LOTR Review: 5/17/06 matinee and MORE!

[Kevinoes]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 11:12pm

Saw the show with my school group. Feel guilty saying I went with the high school I graduated from last year but there were tix available and they said I could come. So, bear in mind I've only seen the movies and not read the books so if I confuse anything, not my fault.

Random tidbit info: The minute I got off the bus and walked to the theatre, I recognized James Loye (Frodo) walk out of the Tim Horton's next to the Princess of Whales. I dunno. I just thought it was cool...though I have no idea why.

You walk in and of course, the drop is fantastic. The atmospheric lighting was a bit dark (I had to count the rows to find where I was as the letters were almost not there at all). But anyway, I really enjoyed the pre-show thing on stage with the Hobbits. And the fairies were pretty cool too. Special mention to Kristin Galer as Rosie who really gave it her all here and stood out. The improvs were also pretty cute.

So, personally, I didn't care for the little narrations at the behinning and some of the set up. It dragged the pace pretty badly. And, contrary to some comments, I didn't mind Brent Carver as Gandalf (nevermind the fact I couldn't believe I was about ten feet away from this great man) and James Loye was surprisingly endearing and it was wonderful to see him transform through the show.

Peter Van Gastel was on as Sam today and I thought he was PERFECT! Hit every mark and he was cute as a button. Dylan Roberts and Owen Sharpe were also a perfect team as Merry and Pippin. Some pretty funny moments.

Evan Buliung was a class act through the whole thing. I've seen him do other shows but it was a nice surprise to see that he has a great singing voice. And Carly Street was very good as well. Many people didn't seem to like her, but I really did.

Mike Therriault, of course, stole the show. He was solid all the way thru and it amazes me how he can keep up the vocal/physical demands. There were these annoying women in front of me who were sn*ing to one another like stupid middle-aged women do. "Look at him!", "Ha, he moves like my neighbor". I and the girl next to me both at the same time told them to shut up and I have to say, it felt pretty damn good. But yeah, Mike was fantastic.

Sorry, I don't wanna go thru everyone or we'll be here for ages. Everyone was perfect. Each and every one were wonderful and worked together beautiful. Even at its size, I consider this a wonderful ensemble show.

We were put 5th row centre. Personally, I found it way too close, especially for this show. At the end of Act One, I had fog, wind, and leaves blowing right into my face. Very cool but it got a bit annoying. Also, whenever those elevator things came up, it caused some obstruction of things going on up top or upstage. It would be best to sit further back.

The effects were pretty fantastic, as they should be. The battle sequences were interesting and it was neat how they revolved around the turn-table. God, I can't imagine how long those scenes took to co-ordinate.

The choreography was pretty amazing as well. The bar scene at Brie was fantastic and the audience went nuts...speaking of which.

I'm not a big fan of matinees. To me, too many people who DON'T go to the theatre come these days. Old ladies who think MAMMA MIA was the best show ever or the stupid high school kids who have to applaud and make noise randomly and giggle every time Gollum flinches. Okay, I'm done. End of story: I will go to evenings as often as I can.

Altogether, despite some crappy theatre etiquette and overpriced LOTR merchandise, it was was WONDERFUL show and a terrific experience. The cast and effects are the best thing going for this show!! :)

*POST SHOW*

The conductor this show was Franklin Brasz. Now, good old Frank graduated from my school and is chums with our music director so we got a really cool post-show chat down in the lobby of the theatre after everyone left. Included in this chat was Frank, Kristin Galer (Rosie), Colin Maier (Swing, who covered Peter Van Gestel's ensemble track), Tyler Murree (Ensemble), Sean C. Robertson (Ensemble), Sanders Whiting (Gaffer Gamgee), and Ross Williams (Gimli). They were all gracious and funny and warm with us. Little info from the chat:

1) There will be a concept recording of the show out soon done by the songwriters. Whether there will be a Canadian Cast Recording is a big debate. A lot of it deals with the cost including paying 55 cast members for recording sessions. So, it looks doubtful. But I said that, not them.

2) Colin Maier talked about his role as a Swing. He, alone, has 10 tracks to learn. I asked how much rehearsal time he got with each track and he joked and said "Not enough". Sixth day of rehearsal and someone's ankle gave weigh and ge covered their track for a few days. They basically have one of the hardest jobs, observing and writing down blocking and dance moves.

3) All background singing is done live backstage. The first month of rehearsals were dedicated to preparing the actors. The men were put through sword training, etc. while the ladies went through voice workshops to help with the folk material. Kristin Galer talked about how it was exhausting trying to adjust to the new techniques but through muscle memory, they learned how to deal with it.

4) The show is still changing, at least in the technical aspect. They said they changed a few things 3 weeks ago and some fighting aspects change - just a bit. With such a complex show and so many battle scenes, their fight runs start 1 1/2 hours pre-show. It is mandatory that every theatre company runs through the show's fight scenes before the show, to makes sure things are alright with actors or if something needs to be adjusted. I knew that, but it was still fascinating to hear how long it takes for this show.

