 |
 |
TORONTO -- No, Frodo, this is not -- even in the language of Hobbits -- merely just another "there-and-back-again journey."
Despite all its limitations, much is impressive in the $28-million stage production of The Lord Of The Rings, which opened tonight at the Princess of Wales Theatre.
Not the least of which is the devotion with which adaptors Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus (who also directs) cleave to the beloved J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy, on which this stage-play-with-music is based.
While dyed-in-the-wool Rings geeks will almost inevitably rail against what was left on the cutting-room floor, most theatre goers will be impressed with the detail McKenna and Warchus have managed to imbue their tale. By and large, the power of Tolkien's tale of a magical ring and the fellowship that forms around it to prevent it from destroying the world is undiminished in this theatrical distillation.
And while I've got no idea just what $28 million looks like on stage (or off, for that matter), few will doubt that producers Kevin Wallace, Saul Zaentz, Michael Cohl and David and Ed Mirvish have spared any expense in bringing the work to life.
Under their aegis, designer Rob Howell has woven a warren of roots into a fabulous set that consumes the entire proscenium of the theatre and gobbles up the loges as well in its determination to evoke Middle-earth. The same sense of lavish determination is also evident in Howell's costumes and Paul Pyant's often magical lighting design.
|
This show is, in short, everything they've promised it would be.
And somehow, just a little bit less. Because, finally, it all falls victim to its own hype.
After promising the world a unique experience -- something akin to an explosive theatrical union between Cirque du Soliel and Shakespeare -- what they deliver instead is a rather well-behaved child of a union between J.R.R. Tolkien and The Lion King, with more than just a hint or two of Slava's Snowshow thrown in for good measure.
From Orcs to Ents to disappearing Hobbits, Night Riders and the extravaganza that finally ends Act I, we've simply seen it all before -- and none of it has been reinvented in such a way as to make it fresh.
As for the much vaunted stage, a technical web of elevators, lifts and turntables, it is -- in the final analysis -- far more interesting from an engineering point of view than a theatrical one.
So while it all comes together to tell Tolkien's story, it never reaches that magical point where, as always happens in the best theatre, audience members are lifted out of their seats and carried into the story.
It's as if the roots with which designer Howell has composed his sets have conspired to keep things resolutely earthbound.
Ultimately, despite advance promise, the production lacks both the grand passion of Shakespeare's text and the magic and wonder Cirque almost always evokes.
Ironically, it is the density of the story itself that keeps things from taking wing. Weighed down by sheer narrative volume, an incredibly talented cast rarely fully inhabits their characters in such a way as to make us care about them in any meaningful way.
Brent Carver as Gandalf, Evan Buliung as Strider, Dion Johnstone as Boromir, Carly Street as Arwen, Richard McMillan as Saruman, James Loye as Frodo and Peter Howe as Sam -- and the rest of the 55-actor ensemble -- aren't able to fully realize their characters. The exception is Michael Therriault as the scene-stealing Gollum (Smeagol). His success only underlines the others' struggles.
There is a brief frisson of romantic tension between Strider and Arwen, and a further intimation of the deep ties of friendship that bind Frodo and Sam -- but they are quickly brushed aside by the necessity of keeping this massive story moving ever forward.
Musically, the score composed by A.R.Rahman and Varttina with Christopher Nightingale, under the direction of Rick Fox, is a mixed bag. When used as a bed on which to float elements of the story, the score often is effective although, frankly, not even Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture could save some of the lame battle scenes.
But when it comes to aiding character development, the music rarely rises above the purely forgettable.
This is not a score many will be humming as they leave the theatre.
Much is made throughout the 3 1/2-hour production of the fact that the Ring carries the seeds of magic, and its destruction will banish magic from Middle-earth forever.
Sadly, this production -- finally, far more a lavish pageant than a moving play -- offers scant proof that it was ever there.
Tickets for The Lord Of The Rings are on sale through June 26.