Another wet London evening greeted us as Thao & I strode down Drury Lane towards Theatre Royal, a cosy little place off Covent Gardens. Heading up the stairs to our balcony seats, we took up our seats with a view and journeyed to the world of Middle Earth.
Being familiar with the story (through the book and movies) it was no wonder that the performance began right on the dot, taking in the scenic greenery of the Shire and introducing us to the main characters Frodo and his hobbit mates, Gandalf, Aragorn and the other much loved characters from Tolkien's Middle Earth. The stage settings and costuming were very impressive and brought Tolkien's imagination to life, from the warm and friendly shire lands across to the mysteriousy enchanting lands of the elves, the oppressive mines of Moria, the tall forests of the Ents to the darkness and red fire of Mordor. The story moved at a fairly decent pace (quite splendidly done with the ever moving and changing stage floor), with the music and songs blending in nicely, however the complex plotlines left the dialogue a little long winded at times and provided a few flat moments along the way.
The actors delivered a well rounded performance, with Gandalf particularly commanding, and the hobbits displaying enough comic relief to highlight their laidback nature to offset the stoic energy brought by Frodo and Samwise. The dramatic dark forces of Sauron were brought to life, with the dark horseriders particularly impressive, casting shadows of dark menace over the fellowship's journey. The elven costuming was also particularly impressive, from the mysterious and beautiful Galadriel to the elegant Arwen, and filled the stage with wonder as dancers moved across the skyline floating above the stage area performing artistic gymnasts moves to the enchanting elven melodies. A dash of romance was also musically provided via the love shared by Arwen & Aragorn. The introduction of Gollum added a sinister, pyschological edge to the production and the appearance of Shelob added terror to the night. Sadly the lands of men weren't as well represented with the constant dialogue, whilst moving the story along, left the stage devoid of atmosphere until the appearance of orcs quickened the pace again.
Overall, despite the length (at 3 1/4 hours) and noticeable lack of air conditioning, it was an enjoyable performance with wonderful costuming and staging which swept us away to Middle Earth on our journey there and back again!
3/5 *
5 comments:
Matt, do you moonlight as a theater critic by any chance. That was a little too well worded for the common theater-goer!
Really Matt,
You have been holding out on us. Is this just a big ploy to come get all of us to visit and populate your guest room?
It is so cool that you have a friend who likes to do all the same things you do!
BTW.. I never read the LOTR's books. I saw the first movie with kate and co in a theatre. When the second one came out we watched it and loved it so much we had to run to the store and buy the third one so we could watch it right away...
Hmm- I have to admit- when Kate told us you were going to LOTR the musical, I laughed.
But it sounds like it was actually really cool, and Tolkien DOES have a lot of friggin' songs in the books, so I guess it fits. Thanks to your review, I want to see it :)
Matt. Thank you, as the resident family, and probably county LOTR nerd... I appreciate the appraisal of the musical stage production. I will admit, I was afeared that Tolkien would roll in his grave. But I fear no longer. Great review.
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