India's Jet Airways Sponsors 'Lord of the Rings' Cast Album

India's premier airline Jet Airways today announced their sponsorship worth 15 million rupees for The Lord of the Rings London original cast album that is currently being recorded for a January 21, 2008 release. The hit show The Lord of the Rings, which is now booking until September 27, 2008, opened at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Tuesday June 19 this year.

As part of the deal, which is worth 15 million rupees, the CD will be made available in the Theatre Royal Drury Lane from December and on general release from January 21. Jet Airways passengers will be among the first to hear the new recording onboard Jet Airway flights from January.

The album will feature the voices of the 52-strong cast including Malcolm Storry as 'Gandalf', James Loye as 'Frodo Baggins', Laura Michelle Kelly as 'Galadriel', Michael Therriault 'Gollum', Peter Howe 'Sam', Jérôme Pradon 'Aragorn', Brian Protheroe 'Saruman', Richard Henders 'Merry', Owen Sharpe 'Pippin', Michael Rouse 'Legolas', Sévan Stephan 'Gimli', Steven Miller 'Boromir' and Rosalie Craig 'Arwen', with Andrew Jarvis as 'Elrond', Terence Frisch 'Bilbo', Tim Morgan 'The Steward of the Lands of Men' and Kirsty Malpass 'Rosie'.

"As India's premier airline that embraces the spirit of India, Jet Airways found a synergy between themselves and the high quality production – The Lord of the Rings, which takes theatregoers on a musical, mysterious and adventurous journey," state press notes.

The production has book and lyrics by Shaun McKenna & Matthew Warchus and music by India's renowned composer A.R. Rahman & Finland's celebrated Värttinä with Christopher Nightingale.  The show is directed by Matthew Warchus, with choreography by Peter Darling and set and costume design by Rob Howell.  Lighting is by Paul Pyant, sound design by Simon Baker for Autograph, moving image direction by The Gray Circle, literary consultancy by Laurie Battle, special effects design by Gregory Meeh, illusions and magic effects by Paul Kieve, circus skills by Alex Frith and musical direction by Richard Brown.

India's premier airline Jet Airways, who have received several national and international awards including Asia Pacific's 'Most Outstanding Airline for its Achievements', has been acclaimed by frequent travellers as a preferred carrier, offering the highest quality of comfort, courtesy, reliability and highest standards of ground operations. Known for its service excellence and leading onboard product innovations, Jet Airways, one of the world's fastest growing airlines, operates a young fleet with an average age of 4.9 years. With over 350 flights daily spanning the length and breadth of India, and beyond, including New York, Toronto, Brussels, London, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Kathmandu, Jet Airways has an enviable record of on-time performance, reliability and personalized service.

The Kevin Wallace Limited production of The Lord of the Rings is presented by Kevin Wallace and Saul Zaentz.

Performance times at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane for The Lord of the Rings, which runs for 2 hours 40 minutes plus interval, are Mondays at 7PM and Tuesdays-Saturdays at 7:30PM, with Thursday and Saturday matinees at 2PM.  Tickets, priced from £15 - £60, are available from the Theatre Royal Drury Lane Box Office on 0870 890 6002 or at www.lotr.com.