#1
Posted: 4/10/06 at 4:23pm
Okay - I got back yesterday from seeing The Lord of the Rings in Toronto, and I can surely tell you one thing - it was "spectacle"-ular!
The show was huge - the effects were incredible! The music was surprisingly good. Half of it was a sort of Indian/Bollywood inspired chanting while the other half (which the Hobbits used) was extremely fun and folk inspired. It was not overtly memorable, but most of the songs were absolutely beautiful. I can't wait for a cast recording to be released.
The cast was fantastic - and I'll tell you all about them now in my full review of the show!
(I'm doing this in the order that they put in the cast list, so it's in order of speaking rather than role size.)
James Loye (Frodo): At first I was disappointed at James' age - he seemed a bit too old and mature to play Frodo. Still, he developed the role nicely throughout the show and I felt that all of his lines were well rehearsed and realistic. His singing (which I didn't hear much of) was pleasant.
Peter Howe (Sam): He was one of the highlights of the show by far! He played the character of Sam brilliantly with what little he had, and really brought the caring edge to Sam's character. He was the most noticeable of the four lead Hobbits, and his singing (while still using a character voice) was full of emotion and fantastic. I loved the way he delivered, "Don't go where I can't follow." He made it sound as if Sam still didn't believe that Frodo was dead, and was very business-like. Then he started really crying, me following along willingly!
Kristin Galer (Rosie): Very small role, with little more than some comedic banter with Peter Howe, but performed extremely well. She had a lovely solo behind Peter Howe during one of his monologues, which was in character voice, but made the scene very powerful.
Brent Carver (Gandalf): Alright, here it comes. Yes, I know that Brent Carver is an extremely accomplished, wonderful actor, but I didn't see it! He seemed under-rehearsed, and paused in places so strange that it made him seem as though he was forgetting his lines (which I do believe he may have a few times during the show). I was nervous for him on stage. His singing was lovely, but not very noticeable.
Owen Sharpe and Dylan Roberts (Pippin and Merry): Very funny. Like many characters, they didn't get as much as they deserved, but they definitely stood out in a crowd. Completely in character at all times. Good singers.
Richard McMillan (Saruman): Given very little, but played the part very well. He was deliciously evil, yet not overly memorable.
Evan Buliung (Strider): Another highlight of the show. His singing was fantastic and he played his part perfectly. Constantly in character, and a very powerful actor.
Carly Street (Arwen): She was a bit out of her element. She was strong in the acting bits which were "very musical theatre" but she was out of place with the vocal style. She seemed to have a more classic Musical Theatre style of singing, and many of her songs were the Chant-y songs. Overall she did well, but I don't think she was perfectly cast.
Cliff Saunders (Bilbo): He did a good job with his tiny acting parts.
Ross Williams and Gabriel Burrafato (Gimli and Legolas): Tiny, tiny parts. I missed them constantly - Gabriel started off act two brilliantly with his loud singing (meant to seem like screaming) which came after the 'death' of Gandalf. Scared me to death. Ross didn't seem very Dwarf-ish, but had a good singing voice.
Dion Johnstone (Boromir): Small role, but very good actor. Probably one of the best examples of good casting. Died well.
Michael Therriault (Gollum): HIGHLIGHT OF SHOW ALERT! Gosh - I've never seen anybody move like this guy could. He was just - gah! Even his tiny little lines in random scenes (before the Balrog scene he had a bit on one of the boxes, hanging out through the trees that surrounded the balconies - about ten feet away from me!) were fantastic. He switched between characters perfectly and was an incredible acrobat. Deserves miles of recognition! And…he's really skinny. Just pointing that out.
Rebecca Jackson Mendoza (Galadriel): Another highlight. She did most of the chant singing from backstage. This girl has an amazing voice - she just opens her mouth and - BAM! - she blows you away. Good actress, too!
Shawn Wright (Treebeard): Scared the crap out of me, I was so afraid he'd fall down. The Ents had to stand still for a long time on their stilts. He was very, very good.
Kerry Dorey (Théoden): Who? Oh, 'that guy' - that guy with two lines who we're supposed to feel bad about when he dies. Oh yeah. He was such a good actor, but couldn't have had more than five or six lines. I think he forgot one in his first scene, too, because there was a long moment that left the rest of the actors shifting uncomfortably on stage. Still, he did well.
Ayrin Mackie (Éowyn): Hm…she didn't have much at all. Still, good singer, and did well with what she had.
The ensemble of this show was one of the highlights. Incredible dancers and acrobats all around, all good actors and singers as well. They really were absolutely wonderful!
