"LOTR" - Musical Spectacle, Not Spectacular Musical

 During the last twenty years or so the "epic" musical has become a major element in mainstream musical theatre. Now the stage of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane witnesses what could almost be described as the epic to dwarf all epics. Following in the wake of the award winning box office smash film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's novels that have engrossed generations of readers, Matthew Warchus's staging of "The Lord Of The Rings - the musical" seems set to pack in the crowds.  

Rob Howell's set and costume design and Peter Pryer's lighting design are simply stunning. They succeed in taking the audience right inside the world of middle earth, creating vivid images and larger than life characters and creatures that enrich the fantasy world that envelops the simple story of Frodo Baggins's quest to save the shire of the Hobbits by carrying the powerful and dangerous ring back to the place where it was forged. The score by Bollywood musical guru A.R. Rahman and Finland's Vartinna is powerful and adds effectively to the atmosphere and spectacle. Peter Darling's choreography is clever and inventive, adding an extra dimension of energy to the musical scenes.   James Loye is perfectly engaging as Frodo and is more than ably assisted by the highly amusing trio of Hobbits, played by Peter Howe, Richard Henders and Owen Sharpe, while Jerome Pradon displays an immense sense of presence as Aragorn. Malcolm Storry gives an uneven performance and is not always convincing as the arch wizard, Gandalf. But Laura Michelle Kelly as Galadriel steals the show with her vocals.  

However, despite all these positives, I found the show somewhat unsatisfying - largely due to Shaun Mckenna's overblown, almost "hammy" book that includes many overly long scenes of immensely boring dialogue that spits out masses of inane information and lacks any subtlety of sub-text. Also spectacle alone is not enough to create a great musical. While "Miss Saigon" had its famous helicopter, "Phantom" its chandelier and many moments of magical illusion, and "Beauty and the Beast" the breathtaking transformation scene - they also had a serious emotional drive and soaring and beautiful music. Unfortunately "Lord of the Rings" does not have either of these qualities.  

In short, if you are looking for a show with memorable melodies and musical subtlety in its score and with clever, thought provoking lyrics - you will be disappointed. If you are looking for a sensational theatrical experience - you will love it.

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