Lord Of The Rings Musical Spring 2005

Sorry if this has already been posted somewhere in time but I was thrilled to know that a musical LOTR adaptation is set for 2005 in London (though I can't have the chance to see it.. ) Anyway, here's their site.

[Gorwingel]

I have heard of this before, and it should be interesting
But gosh they do have a fancy website, so maybe it won't be that bad because of all the money they seem to be funneling into it.

I just am not fully sold on the idea because it is just not the greatest concept for a musical in my opinion. Imagine the songs! But I could be wrong

[Finwe]

Oh my God! This is going to be amazing! I just wish I could go see it, I'll probably be in Italy and Greece then.

[Essex]

This will go one of two ways.

It will either be very good, or (and I'm hedging my bets on this one) extremley horribly sickingly bad!!!!!!

On the other hand: if they use a lot of the poems / songs from the book itself, then it COULD work!

[Lindalirien O Lorien]

Wow.... this sounds interesting. I agree with you Gorwingel, I seem a little curious to know what they are going to do for songs (well except for the ones already in the book) How will they pull that off? I mean it took Tolkien three books to write the story out and all the movies together are like eight hours. I do admit I would like to see it though

[InklingElf]

Goodness gracious -- a musical!? Is this the new fad for big movies? First it was the sequels, now this? Not that I'm complaining...

[Iaurhirwen]

Hmmmmm interesting topic.

Being involved in a musical right now for school, I wonder how they are going to make this work. There is no way they could put in all the relevent material, unless the thing is twelve hours long (Sweetness!!!!). However, I don't think that's something the actors, or the general public would like.

Also, I wonder how they would work in the songs. For, they would need a whole lot of songs. More, I think, than Tolkien wrote. Also Tolkien's songs aren't the type typically found in a musical.

I guess we will just have to see how this turns out. Anybody know if it's going to come to the U.S.?

[Aethelwine]

*Aethelwine enters a theater one faithful day in 2005 ( no correct dates for now ) and sits down. The big day has arrived, she's going to see the musical of The Lord of the Rings for the first time. She's excited, not knowing what to expect.

Then the lights go out, and... on a screen at the back of the stage a word appears: PROLOGUE. 'A yes', Athelwine thinks, 'for those under us who still don't know what LotR is about...'
Suddenly, a strange noise can be heard, to the side of the stage. A strange looking man appears, wearing on his head a big... eye? With a shock Aethelwine realizes that this has to be Sauron, our dear dark lord. Looking utterly ridicules. And than he opens his mouth... and... sings...

" I'm gonna make my own ring
's gonna make me a king
's gonna make me a lo-o-o-ord

They will bend down to my voice
gonna drop down their toys
gonna drop down their rings
The rings of their kings!"

Then, a choir is revealed, consisting of 3 elves, 7 dwarves and 9 man, singing:

"He's gonna make his own ring
's gonna make him a king
's gonna make him a lo-o-o-ord

But we will march on
let the odds be all wrong
we won’t let go of our rings
The rings of our kings!”

Terrified, Aethelwine leaves the theater, never to return…*

I’ll never get the image of a singing Sauron out of my head…

[Enorëiel]

Lol Aethelwine! Now I'm gonna have the image of a singing, dancing Sauron stuck in my head too *shudders*

It's about time someone opened up a thread on this, I heard about the play a while ago and was wondering what others thought of it. It'd be really, um, interesting to say the least. I really can't imagine LOTR as a musical - that'd be really strange and probably really long. However, I would absolutely LOVE to see it! Too bad it's in London, don't think I'll be visiting anytime soon (I wish...)

[Aethelwine]

Doesn’t anybody else have a opinion on this?

One would think that there would be more replies to a thread like this!

Anyway, when I first read the news that there was going to be a LOTR - musical, the first thing that popped into my head was the image of a singing Sauron ( see above )...

That kinda ruined it for me...

I wish those producers all the luck in the world. They’ll need it...

Cheers!

Aethelwine.

[Lalwendë]

Aethelwine, I have an opinion, and it's simply that I think a 'musical' version of LOTR would be awful!

I'm not a big fan of musicals as I find them ever so slightly cheesy, I am already thinking of all that dreadful soft rock/Cliff Richard/Andrew Lloyd Webber rubbish with people in leg warmers throwing themselves around on a stage. They did a musical a few years ago of one of the finest British films made, Whistle Down The Wind, and it was completely embarrassing, so I've had this thing about hating musicals created from pre-exisiting works ever since.