Alright, as for the show itself - I did really love the music. Almost all of it was placed so that it would be the characters singing, but not singing their emotions. There were a few places where they did not do this, which still (oddly enough) fit quite well, including Galadriel's incredible solo as the Fellowship leaves. Sometimes, though, you could tell that they wanted to put in a Theatre-y song, and just needed a way to do it, such as the Prancing Pony scene where Frodo is asked to sing a bright Hobbit folk song. It was a huge, absolutely adorable dance number, but was definitely the most Theatre inspired scene in the show. Another example is while the Hobbits first leave ("And the road goes on…") and a lovely duet between Sam and Frodo in the middle of the show ("Sing me a story…"). Overall great music!
The Battle scenes were amazing, specifically the Battle at Helms Deep. There were about ten orcs, and when each one died their platform of the stage would lower as the stage turned (it spun for the entire scene). The stage would turn all the way around and they'd jump onto a higher platform as a new orc. The whole scene was phenomenal!
Other highlights were the act three opening (a huge CRASH followed by a screaming cast member) which made half of the audience scream. Also, they put effects into the audience. I was in the first row of the Dress Circle, right at the left edge, and it reached even me. In the mountain scene, which had snow effects on the stage, they turned on fans to make the whole audience very cold. Then, at the end of act one, the fans went crazy and my hair was absolutely wild, thrashing about! The end of act two (that mountain that Aragorn goes to…with the ghosts…and stuff) was very interesting also, using a large sheet with air bubbles in it they were blown up at the cast members rose from it, making it look like they were rising from boiling water. It was very cool.
The plot was…missing. They spent a lot of time on the first book, with very little emphasis on the other two. So, the script wasn't great, but the show itself was very good.
Before the start of the show (about fifteen minutes prior) the Hobbits were catching fireflies. Yes, I'm serious. Somehow little firefly effects were scattered around the theatre, which the Hobbits caught using different sized nets (made for comedic value) and could pull out of the nets. It was a neat effect. They ran all over the audience, standing on seats, climbing the balconies. My father and I were horrified to look left of us (in the dress circle) and see one of them just standing there, completely in character. He ran behind us and climbed over people to get to the other side, met by a Hobbit friend of his. When all of the fireflies were caught they were released into the Ring (the curtain) and flew about behind them (they were probably done with lasers) as they did a Hobbit folk dance. When the dance was done the show started with a Prologue (done entirely with silhouettes).
You know, I really enjoyed this show! The plot was quite bad (and could've really used some sort of focus), but it's spectacle, music, and actors were great! I would see it again in a second!
Oh, and after this show I went to see a friend's production of Jekyll and Hyde (Musical in a Box version) at the Randolph Academy Pre-College program. That show was adorable, and was an appropriate ending to a perfect day.
Hope you enjoyed the review - go see the show!
The show was huge - the effects were incredible! The music was surprisingly good. Half of it was a sort of Indian/Bollywood inspired chanting while the other half (which the Hobbits used) was extremely fun and folk inspired. It was not overtly memorable, but most of the songs were absolutely beautiful. I can't wait for a cast recording to be released.
The cast was fantastic - and I'll tell you all about them now in my full review of the show!
(I'm doing this in the order that they put in the cast list, so it's in order of speaking rather than role size.)
James Loye (Frodo): At first I was disappointed at James' age - he seemed a bit too old and mature to play Frodo. Still, he developed the role nicely throughout the show and I felt that all of his lines were well rehearsed and realistic. His singing (which I didn't hear much of) was pleasant.
Peter Howe (Sam): He was one of the highlights of the show by far! He played the character of Sam brilliantly with what little he had, and really brought the caring edge to Sam's character. He was the most noticeable of the four lead Hobbits, and his singing (while still using a character voice) was full of emotion and fantastic. I loved the way he delivered, "Don't go where I can't follow." He made it sound as if Sam still didn't believe that Frodo was dead, and was very business-like. Then he started really crying, me following along willingly!
Kristin Galer (Rosie): Very small role, with little more than some comedic banter with Peter Howe, but performed extremely well. She had a lovely solo behind Peter Howe during one of his monologues, which was in character voice, but made the scene very powerful.
Brent Carver (Gandalf): Alright, here it comes. Yes, I know that Brent Carver is an extremely accomplished, wonderful actor, but I didn't see it! He seemed under-rehearsed, and paused in places so strange that it made him seem as though he was forgetting his lines (which I do believe he may have a few times during the show). I was nervous for him on stage. His singing was lovely, but not very noticeable.
Owen Sharpe and Dylan Roberts (Pippin and Merry): Very funny. Like many characters, they didn't get as much as they deserved, but they definitely stood out in a crowd. Completely in character at all times. Good singers.
Richard McMillan (Saruman): Given very little, but played the part very well. He was deliciously evil, yet not overly memorable.
Evan Buliung (Strider): Another highlight of the show. His singing was fantastic and he played his part perfectly. Constantly in character, and a very powerful actor.
Carly Street (Arwen): She was a bit out of her element. She was strong in the acting bits which were "very musical theatre" but she was out of place with the vocal style. She seemed to have a more classic Musical Theatre style of singing, and many of her songs were the Chant-y songs. Overall she did well, but I don't think she was perfectly cast.
