balrog at the end of the end of act One was created by origami. A huge fold-up monster. Also had a lovely "Peppers Ghost" effect of Bilbo vanishing.
Still one of the best things I’ve seen on stage! The Drury Lane version was mind blowing! Visually stunning but also brilliantly written with some gorgeous performances.
The songs are truly beautiful. 'Lothloren' and 'Wonder' give me tingles every time! 'The Road Goes On' and 'Now And For Always' are two of my favourite songs ever too. Well done to the songwriters.
As someone who has never seen it I have to say that while the musical may have been flawed, I still find the music absolutely gorgeous and I would kill to see all of the affects they pulled ofd
It definitely had some impressive moments!
Thanks for this video. A few years ago I found and bought a LotR: the Musical hardcover book from a yard sale. I never knew it existed before that, let alone had any idea about the production- thank you for filling in a gap in my LotR knowledge!
One of my best friends introduced me to the cast recording years ago and I’ve been hooked ever since. Thank you for covering this!
It's showing again this year at The Watermill Theatre, UK.
I have the cd, without having seen the actual musical. The music was fantastic! Some of the songs were so poignant and beautiful.
I was hoping someone on RUclips had covered this musical! Glad to hear a little bit about it, from someone who actually saw it no less!
I live in Toronto and I was 27 when this was playing here. I completely forgot it existed until this video.
I'm surprised it was made. I remember hearing they were working on a musical, but didn't know it was out there.
I remember hearing about the show at the time, but as I'm from Scotland, a family trip to London for a 10 year old boy to see a LoTR musical simply wasn't in the cards. Only many years later did I come across the songs on RUclips, and they definitely appeal to my tastes.
The biggest impact that any of the songs had on me only came a few years ago, though. When my Dad passed away, I spent a lot of that day helping my Mum and siblings, speaking to relatives who came to pay their respects and the undertakers who came to collect his body. Needless to say it was an emotionally draining day and when I went to bed that night, I stuck on a pair of earphones and put my liked songs on shuffle. Eventually Wonder from the LoTR musical (I think in the show its a song sung by Galadriel) came on, and I was particularly moved by the following lyrics:
Out of death, life
Out of night, day, glory from sorrow
Out of grief, joy
Out of storm, comes strength for tomorrow
Out of dust, gold
Out of fire, air, comfort forsaken
Out of rage, calm
Out of loss, find, glory awaken
Corny as fuck I know but they were lyrics I needed to hear at that moment.
I was so lucky to see this show on stage in London at the Apollo Theatre. I was 15 and i thought it was breathing. My brother bought the CD whilst we were there and i immediately uploaded every song to RUclips. After the release of Hamilton I found a big uptick in the amount of comments and likes my videos were getting, so i checked the stats and the viewership had spiked dramatically! I really hoped it was going to be the start of its return. So sad that show just disappeared. I remember the website saying "coming soon" in 213 (I think it was) and getting so excited! Now, even the website is gone.
As a LOTR fan from the late 70’s and living an hour from Toronto I certainly remember this show being put on but resisted going to see it. It seemed at the time to be a bad idea and history seems to have proven me right.
That there was a musical is news to me. I get a sense of what the producers were trying to accomplish. Wish I'd seen it. Your parents are adorable, Jess, and you appear to be a wonderful family, which gives me a good feeling.
I only recently found your channel and am trying catch up on your oeuvre. I thought I knew a lot about Tolkien but I learn something new from each of your videos. This video really floored me! I had never heard of this musical. Unlike Professor Tolkien I have no objection to fantasy as such on stage. I have no more problem suspending disbelief that a sprinkling of fairy dust can impart the ability to fly than that Dianna Rigg is an 11th century Scottish queen (The Old Vic, 1973). I’ve found the original cast album on Apple Music and I’ve listened about a third of it. It’s not bad. I’m hoping I can find a video of the whole production. Thanks for your work.