I could bet on it that they won't use the Donald Swann/JRR Tolkien song cycle already written. I have visions now of Aragorn in a mullet singing soft rock love songs in the mode of Bon Jovi to Arwen, who would be one of the British 'singing TV stars', like Claire Sweeney or Denise Van Outen or something. And the hobbits would be little stage school kids with Home Counties accents and perfect enunciation. No. Take it away!

It might just be my deep dislike of musicals but in my humble opinion, I shall approach with extreme caution if not run the other way.

[Iaurhirwen]

In honor of the new muscial coming out - I have started the process of writing my own . . . . . full of the corniest songs and dance numbers you can imagine. It is going to be a representation of what every Tolkien fan fears will happen to this musical. Let me know if you want me to post any of my songs - once I have them written of course.

[Aethelwine]

My first reaction exactly Lalwendë!!! But I’ll give it a try...

Well, I’d like to see that, Iaurhirwen, as long as it’s not as horrible as my Sauron song…
Or should it be?

Cheers, mates!

Aethelwine.

[Iaurhirwen]

Let's just say having The Lion King songs running through your head leads to some interesting results - along with people staring at you in the middle of the street.

[Aethelwine]

Now I'm interested Iaurhirwen...

[Iaurhirwen]

Here's a list of songs that I have come up with - there in no special order, just how they popped into my head.

1. From The Lion King "I Just can't wait to be King" - Aragorn and Elrond

2. From Beauty and the Beast "It's my ring" (tune of Be Our Guest) - Sauron, Smeagol, Bilbo and Frodo

3. From Titanic "My Heart Will Go On" - Arwen (Aragorn?)

4. From Aladdin "Imrahil" (tune of Prince Ali)

5. From Once Upon a Mattress (the musical I am in right now) "We have an opening for a new king"

6. From The Lion King (Broadway - not movie) "Be Prepared" - Sauron & random orcs

7. From Once Upon a Mattress "Holes of Home" - Frodo & Sam

8. From Aida "Not Me" (about a love triangle) - Eowyn, Aragorn, Arwen

9. From Moulin Rouge "Healing Love Melody" - Eowyn & Faramir

10. From Aladdin "A Whole New World" - Legolas & Gimli

11. "It's a Small World" - The Hobbits

12. "We are the Champions" - People of M-E

13. The Barney Song - Frodo & Sam

14. From Ricki Martin "She Fights" - About Eowyn by Faramir

15. From The Sound of Music "So long, farewell" - Elves of Rivendell

16. From Pirates of the Caribbean "Drink up me Hearties" - Merry & Pippin

17. The song Physical - Legolas's Work-Out Video

18. From Gilligan's Island "The Balad of Middle Earth"

I still need more though!!! Saruman has nothing to sing!!!

[Aethelwine]

I don't know a song for dear old Saruman, Iaurhirwen, but perhaps this will be of use to you...

The Script!

It starts with a song from Gandalf...

Enjoy yourself!

Aethelwine.

PS I just read on a little while further, and I can advise you not to! Guess who is at the Council of Elrond? Eowyn. Guess who gets a place offered in the Fellowship? That’s right, Eowyn. Now, I like girl power, but this is stretching it. Eowyn declines, because she must return to her home, to care for her brother. And, ONLY because she doesn’t go, Boromir is there to fill up the gap.
This can’t be true! I am so not going!

[Lord of Angmar]

I don't think that is the real script.

Well, I hope it isn't anyway.

[Imladris]

Maybe this should be moved the Mirth forum?

I actually think it could work. Could .

I sincerely doubt they will have rock music or anything like that. If the website is any foretelling of the production, it looks as if it will be extremely serious. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they had all of the good old songs that Tolkien wrote in there. In fact, I wouldn't even be surprised if the songs May It Be, Gollum's Song, and Into the West were in there just because a character is obviously singing it (Galadriel = May It Be, Gollum = Gollum's Song, and Into the West could easily be sung by Galadriel). A musical doesn't have songs all the way through it. If we were to count all the songs in Lord of the Rings and put tunes to them, I'd bet that as a stage production LotR would already count as a musical. Not to mention if someone were to dig up the tale of Luthien and Beren for Aragorn and Arwen.

In a way, it would be quite a fun challenge. Naturally there wouldn't be a need for the grand special effects that were in the movie because most of those weren't in the book anyway. In fact, it would be pretty darn easy to do most of the film, since most of it is travelling anyway.