Cliff Saunders (Bilbo): He did a good job with his tiny acting parts.
Ross Williams and Gabriel Burrafato (Gimli and Legolas): Tiny, tiny parts. I missed them constantly - Gabriel started off act two brilliantly with his loud singing (meant to seem like screaming) which came after the 'death' of Gandalf. Scared me to death. Ross didn't seem very Dwarf-ish, but had a good singing voice.
Dion Johnstone (Boromir): Small role, but very good actor. Probably one of the best examples of good casting. Died well.
Michael Therriault (Gollum): HIGHLIGHT OF SHOW ALERT! Gosh - I've never seen anybody move like this guy could. He was just - gah! Even his tiny little lines in random scenes (before the Balrog scene he had a bit on one of the boxes, hanging out through the trees that surrounded the balconies - about ten feet away from me!) were fantastic. He switched between characters perfectly and was an incredible acrobat. Deserves miles of recognition! And…he's really skinny. Just pointing that out.
Rebecca Jackson Mendoza (Galadriel): Another highlight. She did most of the chant singing from backstage. This girl has an amazing voice - she just opens her mouth and - BAM! - she blows you away. Good actress, too!
Shawn Wright (Treebeard): Scared the crap out of me, I was so afraid he'd fall down. The Ents had to stand still for a long time on their stilts. He was very, very good.
Kerry Dorey (Théoden): Who? Oh, 'that guy' - that guy with two lines who we're supposed to feel bad about when he dies. Oh yeah. He was such a good actor, but couldn't have had more than five or six lines. I think he forgot one in his first scene, too, because there was a long moment that left the rest of the actors shifting uncomfortably on stage. Still, he did well.
Ayrin Mackie (Éowyn): Hm…she didn't have much at all. Still, good singer, and did well with what she had.
The ensemble of this show was one of the highlights. Incredible dancers and acrobats all around, all good actors and singers as well. They really were absolutely wonderful!
Alright, as for the show itself - I did really love the music. Almost all of it was placed so that it would be the characters singing, but not singing their emotions. There were a few places where they did not do this, which still (oddly enough) fit quite well, including Galadriel's incredible solo as the Fellowship leaves. Sometimes, though, you could tell that they wanted to put in a Theatre-y song, and just needed a way to do it, such as the Prancing Pony scene where Frodo is asked to sing a bright Hobbit folk song. It was a huge, absolutely adorable dance number, but was definitely the most Theatre inspired scene in the show. Another example is while the Hobbits first leave ("And the road goes on…") and a lovely duet between Sam and Frodo in the middle of the show ("Sing me a story…"). Overall great music!
The Battle scenes were amazing, specifically the Battle at Helms Deep. There were about ten orcs, and when each one died their platform of the stage would lower as the stage turned (it spun for the entire scene). The stage would turn all the way around and they'd jump onto a higher platform as a new orc. The whole scene was phenomenal!
Other highlights were the act three opening (a huge CRASH followed by a screaming cast member) which made half of the audience scream. Also, they put effects into the audience. I was in the first row of the Dress Circle, right at the left edge, and it reached even me. In the mountain scene, which had snow effects on the stage, they turned on fans to make the whole audience very cold. Then, at the end of act one, the fans went crazy and my hair was absolutely wild, thrashing about! The end of act two (that mountain that Aragorn goes to…with the ghosts…and stuff) was very interesting also, using a large sheet with air bubbles in it they were blown up at the cast members rose from it, making it look like they were rising from boiling water. It was very cool.
The plot was…missing. They spent a lot of time on the first book, with very little emphasis on the other two. So, the script wasn't great, but the show itself was very good.
Before the start of the show (about fifteen minutes prior) the Hobbits were catching fireflies. Yes, I'm serious. Somehow little firefly effects were scattered around the theatre, which the Hobbits caught using different sized nets (made for comedic value) and could pull out of the nets. It was a neat effect. They ran all over the audience, standing on seats, climbing the balconies. My father and I were horrified to look left of us (in the dress circle) and see one of them just standing there, completely in character. He ran behind us and climbed over people to get to the other side, met by a Hobbit friend of his. When all of the fireflies were caught they were released into the Ring (the curtain) and flew about behind them (they were probably done with lasers) as they did a Hobbit folk dance. When the dance was done the show started with a Prologue (done entirely with silhouettes).
You know, I really enjoyed this show! The plot was quite bad (and could've really used some sort of focus), but it's spectacle, music, and actors were great! I would see it again in a second!
Oh, and after this show I went to see a friend's production of Jekyll and Hyde (Musical in a Box version) at the Randolph Academy Pre-College program. That show was adorable, and was an appropriate ending to a perfect day.
Hope you enjoyed the review - go see the show!
) but Frodo is like 50-something when he sets out with Sam and the ring. I'm just saying... 
