Musical Lord of the Rings Opens in Toronto, March 23

Lord of the Rings, the lavish epic musical based on the books by J.R.R. Tolkien, opens at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre on March 23rd. Previews began on February 4th.

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The 3-and-a half-hour musical condensation of Tolkien's hobbits-and-elves trilogy is directed by Matthew Warchus. The Lord of the Rings also features music by A.R. Rahman (along with the Finnish group Varrtina), and the book and lyrics are by Shaun McKenna. Rob Howell's elaborate sets feature three interconnected turntables with 16 elevators; he also designed the costumes.

The creative team spent over two years--and $27 million Canadian dollars--developing the show.  Simon Baker (sound), The Gray Circle (moving image design), Paul Kieve (illusions direction), Laurie Battle (Tolkien creative consultation), and Christopher Nightingale (musical supervision) comprise the rest of the production staff. The show is presented by Wallace and Saul Zaentz, in association with David and Ed Mirvish and Michael Kohl.

In a previous interview with Reuters, Paul Wallace (who is producing along with Saul Zaentz, in association with David and Ed Mirvish and Michael Cohl) described the show's concept. "We are ultimately dependent on 50 actors and musicians to tell the story rather than technology…We are going to have to break new ground. It is a hybrid of text, music, spectacle and physical theater." Responding to the fears of LOTR purists, he is also quoted as saying that the musical will be "in a very traditional mold" and that "there will be no singing and dancing hobbits."

The show's cast--comprised of more than 70 performers--features actors from Canada, the U.S. and other countries. It stars Brent Carver (Parade, Kiss of the Spider Woman) as Gandalf, James Loye as Frodo, Evan Buliung as Aragorn, Peter Howe as Sam, Dylan Roberts as Merry, Owen Sharpe as Pippin, Gabriel Burrafato as Legolas, Ross Williams as Gimli, Richard McMillan as Saruman, Rebecca Jackson Mendoza as Galadriel, Carly Street as Arwen, Dion Johnstone as Boromir, Victor A. Young as Elrond, Kerry Dorey as Théoden and Kristin Galer as Rosie.

Ticket prices range from $44 to $99 ($56-$125 in Canadian dollars). Visit www.lotr.com for more information, or call TicketKing at (416) 872-1212 or (800) 461-3333. The numbers for group inquiries are (416) 593-4142 or (800) 724-6420.