5) They said there can't be another North American production of LOTR for 2 years. That was the agreement made to allow the Toronto production to do well. So all Broadway hopefuls will have a little longer to wait.

I'll add more if anything comes to mind again.

During this, Brent Carver passed by the back, slipping out for dinner or something. Only I recognized him without the Gandalf garb on. I was tempted to run off and congratulate him...but no. I'm not that kind of fan. Not anymore, anyway.

Sorry if this review is bouncing off the wall. I just got this all out as fast as I could. Frankly, I was surprised at how much I loved the show. It was great! See it if you can!

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/17/06 at 11:22pm

cool review. Sounds like this show doesn't really need a cast recording anyways.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 5/18/06 at 3:56am

Any comment about A.R.Rahman's music? maybe i skipped it while reading the review?

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 5/18/06 at 4:05am

Glad to hear you didn't mind Carver. I have been getting reports form friends that he is slowly losing his Shatner-esque speech patterns that drove me nuts when I saw it.

On a sort of related note I was transfering trains at Yonge-Bloor subway station the other day and on both sides of the platform were two large ads with Michael as Gollum. The cool part though was there was a flashing red light in the poster and instructions on how to download a LOTR ringtone on your phone. People were actually stopping when they saw the light and I saw a few people actually download the ringtone. I thought this was an interesting advertising tactic for a show.

Akiva

[ruthiefan_felix]

Posted: 5/18/06 at 8:41am

Great review, esp the post-show bit! I always wanted to have a talk or discussion with actors who are actually in a show and cover roles! How hard it must be to cover a few roles, esp in this show in this BIG scale!

[Colle]

Posted: 5/18/06 at 8:59am

Glad you enjoyed the show Kevinoes. I hope they can work out a cast recording at some point, I really want to hear the music.

[Kevinoes]

Posted: 5/18/06 at 9:15am

About the music, I loved it. Some people in my group didn't seem to care for it, but there were so many lovely moments. There's a company number near the end of Act One that sent chills up and down my spine and I admit I got a little teary. Gorgeous. And I thought the Sam and Frodo song in Act Two was beautiful. The background singers must be given huge credit. The incidental songs were so lush and rich and Chilina Kennedy in ensemble lead a bunch of solos, including teh Galadriel entranece, another gorgous moment.

[erinrebecca]

Posted: 5/18/06 at 9:50am

Nice review, Kevin. Glad to hear that Brent has improved. I can't for the life of me imagine why it's taken him this long. I've seen him in so many productions and have never felt like I did about his performance as Gandalf. It was such a disappointment.

FYI, the fog/leaf blowing reaches to the rear of the theatre so you would have had it blowing into your face regardless of where you sat.

Lastly, no one calls Michael *Mike*.

[tophertilson]

Posted: 5/18/06 at 10:58am

Any news on whether or not this show is going to London (or anywhere else)? The drums have certainly quieted down of late...

TT

[Kevinoes]

Posted: 5/18/06 at 4:42pm

Ross Williams merely said that plans are in negotiations for a London production. We can say there will probably be a London show sooner than Broadway one.

As for the fans, yes, I know the fans reached everyone. But in 5th row, the leaves were like hitting us all in the face. I mean, it was a really cool effect, but I was holding my hands up to make face and frankly, I wanted to see what was going on.

[Tag]

Posted: 5/18/06 at 5:03pm

It's black confetti not leaves right?
A couple weeks ago when I saw it (2nd time) the act 1 finale didn't work. But they went on with the show as usual and Brent Carver slithered off stage! It was horrible!
I was surprised that the show has been running so long and that they were still not getting all the tech right.

[Candleshoe2]

Posted: 5/18/06 at 5:51pm

This worries me! I have tickets for the show in a couple of weeks and my seats are in the 2nd row! Hopefully, they're not that BAD! For anyone who has sat in those seats, how are they?

[Tag]

Posted: 5/18/06 at 6:00pm

In the second row you will unfortunetely have issues because the show is so big. When the stage elevates into its various forms, at certain points it is very high from the stage floor. Like a poster said above, your sightlines will be slightly blocked but I guess there isn't anything you can do about it now. On the upside however, you will be able to see the painstaking detail that went into all the props and costumes.
This is a show definetly to be viewed from the front of the dress circle. Updated On: 5/18/06 at 06:00 PM

[HatBoy]

Posted: 5/18/06 at 6:07pm

I couldn't agree with you more, the show is absolutely brilliant.

I sat up in the balcony early March and even from there the wind was fierce and the lights were bright. Still, a cool effect nonetheless.

[Kevinoes]

Posted: 5/18/06 at 11:19pm

Yes, black confetti. I just wanted go along with the illusion