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Lord of the Rings On Stage
http://www.arwen-undomiel.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=11139		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  Wingfoot [ September 19th, 2006, 11:59 am ]
Post subject:  Lord of the Rings On Stage
Sorry if this is the wrong place, or if there's already been a topic bout this, but anyone heard of or seen LOTR the musical? I think it's already been shown in America...and it opens in England next year. I just wanted to know if anyone's seen it, as I'm going to watch it on the opening night in London :D
Author:  Aredhel Ar-Feiniel [ September 19th, 2006, 12:02 pm ]
Post subject: 
It's been shown in Toronto and i wanted to go see it but i heard that it had a horrible review so it has to close early, since nobody wants to see it. oh and the tickets in toronto now cost $20.00 i heard, which is kind of sad :confused:

but yeah after you watch it tell me how it was!!
Author:  Wingfoot [ September 19th, 2006, 12:12 pm ]
Post subject: 
Yeah...I know it got pretty mixed reviews, but its about LOTR so I gotta see it :D And I watched some videos on their site, and it seems pretty awesome. I will go with my friend...and report back :P
Author:  *Eowyn* [ September 19th, 2006, 2:16 pm ]
Post subject: 
Really? That's odd... I saw it on the 21st of August in Toronto (while I was there on vacation) and it was AMAZING. Best musical I've ever seen. Who gives a **** about what the critics said cuz it was totally worth it! The tickets cost about $250 for the four in my family, it would have been $400 without the special offer that we managed to get a hold on. I just loved it. Sure, it was quite different from the movie so I understand how the critics could have complained about that, Legolas was dark haired, and Bill Ferny and Grima were technically the same person. But besides the Bill/Grima stuff (cuz really, time is an issue... HOW can you compress it all into a few hours... HOW?) it was just sooo good.

Especially the dancing scene at Bree. I loved it.

Wingfoot, I strongly recommend going to see it. The acting isn't perhaps as "realistic" as that in the movie, but considering that it's drama not camera here... I think it works for the better.

Then again, it was a choice between seeing the Lord of the Rings in Toronto or a Broadway musical while in transit in New York on the way back from vacation. I choose Lord of the Rings and am happy I did!
Author:  Aredhel Ar-Feiniel [ September 19th, 2006, 3:39 pm ]
Post subject: 
^alright then ... i'm sorry for saying anything ... i never saw it before so i should just shutup about it, right? ..

but a friend of mine and a few teachers saw it and they said that all in all, the whole play was just satisfactory so i dont know ... but as for myself, i'd believe my teachers and friends because how on earth can you go from $100 per ticket to $20? it must really be bad overall for the price to have gone down so drastically ... even though I'm a LotR fanatic, just cos something is LotR it doesn't mean it's going to be excellent..

and IMO it was pretty stupid for them to make a LotR musical when the movies came out a couple of years ago with AMAZING results and total success ... how can a shortened musical beat it?

but everyone has their opinion, right?

Wingfoot, i hope you enjoy seeing it and i really hope that you like it :)
Author:  Dark, Queen of Angmar [ September 19th, 2006, 6:02 pm ]
Post subject: 
I saw it!! It was amazing, i think they could of changed some of the things, and cut down on singing because i detested the dancing at Bree sequence...it bothered me. I loved how they combined the Witch King and the Mouth of Sauron tho...great job and we got the special ticket offer thingamabob so yeah...but i spent the money we saved on LotR merchandise... :blush:
Author:  *Eowyn* [ September 20th, 2006, 7:50 am ]
Post subject: 
No worries Haldir. No hurt feelings. ;) Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, and when I went to see it most of the roles were taken up by the understudies. Maybe it was a certain act that was bad? I don't know...

