TORONTO — Attention, Ontario: Resume breathing. That show you’ve been counting on to bring in tourists? It just might do the trick. The most expensive stage show ever (more than $23 million U.S.), the musical version of “The Lord of the Rings” began its world premiere engagement at the Princess of Wales Theatre right on schedule. Seven weeks ago, technical glitches made the first preview clock in at 5 hours. These days “LOTR” runs 3 hours and 50 minutes, with two intermissions and a song after the curtain call. It may not be the 3 hours, 30 minutes that producer Kevin Wallace envisioned, but it doesn’t feel overlong. [More]
Category: Premieres
The team behind the stage version of Lord Of The Rings have been slogging through a journey almost as epic as the one they are depicting through Middle Earth. More than four years in the making and at a cost of $25m (£14.3m), it has become the world’s most expensive theatre show to date. And its global future as an enterprise hangs on its opening night in Toronto, Canada, on Thursday. [More]
The Lord of the Rings, the J.R.R. Tolkien-inspired stage spectacle created by an international team of artists, opens in its Toronto world premiere March 23 at the Princess of Wales Theatre. Like the massive three-part fantasy novel and film versions that came before it, the music-infused, three-act production — with a running time of more than three hours — is nothing if not ambitious. Director Matthew Warchus, who co-adapted the novel (with Shaun McKenna) for the stage, is in charge of the $27 million (Canadian) production, which boasts 70 actors (which includes 49 plus a battery of support people) in a 2,000-seat venue. [More]
StriderGirl writes: I’m a Toronto Ringer eagerly anticipating my trip to the LOTR musical – my husband and I are going next Friday for our anniversary. CAN’T WAIT!!! Today’s Toronto Star newspaper has a full section devoted to the musical, with pictures for the first time! (They had had to sign an agreement that they wouldn’t write anything about it or publish photos until the previews were over, and the grand opening is tonight.) It’s quite interesting, and it’s all on the Star’s website too! [More]
The much-anticipated Lord of the Rings musical is set to open today in Toronto, Canada. There have been several reviews posted here the past few weeks, but we’re always interested in more. If you plan on making a weekend of it and gathering with other fans, send us along your story, photos and review! Take a look at the Musical website. [More]
TORONTO — Move over, The Lion King. Another epic adaptation is nipping at your heels — one even longer and more commercially extravagant. The Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings franchise is now moving to the stage. It opens Thursday in Toronto. In fact, when the new stage version of The Lord of the Rings opens Thursday at the Princess of Wales Theatre, it will become the most expensive theater project on record, having cost $23.2 million. But veteran producer Kevin Wallace would rather you not focus on the price tag. “I’m skeptical of people being impressed by the money,” Wallace says. “It is The Lord of the Rings, which meant that there would have to be a great deal of research and development before we even went into a rehearsal room.” [More]