Never seen it but I’ll be forever grateful for the song “Wonder” which is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard.
I had heard of this, but I didn't know it was so elaborate!
It's just been revived for a limited two month run at The Watermill Theatre, Newbury; I went to see it for my Birthday, and I think it was a fantastic revival. The setting - a delightful watermill converted into a little theatre, set among the beautiful English countryside that inspired the Shire - was a perfect match for the story, the actors were spirited and friendly, the production design was in many ways inspired (despite the fact that, as a LARPer I recognised several pieces of costume from my own wardrobe). It was better than the London production by far - and probably less people will see it over the run than saw it in one night in London.
My daughter and I have had many conversations about the adaptation of the book into the movie (with your help), and I agree a stage adaptation of such a massive book would be damn tough. Maybe an opera trilogy, a la Wagner's Ring series? One needs lots of time, and illusion of lots of space to make this adaptation a success. It could happen.
So cool for your parents to join you. Thanks Jess's mom and dad! You should be proud of your daughter's hard work!
I loved every second of it, more than the films probably. And yes a great use of Pepper's Ghosst
Very late to this party (just found your channel and I'm loving it) but my mind is blown. I was in my second year of university for THEATRE TECHNICAL PRODUCTION in 2006 in TORONTO when this thing showed up. We talked about it at length in our courses. We marveled and studied the set pieces and costumes. We all imagined this future of high budget technical shows to lift us in our future careers. I'm certain we had at least 1 instructor who was working on the thing. And it was so wiped from my memory that I am still trying to think who of my friends might recall if I actually saw the thing. As a student I doubt I would have been able to afford the tickets, but maybe I went to a preview? I'm almost certain I did as I remember the stage moving, even typing this I remember Merry's lav mic failing and not getting fixed until almost intermission. Holy crap I was there. It was horrible. Thank you for reminding me. #rankinandbasswasgoodfightme
I never knew about the Lord of the Rings musical, but my middle school did a Hobbit musical that I enjoyed, from what I can remember of it
I was lucky enough to have seen it. In that same theater as you. My friend got me a ticket for my birthday. I remember loving the production and the songs. I'm not sure if i remember the actual story though. But i wish I'd known it was playing again earlier this yr, as i did love it then
I learned something new!
This musicl has stayed with my since I got to see it in 2007, some of the visuals and the music was too nice to forget. Also it invoked the same magical feeling I got from my first literary encouters with Middle Earth which were more ethereal and magical than that of the movies so it remains quite special. I just wish there had been more evidence left behind for people to experience it now
I actually saw the London production twice. I enjoyed it but I think people expected too much of it and didn’t take it for what it was. There was no way they could condense such a work but for me it was worth seeing for the visuals and the female performances. Some of the music wasn’t musical theatre memorable but for me there were enough songs that were and those songs were beautiful and had a lot of depth to them. Especially the songs sung by the two female leads. For those who didn’t get to see the show just look up the cast album on RUclips and I’m sure you will see/hear what I mean by that. Because it was more of a visual and immersive experience it was certainly worth the price of a West End ticket and I have fond memories of seeing it.
Funny I went super critical. "This will never work on stage and a musical " Read negative vibes and crossed arms upper gallery at a preview.
End act one , claps and screams of joy from siad gallery over how wonderful they had transported me into a whole new dimension and forged new ground to what Theatre could be.
The fact that you said what you say at 11:39 (to 48) a year or so before Rings of Power dropped is NUTS. Wish someone would have told ol' Benzoids that...
As a big fan of both Lord of the Rings and musical theater, this show is a guilty pleasure of mine. I never got to see it onstage so I can't speak to whether it worked or if the story was coherent. All I know is that I really enjoy the music from it. I love how they integrated Quenya into the lyrics. I love the tongue-twister of a song they sing in Bree. I love Gollum's Jekyll & Hyde style duet with himself. And "Now and For Always" is a beautiful song that perfectly captures Frodo and Sam's bond and the indomitable nature of hobbits. Musically, I thought they portrayed the story well. But maybe it works better as a soundtrack album than as a stage production.