The musical and movies are very different mediums so I understand how they are definitely different - it's just one of those things that is soooo easy yet soooo hard to compare at the same time.
Author:  Captain Faramir [ September 20th, 2006, 7:57 am ]
Post subject: 
Too bad I am gonna never see it unless somebody uploads for me here :P okay no pressure :)
Author:  Wingfoot [ September 20th, 2006, 11:23 am ]
Post subject: 
I can't wait to see it :P I'm just gonna try and enjoy it...as I said, the video I saw of it was pretty cool. Maybe they'll have tweaked it slightly for London?
Author:  Taurquende [ September 20th, 2006, 7:18 pm ]
Post subject: 
Musical? When did this happen? :-O

That sounds exciting! I love musical, and I love LotR, so what could be better than a combination of the two? :D
Author:  Meranwen Helanwë [ September 21st, 2006, 6:37 am ]
Post subject: 
no offence but i cant imagine LOTr as a musical but w/e

i mean sure maybe bacground music but not singing. oh well i want to hear Wingfoot how it is so :D tell us :D
Author:  Aredhel Ar-Feiniel [ November 10th, 2006, 11:40 pm ]
Post subject: 
Ooh the guy that played Haldir in Toronto (Fraser Walters).. he's my teacher's husband!! :o
Author:  Altariel Frodo [ November 11th, 2006, 12:16 pm ]
Post subject: 
^Really? That's neat, Haldir!


I heard a lot about this, but I don't have all that much interest in seeing it... especially because the tickets sound like REALLY expensive. I'll be satisfied with the movies. :-P
Author:  Mablung [ November 18th, 2006, 3:46 pm ]
Post subject: 
I have a few questions for those who've seen it.

I'm really intrigued at how they have managed to condense such a huge story into a single musical. How long was it and what plot lines (if any) have they left out? Is the music similar in style to Howard Shore's vision, or is it more pop based? Did they have a massive cast/chorus (even with some taking more than one role)?

Did they managed to get all of the main characters into the story or were there any characters missing that you would have thought should be there? And how on earth did they manage to stage the epic battles? As PJ had to rely on computer effects to get the numbers he wanted, how did they cope live on stage?

Finally (sorry for so many questions!) did it feel wierd to be watching characters played by different actors to those you knew from the film?

I love musicals, so I'd be fascinated to know - thanks for your time! :bye2:
Author:  Legolas Thranduilion [ November 25th, 2006, 12:12 am ]
Post subject: 
I saw it so I can answer your questions Mablung

It was about three and 1/2 hours long. They left out the usual stuff Tom Bombadil ect. But they kept in the Scouring of the Shire but got rid of Wormtongue, Bill Ferny was Saruman's stooge instead.

The style was definitly not pop based but it varied from Howard Shore a bit. It had a little bit more of a homey feel. And there was no large choir, the only voices came from the actors on stage.

They did keep in most of the main characters.

Now as for battles, first of all there were only two. Helm's Deep and the battle at the Black Gate. They were obviously on a smaller scale but one of the things that helped add to the drama of it was the elavator system (there were seven) and not all the main characters were on stage at the same time. Also there was a lot of lighting involded, strobe lights and red washes that made it look intense.

And for your last question, All the actors did a wonderful job. It really was so much diffrent from the movie that you didn't see a difference you just saw it from a diffrent perspective. Like the camera angle was changed. The music really added to it as well. The only person who struck me as extreamly diffrent was Gandalf. He was much brisker (is that a word?) then Ian. The only other thing that gave me a smack in the face was that Legolas had black hair and war paint (so did Elrond, war paint I mean) But it wasn't distracting just interesting. If you do get a chance to see it definitly do it is well worth the time it takes to see it. Trust me you won't want to leave.
I hope i answered all your questions if you have others feel free to ask
Author:  Mablung [ December 17th, 2006, 12:15 pm ]
Post subject: 
Thanks for telling me about it - it does sound like a really epic experience. It'll be interesting to see what happens when it opens in the West End.

It's interesting that they dropped Wormtongue, although I don't blame them for skipping Tom Bombadil.

How did they handle Arwen, since she is much more prominent in the movies than in the books? I am assuming that the writers went straight from the books rather then allow any of the movies to influence them.

Oh, and I suppose an inevitable question from the likes of me - did they include a bit more detail in the houses of healing with Eowyn/Faramir than in the movies?

I'll try not to continue bombarding you with questions now! :-D
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