Legolas and Gimli From Aladdin "A Whole New World"

In smilieys of one syllable:

[Iaurhirwen]

My musical is supposed to make you go

Trust me, I was making myself scared with what my twisted mind was coming up with.

And with the way this thread is headed, if the mods want to move it to Mirth that's find. Or we could just put up a new thread there and let this one continue in a serious matter. Don't matter.

And what's with the limit on smilies??????

[Aethelwine]

I don't think that is the real script.

Well, I hope it isn't anyway.

Dear Lord of Angmar, I can't tell you how much I hope that's true.

It's horrible...

Aethelwine.

[Enorëiel]

Heaven help us if that was the real script. I will definitly have to take a trip to London then, but not to see the musical - rather to burn down the theater that hosts it! That's horrible!

[Olorin_TLA]

That's anentirely different thing.

I think it could be great; plenty of serious, moving musicals out there (eg: Les Miserables)

[Child of the 7th Age]

Whoa! Has anyone read this interview that was posted on The One Ring concerning the composers they are using?

Click here.

There is an Indian composer A. R. Rahman and a Finnish group called the Värttinä.

That suggests this is certainly going to be different than your "average" musical. Does anyone know anything about these musicians?

[Araréiel]

Please tell me this is a joke.... We'll now have to see Legolas dancing and singing? I hear enough teasing about that since I'm so head over heels for him already! Now the teasing will never end..... *sigh* Still, I want to see it, so I may have to force my boyfriend to go to Europe with me! We're planning to go next year anyway, so may as well make it coincide with this! Of course, I won't tell him beforehard... :evil grin:

[HerenIstarion]

My first reaction on hearing the rumours was "Oh no! oh deary deary me, NO!"

But 'Finnish group called the Värttinä' makes it sound a tiny bit more hopeful

[Gorwingel]

I agree that it will probably be more of a Le Mis (French Revolution, kind of a serious topic for a musical) type of musical, than a happy-go-lucky one. From the appearance of the website I am guessing they will be going in about the same direction as the films, so I am guessing it will be quite serious. I am expecting a dark somber stage, and dramatic ballad type of songs. But the one question I have is how long is this thing going to be? They are most definitely going to be making major cuts (I wouldn't expect them to have dear old Tom B.) in the story because who wants to sit down for a 9 hour musical.

I just hope this is not a complete failure, but then I wouldn't bet on this being a huge success

[HerenIstarion]

The most unfortunate thing about producer/fandom relationship is the sure knowledge of the former that, given decent amount of PR, the members of the latter are going to buy any rubbish produced, provided that it is effectively tied up with the original. Even when fans (myself included) know that what they are going to purchase is a failure, they are still going to buy it, just for the look of the thing.

we live in a century of merchants and market researchers...

[Araréiel]

Tu ché. If it's a darker sort, like Le Mis, it could work. I am guilty of the immediate thinking of something happy-go-spunky. But, Gorwingel, I think we would have a good number of people here who would sit through 9 hours! We've all sat through more than that for the films and asked for more!! But LotR is so wonderfully involved and elaborately created that, even with 10 and a half hours (counting the extended editions), a lot was left out. It will be interesting to see what they do in two or three hours, just how painful it will be....

No matter, I still want to go!!

[Gorwingel]

The most unfortunate thing about producer/fandom relationship is the sure knowledge of the former that, given decent amount of PR, the members of the latter are going to buy any rubbish produced, provided that it is effectively tied up with the original.

So absolutely true!
So then I guess it will be a success, but will it still reallly be a success with the "other people" (normal public, critics, etc.).

This is a question for our British Barrow-downs members: How are the British musical/play reviewers? Are they tough?
I know a little about the New York ones, but even though the only musical I have ever seen I saw in London, I know little of what the critics are like.

But, yes, this will attract a lot of interest. But the main question is how will it last over the long run? And that question will only be answered by viewing of the final product

as you've all said.... could be good, could be horrendously bad.

I really can't get the image of a singing, tap-dancing balrog out of my head
*shudders*

[Pippin Pondlily]

Now, if the great world of entertainment wanted to do something right for a change, haha, they'd make Lord of the Rings an opera.

I'm actually quite serious, I know that there are a couple "serious" Musicals (my sister's in Broadway so I'm not exactly knowledge-less) but I really don't think that Lord of the Rings should have musical-style dancing, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Oklahoma coming to mind. I mean if they've really got to do some sort of musical/play/theater production, I think an opera would be much more appropriate. That way they can really bring out the songs and music Tolkien used or implied in his novel without making it goofy.