That said, there's apparently a revival of this show in the works for 2023. I'm very curious to see how it fares. It would be awesome if they filmed a performance of it.
the lotr musical is so underrated! The Road Goes On and Lothorien are two of my all time favourite songs
I saw the musical on 8 Dec 2007, half way through it's London run, but I have no memory of it. However in my annual newsletter, which was written in the following days I was enthusiastic: "Spectacular is a word that underplays the experience of the Lord of the Rings musical I saw in December. One was not watching the Fellowship in the mines of Moria with the fiery Balrog, one was there with them!
I too have "The Official Stage Companion", by Gary Russell, a beautifully produced hardback guide to the design, creation and production of the musical, a gift I received at the time. Maybe my longer term thoughts on the production are better revealed by knowing that 16 years later I still have not read it.
Thank you for your videos which demonstrate that you have carried out detailed research into Middle Earth and its peoples.
I worked FoH in Toronto for this production and your video is giving me severe flashbacks. Helm's Deep used to break down on the daily. On double shows, the delays used to give us less than a 30 minute break between shows. Michael Terriault (Gollum) used to hang at stage door in his full make up and a bathrobe because he didn't have enough time to get his make up re applied.
I would say the music itself (as that is my only frame of reference) was really quite pleasant. "Now and For Always" is really quite a moving number...
I remember seeing the musical when I was about 12/13 and the image of the Balrog sticks in my mind. Otherwise, I don't remember very much about it.
Two ideas on how you could adapt Tolkien for stage. One is based on the Ring Cycle: Wagner managed to present pretty indepth Germanic/Norse mythology in his operas. However, he did take 4 pretty lengthy operas to do so. Perhaps an opera, given its epic scale, would be more suited to LotR, and you could have one per book.
As an alternative, for a stage play (rather than a musical) perhaps one of the tales at the heart of the Silmarillion could work i.e. Beren and Luthien or the Children of Hurin. Though they rely on wider context for the fullest meaning, in some ways they are self-contained stories that I think could be made similar in tone to a Greek or Shakespearean tragedy.
If all else fails, Farmer Giles of Ham would make a great pantomime!
I think the spectacle of it was definitely the most lasting for me as well!
And I totally agree! I'd love to see Tolkien onstage, but it would definitely thrive much more with some of his other works. Other than a multi-part format, I don't think LotR itself is viable.
I'd love a Greek tragedy inspired interpretation of Turin's story or an opera or ballet of Beren and Luthien. I think any stage adaptation would have to rely very heavily on style, rather than literal interpretation, especially if you didn't want to have an insane budget or scale.
It's also funny you mention Farmer Giles, because I have wanted to do a shadow play/storybook version of this story for a while now. Maybe someday! Thanks for the comment and the great thoughts!
I can’t believe I didn’t know this existed!! I love and hate it, as Gollum loves and hates himself 😭😭
I’ve never seen the show but I really want to!!! I’ve loved the soundtrack for years. The music is really beautiful.
New production is now on in the UK and getting rave reviews! I saw the original 5 times and adored it.
I remember reading the headline in a Toronto newspaper "Bored Of The Rings" - ouch.
Bruh! I was just thinking about this randomly. I couldn’t remember ANYTHING cept the beginning when they were in hobbiton…there were fireflies think? And the orcs in the audience….and yes…the stage moving was crazy.
There were fireflies for sure! I think it was part of the pre-show or prologue. It's funny how the same parts stuck for everyone :)
It's funny, I only know that this happened because when I was searching for Tolkein music on RUclips the renditions of the Prancing Pony songs from this musical came up. Funnily enough I heard the news about them PLANNING this musical in, I don't know, 2004 or something back when I spent most of my time online on the IMDb forums for LOTR, but I never heard about it actually going into production and coming out or anything.
