Book and Lyrics by Shaun Mckenna and Matthew Warchus. Music and original orchestrations by A.R Rahman, Värttinä & Christopher Nightingale.
A true ode to Tolkien’s characters, this is a highlights reel that offers technical wizardry, mischief and soaring orchestrations
Reviewed by Justin Clarke
State Theatre, Sydney
Sydney – Until 1st February
Perth – From 19th March
Melbourne – From 26th April
Gold Coast – From 4th July
Tickets: https://lotronstage.com/
Type: Fantasy, Play with Music, Epic
If you liked: Harry Potter & The Cursed Child, Once
To paraphrase a quote from Boromir, one does not simply stage Lord of the Rings.
The task of transferring J.R.R Tolkien’s epic Lord of the Rings trilogy to stage was always going to be an adventure as treacherous as the journey to Mordor itself. Setting the trilogy to music however, amplifies that challenge tenfold. Unlike Peter Jackson’s award-winning film adaptations, Lord of the Rings: A Musical Tale comes out being more of a highlights reel of the quest of the One Ring. It’s entertaining, full of fantasy and wonder, and ultimately adventurous in its condensed version of the there and back again story.
Orchestrations by A.R Rahman, Värttinä & Christopher Nightingale rests heavily on the folk-music of our hairy-footed heroes, The Hobbits. Utilising the now solidified contemporary creative choice of actor-musicians on stage, the orchestrations and music involve cellos, violins, piano, percussion, chorus and harp, performed by a mix of the performers and on-stage band. The use of this style of music creates The Shire in all its evergreen glory, before taking us on an epic journey across Middle Earth through wars with orcs, ethereal elven lands, and manipulations from the bodiless dark lord, Sauron.
Book and lyrics by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus focus more on Tolkien’s novels, rather than the Jackson films, meaning that we’re shown alternative versions of events that have become solidified on the silver screen. The sheer length and scope of the journey of Frodo (Rarmian Newton), Sam (Wern Mak) and the Fellowship of the Ring also means that we were never going to receive a Cursed Child two-parter either. Instead, McKenna and Warchus take The Fellowship of the Ring in more-or-less its whole, giving us an expository-filled Act 1, before we come to the culmination of our quest in the condensed The Two Towers and Return of the King second act.
For LOTR die-hards and loyalists, you may be left yearning for more from the production. For those acquainted with the films, you may enjoy some alternative scenes to the ones you know. For the newcomers, welcome to Middle Earth, you’re in for a brilliant CliffsNotes version.
Simon Kenny’s design brings the wooden aesthetic of Middle Earth to the State Theatre, with projections by George Reeve casting spells, Sauron’s all-seeing eye, the infamous Balrog and more creepy crawlies onto the stage. Whereas Cursed Child’s design allowed for quite literal feats of magic, LOTR requires a little bit more audience imagination to fill in the gaps and transport you into Tolkien’s lands. Fight choreography by Dani Mccallum is swift and epic in the battles between the Fellowship and Uruk, even if the Uruk’s design is a bit lacklustre in radiation masks and black suits.
When you have a piece of fiction as adored and widespread as LOTR, it’s clear that director Paul Hart aims to meet audiences at all fronts. That means we get the stunningly accurate voicework of Laurence Boxhall’s Gollum that produces pity, fear and humour – and, yes, he does get a little singing moment. It also means that we still get to applaud when Sam carries Frodo to the top of Mount Doom, and Rob Mallet’s Aragorn declares war on the armies of Mordor.
The only downfall of this means that there is a lot of fill-in-the-gaps expository dialogue to tell us what’s happened off stage and between scenes. The gloriously fun-filled pre-show of LOTR sets up an interesting premise of telling the trilogy from the eyes of the Hobbits at the centre of the journey. Instead the structure feels off, with Act 1 feeling dense, and Act 2 feeling rushed as it goes through the main beats we know. It would have been interesting to see a more unique take that we haven’t yet already seen from Tolkien’s world.
Nonetheless, there is enough entertainment in here to give audiences a transportative night out at the theatre. Squeals of fear come at the reveal of a larger-than-life spider, whilst Terence Crawford’s Gandalf provides gravitas and humour in the wise Wizard’s one liners. Jemma Rix soars as the ethereal Lady Galadriel, summoning an Elphaba-eque magic in her temptation of the One Ring. Stefanie Caccamo becomes an otherworldly being as Arwen with her siren-like vocals and guiding voice behind Aragorn. And our four loveable Hobbits (Hannah Buckley as Pippin and Jeremi Campese as Merry), lead by a strongfast Newton as Frodo, and just as loveable Mak as Sam, are the true souls of the piece.
There is technical wizardry to marvel at here, whilst an alluring sense of play soars in the orchestrations transporting you to the depths of Middle Earth itself. It may not necessarily be the epic we’ve come to know, but Lord of the Rings: A Musical Tale is a true ode to Tolkien’s characters now famous in literature, proving once again that even the largest stories can come from the most unexpected of creatures. You shall not pass on tickets if you’re a Rings loving fan!
Theatre Thought: If you’ve seen the show, would you go in for a two-parter adaptation, or would you rather a two-interval structured show?
AUSTRALIAN CAST
Georgia Anderson Ensemble/Fight Captain
Lillian Bennett Ensemble
Laurence Boxhall Gollum
Andrew Broadbent Elrond
Hannah Buckley Pippin
Stefanie Caccamo Arwen
Rohan Campbell Boromir
Jeremi Campese Merry
Gianna Cheung Ensemble
Ruby Clark Rosie Cotton
Laurence Coy Bilbo
Terence Crawford Gandalf
Nicholas Cunningham
Resident Choreographer/Swing David Cuny
Ensemble Cameron Davey
Ensemble Natasha Dumlao
Swing/Dance Captain James Frampton
Swing Anthony Garcia
Ensemble Jonathon Gardner Swing/Assistant Musical Director
Emily Hackney Ensemble
Matt Hourigan Ensemble
Esther Lukins Ensemble
Wern Mak Samwise Gamgee
Rob Mallett Strider
Jayme Jo Massoud Ensemble
Connor Morel Gimli
Rarmian Newton Frodo Baggins
Conor Neylon Legolas
Jemma Rix Galadriel
Patrick Schnur Swing
Ian Stenlake Saruman
James Whiting Ensemble/Percussion Captain
Zayneb Zerzouri Ensemble
CREATIVES
Book And Lyrics By Shaun Mckenna And Matthew Warchus
Music By A.R. Rahman, Värttinä, Christopher Nightingale
Original Orchestrations By Christopher Nightingale, A.R. Rahman, And Värttinä
Rory Beaton Lighting Designer
Adam Fisher Original Sound Designer
George Reeve Projection Designer
Will Elphingstone Associate Lighting Designer
Gavan Swift Australian Associate Lighting Designer
Adam Fisher & Shelly Lee Australian Sound Designers
Callum Walker Australian Associate Projection Designer & Video Programmer
William Barton Ents Co-Arranger & Cultural Consultant
Charlie Tymms Puppet Designer
Ashleigh Cheadle Original Puppet Direction
Natalie Gilhome Casting Director
Andrew Bevis Musical Director
Laura Savage Associate Choreographer
Therèsa Borg Resident Director
Nicholas Cunningham Resident Choreographer
Christa Harris International Associate Director
Dani Mccallum Fight & Intimacy Director
Adam Mada Magic & Illusions
Phij Adams Music Technology & Ableton Programming
Mark Aspinall Music Supervisor And Orchestrations
Anjali Mehra Choreographer & Movement Director And Deputy Director Australia
Simon Kenny Designer
Paul Hart Director
