Experience Middle-earth like never before with The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale. Created under licence from Middle-earth Enterprises, you’ll follow Frodo and other beloved Tolkien characters on their quest to destroy the evil One Ring. This exciting production is now playing at the Comedy Theatre in Melbourne.
The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale
This epic stage production is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s renowned trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. Filled with a cast of talented actor-musicians, this production as already dazzled audiences at The Watermill Theatre in the United Kingdom and the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre in the United States.
After playing in Sydney and Perth, this grand tale is now playing in Melbourne. Watch the company perform the score live on stage, as they weave together original music with storytelling.
“We’ve assembled some of the best actors, musicians and musical theatre talent from across Australia to bring this epic tale to life on stage,” said Australian producer Torben Brookman. “This company of extraordinary storytellers will share some of the most beloved stories of our generation live on-stage, all-around Australia, for the very first time.”
The cast of Hobbits includes Rarmian Newton as Frodo, Wern Mak as Sam, Jeremi Campeseas as Merry, Hannah Buckley as Pippin, Laurence Coy as Bilbo and Ruby Clark as Rosie. Among the Fellowship, you’ll find Terence Crawford as Gandalf, Rob Mallett as Strider, Connor Morel as Gimli, Conor Neylon as Legolas and Rohan Campbell as Boromir. Other characters include Laurence Boxhall as Gollum, Andrew Broadbent as Elrond, Stefanie Caccamo as Arwen, Jemma Rix as Galadriel and Ian Stenlake as Saruman.
The book and lyrics of the show is by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus. Meanwhile, the original music is by Academy Award winner A.R. Rahman, Finnish folk band Värttinä and Tony Award winner Christopher Nightingale.
Review
When you think of the epic scale of The Lord of the Rings, it’s hard to wrap your head around how exactly they’ll pull it off in a 3 hour musical (including intermission). Things do get squeezed to make it work, with the first book covered in Act 1, and a rushed version of the second and third books in Act 2. Things like Rohan and Helm’s Deep are cut for the sake of time, so don’t expect a play-by-play of all your favourite scenes and battles. It’s best to see this show as a fan of either the books or the movie, because if you aren’t, things might get a bit confusing due to the condensed nature of the production.
The show itself is a fun night out, and from the moment you enter the Comedy Theatre, you feel swept up in the story as you’re welcomed to Bilbo Baggins’ 111st birthday party. Before the show, you’ll see merry Hobbits on stage and in the aisles celebrating and playing music. Other keen fans in the audience might also be dressed up, and as the show begins, you’re all invited to sing Happy Birthday to Bilbo. It’s a cheerful way to start the show.
Speaking of the music, it’s really cool to see the actors and ensemble playing the instruments on stage. When else will you see Elrond whip out a trombone? The tunes really fit in with the world of Middle-earth, and feel like songs you might find in the books themselves. However, with so much story to cover, some of the songs do feel like they’re getting in the way of progressing the tale.
The performers all do an incredible job, with Laurence Boxhall absolutely channelling Andy Serkis as Gollum. His voice was spot-on, even fitting in a song, and his frenetic movements crawling and climbing around stage were great to see. Stefanie Caccamo as Arwen and Jemma Rix as Galadriel both had otherworldly vocals, and Terence Crawford was a truly comforting Gandalf. The main four Hobbits were also endearing to watch.
It’s also a quite technical show, and a stand-out moment was when Shelob makes an appearance (arachnophobes, avert your eyes!) The Nazgûl were also spine-tingling. There’s excellent props and costumes overall, although it was strange seeing the elves without majestic, long wigs. Some moments also looked a bit goofy, like Gandalf and Saruman having their magic fight.
It’s hard to live up to the perfection that is the Peter Jackson movies, so as long as you adjust your expectations and are aware that there will be changes, you’ll have a blast.