In contrast I do have very clear memories of the great Hobbit stage play in the 90s I saw where Gandalf, Elrond and Bard were actors but the entire rest of the cast were puppets. I was doing a quick Google and it looks like, remarkably, it may have only been an Australian/New Zealand production.
Those of you who got to see this show are very, very lucky. Speaking as someone who has never left the U.S., was 6 years old when the show was actually running, and only heard about it 6-7 years after the show shut down during my first LOTR phase in 5th grade. Fortunately for people like me, someone was able to compile audio and video from various sources to piece together almost the whole show for anyone to see on RUclips!
I never got to see the musical myself, which seems to be a blessing and a curse. I was, however, utterly obsessed with the London cast soundtrack as a young teen deep in my lotr phase (I say phase like it ever really ended lol). The visuals I did see in clips were entrancing, the song for Lothlorien STILL gives me goosebumps.
I think you’re right that there was no way this could ever work, it’s simply too much world and story for a stage play. And yet, perhaps because I never saw it except in my head, there’s something about the idea I just can’t stop loving. There was clearly so much thought and care put into the sets, the effects, the costumes, the music (they worked with a Finnish folk band to get the sound of the language that had most inspired Elvish). And I think there’s something beautiful about turning Tolkien’s story, which is fundamentally musical, into a story told through music.
Maybe it’s better for me it only lives in my imagination and in clips I found on RUclips. But I can’t help but be glad that it exists, a different and beautiful vision of a beloved world… even if the reality of such a show was an impossible dream.
Love this show although it’s not the greatest adaptation of the books for the stage. I think critics were overly harsh towards it- mostly because it was just so new and completely different from what most theatre had been like up until that point. Bummed the show never came to the USA and/or that the international tour never came to fruition.
It’s funny I actually knew about this musical not because of Lotr but because of my background in theatre. I found the cat and the moon while researching for Broadway Wishes a student run groups where we would show musical numbers to raise money for the make a wish foundation. I loved it from a lotr, a realistic, an almost Irish, and a purely musical standpoint. The rest of the show is never gotten into because it seemed so lost that it didn’t feel worthwhile to look for.
Completely different but related, a small community theater group in my town made one called "one musical to rule them all" where they took well known theatre songs and changed the lyrics to fit the story, it was so much fun, you still needed to know the story to understand what was going on but it was great
at 1:10 when jess said hi, i actually though it was video feed of her mom and for a split second i legit thought she was an immortal elf ..or a vampire, freaked me out. but turns out im just dumb and it was just jess with a low res camera
Also, believe it or not this show is actually getting a revival! A smaller theatre in the UK is showing it, and making it a semi-immersive theatre show. I'm not sure exactly what that will entail, but apparently the opening scenes of the birthday party in the Shire will take place on the green outside the theatre building, so... if nothing else, it'll be interesting :p
I think I heard about that! I'm honestly very excited by the prospect, I love immersive theatre
The revival is at the Watermill Theatre in beautiful Newbury. Fortunate as I am to live only a 90 minute drive from the place, I had the immense pleasure of seeing it a few weeks ago and my God, it was incredible!
I sincerely hope this production gets the global exposure it deserves.
One of my friends who was a harpist with an opera used to shout her revulsion at some of the 40 and $50,000 Harps because the quality of the sound was not what her educated ear would prefer. To us normal Mortals we were transported by what we could hear. I think knowing the context as well as the symbolic significance of some of the characters is what caught my attention in the musical. In contrast I think the Amazon series will find many fans because it has a story that unfolds even though you have a symbolic Mary the mother of Jesus just about making out with Judas which doesn't follow actual Tolkien or the Bible. Is that good theater and is it faithful to the author? Perhaps. And perhaps someday a better theatrical production might be created but I found this one enjoyable inspirational and memorable.
