A stage musical of JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings will cost a staggering £25 million to launch in London next summer, the show's producer revealed yesterday. The costs, driven up by high-tech wizardry, will make it by far away the most expensive - and high-risk - musical staged in the West End. The record is thought to be held by the long-running The Lion King, and while its producers, Disney, have refused to disclose costs, they are widely believed to have been around £10 million. Kevin Wallace, who has spent five years planning the Tolkien stage show, announced yesterday that it would open at the 2,100-seat Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, next June. [More]