meteordust (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
meteordust) wrote2025-01-21 10:05 pm
meteordust) wrote2025-01-21 10:05 pm
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The Lord of the Rings: A Musical Tale
I'm a diehard Tolkien fan. I read The Lord of the Rings at a formative age, and I fell in love with the story and the characters and the world. Probably the first canon I got deeply and passionately fannish about, before I even knew fandom existed.
So of course I wanted to see the musical, which is currently on at the State Theatre in Sydney, and will be continuing to tour.
Normally when I go to see a musical, my biggest question is, "Are the songs good?"
But I realised pretty soon, my question here was, "How are they going to fit a 1000 page book and a 9 hour film trilogy into a 3 hour stage production? (With intermission.)"
The answer? Impossible from the start, but insanely ambitious, made with love and care, and worth the attempt.
The songs
* This had 90% more songs than the movies, and that was probably my favourite thing about it. When I first read the book, I loved, loved, loved all the poetry and song in it, and it just feels right for them to be part of the fabric of any adaptation.
* The hobbit songs were cheerful and lively and occasionally wistful, and made me think of folk songs and folk dances. There was also choral music, which always feels soaring and epic, like "Flight to the Ford" and "The Final Battle". Most of the songs were original rather than directly taken from the book, but Galadriel's song "Wonder" included lines from "I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold"! Other favourites included Gimli's song "Lament for Moria" and Legolas's song "Lothlórien".
* No orchestra! This production cast actors who are musicians too, and who played their instruments on stage during the scenes. (Like in the stage musical of Once.) This production reorchestrated the score so that it could be performed that way. It was really impressive, and also made it feel more alive and immersive. (It was also kind of funny sometimes, like how during the arduous trek through Mordor, Sam is lugging his guitar along with him.)
The story
* I knew going in that things would have to be cut, and I'm a lot more forgiving of theatre than film. It was admirable that this production included as much as it did. As an abbreviated version of the story, it felt like the plot hung together coherently.
* On the other hand, it did feel like a speedrun. Like we were moving on fast forward, with no time for emotions to breathe. There were scenes where we got to hold the focus on a moment and let it sink in, but a lot of it was just one event after another. (One minute Pippin drops a stone down a well, the next minute the Balrog attacks and Gandalf falls, and the next minute the Fellowship is debating where to go from here.)
* On the third hand, part of my enjoyment was seeing how they adapted the story and what choices they made to streamline it. The timing of certain events was moved around, to combine scenes or for dramatic effect. (For example, Frodo's mithril coat saves him from Shelob's bite rather than from the orc's spear in Moria, because there's no battle with orcs in Moria.)
* Another thing was simplifying some references, to use descriptors instead names. Gondor was referred to as "the City of Kings". Denethor was referred to as "the Steward". Isildur was referred to as "the Great King" who defeated Sauron.
* There were obvious film influences, eg reluctant king Aragorn, comic relief Merry and Pippin, and the design and movement of Gollum.
* Act I covered The Fellowship of the Ring. Act II covered The Two Towers and The Return of the King.
Highlights and observations
* The Nazgûl! They were portrayed as hooded black figures carrying large horse skulls on skeletal necks, which presumably were the fell-beasts they rode. Very otherworldly and menacing.
* When Saruman imprisoned Gandalf at Orthanc, it was shown as a small circular platform ringed with light, that rose half a metre out of the floor. I thought that was a deft way to convey it. (Randomly, Bill Ferny is shown as Saruman's informant. Er, I guess magically travelling from Bree to Isengard?)
* Elrond with a trombone! You know how all the actors are musicians? Arwen had a harp, very traditional and elvish. And Elrond had a trombone! When I noticed him carrying it, incongruous with his blue robes and silver circlet, I was so excited. And when he started playing it, I just about died of delight.
* The Balrog! Very much evoked rather than shown, it was mostly a pair of glowing eyes and lines of red light, projected onto a billowing black sheet that took up most of the stage.
* Boromir's death! Cut down by swords instead of arrows, since that's easier to portray onstage. When Aragorn came to his side, that was the moment Boromir saw the blade that was broken and had the reveal of Aragorn as the true king, and made Aragorn promise to protect his people. I have to say, that was pretty dramatic and cool.
* Merry and Pippin aren't captured by orcs but flee into Fangorn. Aragorn is like, "They're good at evading orcs. Let's go south to Gondor." Okaaay. Let's just abandon Merry and Pippin then.