I love the Lord of the Rings books and Middle Earth has been in my imagination since I was about 8 years old. I find musical theatre really quite a difficult genre to like - the songs often feel contrived, even manipulative. My wife and daughter saw the restaging of the LOTR musical at the Watermill on September last year and I joined them for a second time. I have to say I was unexpectedly bowled over by it. I can imagine it being overblown and entirely messy on a large scale, but this honed down version was exquisite.
If they wanted to cut run time for the play, they just needed to have most of the journey via giant eagle and then have a random Hobbit remark: "Imagine if we had walked all that way!".
I am a BIG lotr fan, and I have never heard of this, but I would LOVE to watch this crash
Never pull a reverse-Hobbit.
You need to do a video on the LOTR musical that WASN'T a failure: "Fellowship! A Musical Parody" I saw it in NYC and it was hilarious!
After initially watching this video, I went on a deep dive for this musical, watching other reviews of it, listening to the album, and researching its history for myself. I managed to find a recording of it, though I didn't finish watching it and now I have to track it down again. The audio and visual quality was practically nonexistent, but I was able to tell that when Gandalf came in to talk to Frodo about the ring, he just would not stop yelling at him and it was honestly hilarious. XD
It's really sad that this musical didn't do well and isn't more well known. I absolutely love the soundtrack. (Now and for Always is to DIE for!) From what I can tell, the biggest problem with this musical was its plot. I think if we could get a good writer to sit down and fix the script, this musical could have a real chance of being good. I hope that happens some day. I desperately want to see this performed on stage!
Me! I volunteer!
The music is lovely and i wish I could have seen it.
I saw it too! Was waaaay up in the gods, and on the night we saw it the balrog didn't work or inflate?
Can you please admit that the music for this show was beautiful?
I certainly didn't object to it, but it didn't really stick with me the way other musicals do. I totally get people that love it though, there are certainly some stunning pieces in there!
@@Jess_of_the_Shire It has been my dream Ince I was a child to make a Lord of the Rings stage musical--even before this musical came out. I think it is doable if you have the opening number at the Council of Elrond and do something similar to the Finnish miniseries--keep the focus on Frodo and Sam when the Fellowship splits up.
@@colehamilton5917 it would definitely be an interesting challenge! I think the main problem is the sheer amount of Story you have to fit in, so paring it down like you said would be wise.
I wish we could see stage adaptations of some of his other stories as well though! I'd love a dramatic greek-style piece about the fall of Turin Turumbar, or a ballet or musical of the tale of Beren and Luthien.
I wish you luck in your musical-writing ventures!
This show has been revived at the Watermill Theatre in the UK. Its running until October. I saw it this weekend at it was one of the best things I've ever seen live. It's an intimate theatre and thr show starts and ends in the garden outside.
So I saw this musical at 16 in Drury Lane. The only bits I remember vividly are Frodo and Sam's song, the execution of the orcs and Laura Michelle Kelly belting interchangeably. It was compelling but not the most memorable experiences ever.
Didn't even know this was a thing.
I heard of it when it was on stage but I never had the money to bother with it. I tend to agree Tolkien. There are things that can be done stage and can't be. It probably would have been better if they did a 'Globe' version of it, but I doubt they would have even considered it. I love William Shakespeare done pure and simple, with all the words. I agree that Tolkien's stories are too complex.
I have been reading Tolkien since 1976, never heard of the musical. I am however, going to Evil Dead the musical next month :)
Perhaps something like the Ring Cycle?
I saw this in London… why no one ever did a full dvd filming of it before it shut down is beyond me. Even more perplexing as there are several musical numbers professionally shot from the west end show. Why did they not film the whole thing? Or perhaps they did and it was never made available. The show was stunning but in hindsight does not suit a theatre audience. It was too dark and patrons too far away to see what was going on and get involved with the characters. There were also wayyyy too many songs. But what an impressive production.
I bought the music from the musical. Now and for always is my favorite. You have "cool" parents.
