Two days from now, the 50-odd cast members of The Lord Of The Rings stage production will don their Hobbit feet, elf ears and Orc armour for the first full-length dress rehearsal of the $27-million epic. A scant two days after that, the curtain will rise at Toronto's packed-to-the-rafters Princess of Wales Theatre, and 2,000 paying audience members will be the first in the world to behold the three-hour melding of theatre, music and special effects. Two days from the first full dress rehearsal of a monstrously complex show to the first public performance of same? And you thought dodging evil wizards and Black Riders to chuck a magic ring into a volcano sounded scarier than hell. [More]