* All along, Aragorn has been using the name Strider, including to the audience. It's only when he gets to Gondor that he reveals his true name and reforges the blade that was broken. Also, when he announces his identity, the Steward instantly kneels to Aragorn. That definitely saved a lot of time.
* Rohan does not exist in this production. We skip straight to Gondor. No Rohan means no Éowyn. It seems impossible to imagine LOTR without "I am no man!" and Éowyn versus the Witch-king. But when you've got less than 3 hours, welp.
* No Faramir either. I guess Boromir is an only child in this universe.
* So if there's no Ride of the Rohirrim, then who lifts the Siege of Gondor? The Ents! They come to the Pelennor Fields before they head to Isengard. Which is pretty cool actually. Though sadly we don't see them, as they're one of those theatrical devices where other characters point offstage and exclaim loudly.
* Shelob! They actually built her! It was almost cute seeing her scuttling around behind Frodo and Sam, with her glowing blue eyes and long spindly legs and of course those massive fangs.
* No Eagles! When Frodo and Sam collapse on the slopes of Mount Doom, a door opens at the back of the stage and Gandalf steps out, and suddenly the scene changes to Gondor and reunion with everyone. I mean, that makes logistical sense for staging. But no Eagles!
* Gandalf namedrops Tom Bombadil! He tells Frodo he's finally going to visit his old friend and catch up. It's just a single line, and pure fanservice, but I appreciated it.
* Gandalf also tells Frodo to hurry home, because word is Saruman is causing trouble in the Shire. I was like, "Oh my god. They're going to do the Scouring of the Shire?!" To me, it's the emotional climax of the hobbits' journey, and I have always argued its omission is the biggest flaw in the films.
* Anyway, the hobbits get home, and are shocked at the smoking factories and chopped down trees, and want revenge for this devastation. Except Frodo, who says, "Saruman's already passed through, forget him, let's fix this." And I was like, "Is that it?" But I guess it was more than the films gave us, where the Shire was untouched and unchanged. Here, Sam gets to use his box of earth that Galadriel gave him, to heal the damage done.
* The farewell between Frodo and Sam was really moving.
* Casting! The most prominent name I knew was Jemma Rix (Galadriel), who played Elphaba in the very first Australian production of Wicked. I was also personally thrilled to see Asian actors in the cast, notably Wern Mak (Sam) and Natasha Dumlao (Pippin).
The trailer for the NZ and AU tour:
Jemma Rix performs "Lothlórien":
So of course I wanted to see the musical, which is currently on at the State Theatre in Sydney, and will be continuing to tour.
Normally when I go to see a musical, my biggest question is, "Are the songs good?"
But I realised pretty soon, my question here was, "How are they going to fit a 1000 page book and a 9 hour film trilogy into a 3 hour stage production? (With intermission.)"
The answer? Impossible from the start, but insanely ambitious, made with love and care, and worth the attempt.
The songs
* This had 90% more songs than the movies, and that was probably my favourite thing about it. When I first read the book, I loved, loved, loved all the poetry and song in it, and it just feels right for them to be part of the fabric of any adaptation.
* The hobbit songs were cheerful and lively and occasionally wistful, and made me think of folk songs and folk dances. There was also choral music, which always feels soaring and epic, like "Flight to the Ford" and "The Final Battle". Most of the songs were original rather than directly taken from the book, but Galadriel's song "Wonder" included lines from "I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold"! Other favourites included Gimli's song "Lament for Moria" and Legolas's song "Lothlórien".
* No orchestra! This production cast actors who are musicians too, and who played their instruments on stage during the scenes. (Like in the stage musical of Once.) This production reorchestrated the score so that it could be performed that way. It was really impressive, and also made it feel more alive and immersive. (It was also kind of funny sometimes, like how during the arduous trek through Mordor, Sam is lugging his guitar along with him.)
The story
* I knew going in that things would have to be cut, and I'm a lot more forgiving of theatre than film. It was admirable that this production included as much as it did. As an abbreviated version of the story, it felt like the plot hung together coherently.
* On the other hand, it did feel like a speedrun. Like we were moving on fast forward, with no time for emotions to breathe. There were scenes where we got to hold the focus on a moment and let it sink in, but a lot of it was just one event after another. (One minute Pippin drops a stone down a well, the next minute the Balrog attacks and Gandalf falls, and the next minute the Fellowship is debating where to go from here.)