I only happened upon it on YT about a year ago. I was able to find a video of it with really bad sound but was able to play the music at appropriate times from another video. I have to admit that, while I liked Arwen getting a song and she and Aragorn getting IIRC the happy ending reprise, Aragorn's part of the story seemed really muddled, especially in Rohan. I do like the music, and the scene with "Now and For Always" actually captures the scene where Frodo and Sam are talking about the story they've landed in right before they cross into Mordor.
If you're actually reading this a year after you did the video, do you know what's up with a revival of the show? What little I saw looked like the one revival of Sweeny Todd that was done with really minimal staging and the actors playing some of the accompaniments themselves. Oh, and I lost count of how many times I'd read it somewhere around 30. I even read the Silmarillion on my rereads, albeit a "good parts" version. Tolkien is my literary god.
It sounds like it should have been three plays, similar to Peter Brook's approach to The Mahabharata in the 1980s.
I actually saw this back in the day, and I did really enjoy it! The scope, the music, the general look of it all was brilliant, but there were issues.
For one, they tried their hardest to condense the whole story into a single play. I have never seen any LOTR adaptation that did this successfully. Even the Bakshi film, for all its condensing, only got as far as the Battle of Helms Deep. It really should've been staged as a two-parter, like The Cursed Child or Henry IV or something.
Also some of the casting just didn't work and the effects ranged from beautiful to laughable (particularly the Balrog and the Ents).
I'd never even heard of it. And now I know why.
When actors are told to "break a leg", it's not supposed to be taken literally. More seriously, I haven't seen this show but the music is good.
I watched the updated version of this at the Watermill last year...One of the best things I've ever seen, and I've seen a bunch being a stage actor myself. This was phenomenal. The instruments are fully implemented, you've got Merry and Pippin running around with a Cello on his shoulder and a mandolin across her back. Some of the harmonies too, chef's kiss. Check out - ruclips.net/video/fW5LlaFiat8/видео.html 'Now and for Always' as a taster. I think it's transferring to Chicago...or Toronto...that way anyway
The absence of a SINGLE ACTUAL TOLKIEN SONG, is what I find most alarming. He wrote hundreds after all.
I've never seen it performed, so I can't speak to the coherence of the plot, but I have listened to the music. A lot of it seemed kind of new age-y in a way I didn't necessarily detest, but I preferred the movie soundtracks. That said, I unironically love the hobbit numbers, especially the drinking song, the Cat and the Moon. A real banger!
It was at least less cursed than Spiderman the musical.....
They should revive it, and then should harry potter it and split it into two parts.
I have been reading Tolkien since I was fifteen; so, sixty-two years. The existence of a musical adaptation was a mystery to me until today (20 April 2024). I still have difficulty with the superb Peter Jackson movies being too condensed for my tastes. A three hour musical, especially one so totally devoid of substance as described, would probably have driven me out before the first intermission. An adaptation must, at a minimum, maintain the flavor of the original source material. None of the scenes from the musical that were interspersed with this video gave me the slightest impression that I had been transported into Middle Earth. On the other hand, the Jackson films put me there as soon as they began and never once did I get the feeling that I was not living and breathing a tale of Middle Earth. I believe that I fully understand Jess’ grounds for rejection of the musical and, from what I gleaned, I wholeheartedly agree.
I heard its comming back
Saw in London in 2008. Easily the best musical I've ever seen.
I saw a stage version of the hobbit on stage and very much enjoyed it. Granted expectations are much lower for a children’s community theater production
Some musicals are just strange. My sister-in-law once got us to watch “Cannibal the musical“. That’s a strange little play.
Just because reviews are good or bad doesn’t mean you’ll like or dislike a play. The reviews for an all male production of “taming of the shrew” were mostly all negative. After the play I saw one of the supporting actors and went up to shake his hand and told him I enjoyed the play, it was much better than I was expecting. I mostly remember that instance because my wife told me I shouldn’t have worded the compliment as if my expectations were low. But both reviews read hated the play so my expectations were very low.