Lord of the Rings-straight from Mirvish(an e-mail)

[jesseeinstein]

Posted: 3/16/05 at 3:17pm

A NEW LEGEND IS BORN

Announcing
The World Premiere
Of the Stage Adaptation of

THE LORD OF THE RINGS

at the Princess of Wales Theatre
300 King St. West. Toronto

PERFORMANCES BEGIN FEBRUARY 2, 2006

Link to www.lotr.com for full details

With a thrilling score, a spectacular design and an ensemble of over 65 actors, singers and musicians, the stage adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's THE LORD OF THE RINGS is the biggest and most ambitious theatrical production ever staged... and Toronto sees it first!

A Kevin Wallace Limited Production, presented by Kevin Wallace and Saul Zaentz, in association with David and Ed Mirvish and Michael Cohl, the $27,000,000 stage production of THE LORD OF THE RINGS will have its World Premiere in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the Princess of Wales Theatre as the cornerstone of the 2005/2006 Mirvish Theatre Subscription Season.

An acclaimed international creative team has combined all the books of the trilogy into one unmissable theatrical event. THE LORD OF THE RINGS is directed by Matthew Warchus, with books and lyrics by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus. Music for the production is composed by A.R. Rahman and the contemporary Finnish group Värttinä, collaborating with Christopher Nightingale. Set and costume designs are by Rob Howell, with a creative team including Christopher Nightingale (musical supervisor), Peter Darling (choreographer), Simon Baker (sound designer) and Paul Kieve (illusions director).

"What we have is a beautiful and spectacular adaptation of Tolkien's epic that in word, music, design and performance honours the original trilogy in its imagination, scale and insight. THE LORD OF THE RINGS is one of the great stories of the last century and, not surprisingly, it will take us three hours of stage time to perform our version of all three books - three unforgettable extraordinary hours in Middle-earth for audiences of all ages," says producer Kevin Wallace.

"We will be presenting a hybrid of Text, Physical Theatre, Music and Spectacle never previously seen on this scale," says director Matthew Warchus.

"To read the novel is to experience the events of Middle-earth in the mind's eye; to watch the films is to view Middle-earth as though through a giant window. Only in the theatre are we actually plunged into the events as they happen. The environment surrounds us. We participate. We are in Middle-earth."

THE LORD OF THE RINGS will be the cornerstone show of the Mirvish Theatre 2005-06 Subscription Season. Mirvish season subscribers will have exclusive access to tickets until May 15.

Single tickets for the initial booking period go on sale via www.lotr.com at 9:00am (EST) on May 15. Phone sales and in-person sales at the theatre box office will begin at 9:00am (EST) on May 16.

The official website - www.lotr.com - will broadcast all casting and ticketing news about the production. Join the email list for timely news of the production.

A KEVIN WALLACE LIMITED PRODUCTION
Based on THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy of books by J.R.R. Tolkien. Written and produced under license from The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Tolkien Enterprises (SZC). THE LORD OF THE RINGS and the names of the characters, events, items & places therein are trademarks or registered trademarks of SZC and are used under license. All rights reserved. © Kevin Wallace Limited 2005.