In The Lord of the Rings J.R.R. Tolkien created a trilogy of fantasy novels whose struggle between good and evil resonated with the catastrophe of World War Two that occurred a few years before the books were published. The status of the books is in part explained by the timing of their publication, as well as a bold inventiveness of its style, which set the standard mythopoeic writing in the decades that followed. Tolkien’s work is pure fantasy – there is no attempt to represent a culture or humans for that matter, except by inference with the Hobbits. The grand landscapes traversed by his hero Bilbo Baggins (Laurence Coy) can be a stimulus to filmmaking – but do they work on stage, in particular as a musical. Is there a criteria about what novels can and cannot transfer to musicals?
In The Lord of the Rings, A Musical Tale, the musical is yes, the intermedial transfer to stage works very well, even if a few questions are left outstanding. The show starts, as the novel does, with the eleventy-first birthday of Bilbo Baggins (Laurence Coy), when performers mingle and talk with the audience before the show. The curtains are up, the set appears constructed and brightly lit. The first number is spirited and party-like – how on earth can the grand ambience of the novels be reached after such a casual start? The show continues as a troubadour story telling, with performers playing instruments and singing as the narration is continued. Instruments are distributed among performers. This works well. Baggins gives his nephew the ring, and hence the Fellowship and quest for redemption begins.
Gradually the show gets into first gear with great special effects – lighting is impeccable (Rory Beaton); the set with rotating stage, openings, levels, digital animation, and risings is exciting; puppets, spiders, projection, suspended clothes and dancing figures evoke dark forces of Mordor, as well as the elves. The Black Riders danced their dark selves and evil threats. The spider was as big as its venom, while a waterfall of sheer silk strips signified Hobbits’ victory.
The show has a rich cast of 32, including outstanding music theatre performers (Laurence Boxhall as Gollum, Andrew Broadbent as Elrond, Hannah Buckley as Pippin, Stefanie Caccamo as Arwen, Rohan Campbell as Boromir, Jeremi Campese as Merry, Ruby Clark as Rosie, Terence Crawford as Gandalf, Wern Mak as Samwise Gamgee, Rob Mallett as Strider, Connor Morel as Gimli, Rarmian Newton as Frodo Baggins, Conor Neylon as Legolas, Jemma Rix as Galadriel and Ian Stenlake as Saruman. Laurence Boxhall menaced in the iconic role of Gollum, and Jemma Rix was radiant as the Elf Queen – but this is an ensemble piece, where all performances shone – it would have been great to feature more of individual talent.
Songs move effectively between ensemble and some outstanding solo numbers. The solos were particularly striking, and it is possible there could be more. There is true and entertaining diversity in different scenes, many drawing applause by a very attentive audience.
By the middle of the first Act the Tolkien spell had worked – we were all hooked into his idiosyncratic Middle Earth saga. One question about the intermedial transfer from novel to stage – does one need to have read Tolkien? Without doubt he has many fans, almost a cult following, who have re-read his books many times. Equally, many find his hermetic world hard to enter. This is one test for the show – how well will it stand up for a general audience. The show is very faithful to the novel, and has a lot of verbal and narrative text to draw from. A meta, new narrative explaining the story in direct terms might have been a plus. Without being a Tolkien aficionado myself (although having lived with a devotee for many years) I found the work satisfying. This show was like entering the mind and sharing with my departed wife.
There was some hesitation in the first Act on opening night but the show got into full stride in the second act, and become more polished in the four week season and four state tour. I still worry about the informal start – two figure commanding presence as their commence narration would have reflected the mood of the show generally better. There could have been some more dance. But my role of course is to review what was there, not what might have been. Having said that, one can argue that even with its generous three hour length, the production is attempting too much to tell all the trilogy. The show tries too hard. It is faithful to the original text – perhaps too much so. That might have been a condition of licensing of the material.
However the work as it is is generous, high energy and a crowd pleaser. The cast, often young, were giving it their all, and hopefully find real rewards for great effort in the Australian tour ahead. It was great to attend the show on opening night and all its buzz – a real musical theatre gathering was in the audience, with attire to rival what was on stage!
Finally the State Theatre. The ideal venue for Middle Earth. The venue invited the numerous entrances and exits down aisles. The recesses, statues, columns – the stage extended into far reaches of seating. It all added to the spectacle.
Photography by Ben Apfelbaum