* On the third hand, part of my enjoyment was seeing how they adapted the story and what choices they made to streamline it. The timing of certain events was moved around, to combine scenes or for dramatic effect. (For example, Frodo's mithril coat saves him from Shelob's bite rather than from the orc's spear in Moria, because there's no battle with orcs in Moria.)
* Another thing was simplifying some references, to use descriptors instead names. Gondor was referred to as "the City of Kings". Denethor was referred to as "the Steward". Isildur was referred to as "the Great King" who defeated Sauron.
* There were obvious film influences, eg reluctant king Aragorn, comic relief Merry and Pippin, and the design and movement of Gollum.
* Act I covered The Fellowship of the Ring. Act II covered The Two Towers and The Return of the King.
Highlights and observations
* The Nazgûl! They were portrayed as hooded black figures carrying large horse skulls on skeletal necks, which presumably were the fell-beasts they rode. Very otherworldly and menacing.
* When Saruman imprisoned Gandalf at Orthanc, it was shown as a small circular platform ringed with light, that rose half a metre out of the floor. I thought that was a deft way to convey it. (Randomly, Bill Ferny is shown as Saruman's informant. Er, I guess magically travelling from Bree to Isengard?)
* Elrond with a trombone! You know how all the actors are musicians? Arwen had a harp, very traditional and elvish. And Elrond had a trombone! When I noticed him carrying it, incongruous with his blue robes and silver circlet, I was so excited. And when he started playing it, I just about died of delight.
* The Balrog! Very much evoked rather than shown, it was mostly a pair of glowing eyes and lines of red light, projected onto a billowing black sheet that took up most of the stage.
* Boromir's death! Cut down by swords instead of arrows, since that's easier to portray onstage. When Aragorn came to his side, that was the moment Boromir saw the blade that was broken and had the reveal of Aragorn as the true king, and made Aragorn promise to protect his people. I have to say, that was pretty dramatic and cool.
* Merry and Pippin aren't captured by orcs but flee into Fangorn. Aragorn is like, "They're good at evading orcs. Let's go south to Gondor." Okaaay. Let's just abandon Merry and Pippin then.
* All along, Aragorn has been using the name Strider, including to the audience. It's only when he gets to Gondor that he reveals his true name and reforges the blade that was broken. Also, when he announces his identity, the Steward instantly kneels to Aragorn. That definitely saved a lot of time.
* Rohan does not exist in this production. We skip straight to Gondor. No Rohan means no Éowyn. It seems impossible to imagine LOTR without "I am no man!" and Éowyn versus the Witch-king. But when you've got less than 3 hours, welp.
* No Faramir either. I guess Boromir is an only child in this universe.
* So if there's no Ride of the Rohirrim, then who lifts the Siege of Gondor? The Ents! They come to the Pelennor Fields before they head to Isengard. Which is pretty cool actually. Though sadly we don't see them, as they're one of those theatrical devices where other characters point offstage and exclaim loudly.
* Shelob! They actually built her! It was almost cute seeing her scuttling around behind Frodo and Sam, with her glowing blue eyes and long spindly legs and of course those massive fangs.
* No Eagles! When Frodo and Sam collapse on the slopes of Mount Doom, a door opens at the back of the stage and Gandalf steps out, and suddenly the scene changes to Gondor and reunion with everyone. I mean, that makes logistical sense for staging. But no Eagles!
* Gandalf namedrops Tom Bombadil! He tells Frodo he's finally going to visit his old friend and catch up. It's just a single line, and pure fanservice, but I appreciated it.
* Gandalf also tells Frodo to hurry home, because word is Saruman is causing trouble in the Shire. I was like, "Oh my god. They're going to do the Scouring of the Shire?!" To me, it's the emotional climax of the hobbits' journey, and I have always argued its omission is the biggest flaw in the films.
* Anyway, the hobbits get home, and are shocked at the smoking factories and chopped down trees, and want revenge for this devastation. Except Frodo, who says, "Saruman's already passed through, forget him, let's fix this." And I was like, "Is that it?" But I guess it was more than the films gave us, where the Shire was untouched and unchanged. Here, Sam gets to use his box of earth that Galadriel gave him, to heal the damage done.
* The farewell between Frodo and Sam was really moving.
* Casting! The most prominent name I knew was Jemma Rix (Galadriel), who played Elphaba in the very first Australian production of Wicked. I was also personally thrilled to see Asian actors in the cast, notably Wern Mak (Sam) and Natasha Dumlao (Pippin).
The trailer for the NZ and AU tour:
Jemma Rix performs "Lothlórien":