I really don't know what to expect but frankly, I'm a little worried.

- P. Pondlily

[ninlaith]

I'm not so sure about a musical. In my opinion I think it might struggle trying not to look like The Wizard of Oz. I get a very unnerving visualization....

We represent the Fellowship
The Fellowship
The Fellowship
And in the name of the Fellowship.....
We shall see that the ring gets into Mordor

I don't know. It might turn out ok....

[Dûrbelethwen]

I was just thinking about the musical and I think it will probably be like Les Mesirable. They are both on serious subjects and Les Mesirable was a very long book. Something like 1, 400 pages. Of course part of that was background information that I found extremly boring, such as several chapters on the battle of Waterloo which tied into the book but I was still boring.

[Tigerlily Gamgee]

I think this show could easily be a disasterous joke, but I hope that isn't the case. I'm just curious as to how they are going to get through all three books in one stage show. Is this going to be like one of those musicals from the late 1800's where you'd go and make a day out it... a six hour musical. I'm just wondering how they will do it justice while still keeping it a length that will suit the attention span of today's audiences.
The good news is, though, that if it does take off in London, then it probably won't be long until it hits NY, and then it would probably tour... as that's how these things usually work. So, more of us may be able to see it later on.
Me, I'd love to be able to audition. Musical theatre is my major, and everyone always tells me I look like Eowyn. *sigh* If only I had an agent overseas.

[malkatoj]

I like musicals, and I like Lord of the Rings. But it's hard enough adapting something to the screen. I imaine that if I lived in London and saw it, I would get hom and be like "They forgot this part! And this part! And you couldn't tell this!" I bet I would like it if I viewed it as a seperate thing from the books, but that's so hard.

I hope they use the songs from the books. Haha I can see Legolas dancing around singing...this could be very interesting.

[Mithalwen]

Actually, I think it could work - and balance out a lot of my quibbles about the lack of psychological depth in the film (seeing the programme about Acorn Antiques lat night is making me feel benevolent about musicals).

I don't think that many of the original songs would be appropriate even if they have the authority to use them, but one of the great advantages of the format is that it is perfectly acceptable to have a narrator ( cf the Auden/ Britten opera/musical "PAul Bunyan") and for characters to soliloquise. This enables an awful lot of "cutting to the chase". The radio version used music and song to move the plot on very effectively. Also, even otherwise mediocre productions can have huge impact with staging. Obviously it could not show everything, but I think you could fit in more than you might expect. there is an awful lot of description in the books which can be evoked by music, lighting etc . Anyway... I am tempted to give it a crack...

[Lalwendë]

I think I might change my mind on this one and I would risk going to see this. I say risk, because I could well still run out of there shrieking, but I've had two good experiences with such things now. I've seen the Sound of Music live, which was a good laugh, mainly as it was openly self-referencing and just amusing and nostalgic. I also went to see Jerry Springer The Opera, purely as I was entirely intrigued and reading the reviews posted outside the theatre tempted me to go. I thought it couldn't possibly work but it did. The best part was seeing all the serious opera and theatre types in there, the sort of people who would never dream of tuning into Springer! 'Tis not for the faint hearted though, and I suspect an LotR musical would be similarly um ....challenging, but in a different kind of way.

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

The best part was seeing all the serious opera and theatre types in there, the sort of people who would never dream of tuning into Springer!

That is a bit of a generalisation ..... it is possible to love opera and theatre and "trashy tv". And I am speaking as someone who goes to "new" opera AND loved El Dorado...... I am just sorry I fell asleep for the second half of JSTO when the had it on TV.

The more I think about it, the more I think it might just work although I think it will be the reverse of the film which was essentially an action pic. In musical the action will be probably quite stylised - but that is one of the conventions of the form. I can think of many key moments in LOTR which will respond well to Operatic/musical (and I think there is often a fine line between the two) - Intoduction of Aragorn, The Council of Elrond as a wonderful big set piece and so on ... I wonder if they will follow teh operatic convention of using countertenors for "other worldly characters" eg elves, cf Midsummer nights Dream, Death in Venice, Flight....

[Bêthberry]

An update with some info: The musical will not open in London but will premiere in Toronto, Canada next spring. Here is the site with info on Lord of the Rings, the musical . (There's also a thread about this in Novices and Newcomers.)