Invision Power Services: Invision Power Services -> Mini review of the LOTR Musical

Last night I went to see the brand new Lord of the Rings Musical, at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London. Until Friday the show is in previews, with the official opening on Monday.

We were lucky enough to have seats in the front row. Often in a theatre this is bad news because you can't see the back of the stage and you feel like you're watching everyones feet, but those weren't really issues here - everything happened at the front of the stage, or up in the air at the back, so everything was clearly seen.

The production is absolutely mind-blowing. I cannot stress this enough. The theatre was literally unassembled and put into storage, and a new stage installed. The new stage has (I believe) 17 independently raising and rotating sections. It still requires some imagination, but it really adds a lot to the show. The set design and lighting really give a unique feel to each setting. I was particularly impressed by Lothlorien, it really felt magical.

The scene with the Balrog literally blew me away. I don't quite know how they did it, but it felt like there was a hurricane in the theatre. The raising stage was used to good effect to create the bridge, with an enormous figure of the Balrog present too.

The creative side is also outstanding. The way that characters such as the Ringwraiths, Ents and Spider mistress are brought to life is incredible. Without wanting to give it away too much, they all use circus skills, but not really in a cheesy 'big top' style. It's all very sophisticated.

I think it's important to know the story before you see the show, because a lot of important details are missed out (bear in mind they have had to condense it into around 2.5 hours). For example, there's no reference to Helm's Deep, and Minas Tirith only gets a passing mention and a short dance segment. I was also puzzled that they left Weathertop out completely - instead, the Ringwraiths actually find Frodo at the Prancing Pony, and stab him there. Interestingly, Theoden isn't released from his curse by Gandalf The White, but just by Strider turning up, which seemed bizarre to me.

Some other bits I noticed missing are: Merry and Pippin aren't captured by Orcs, although it is referred to; then they come back. Although the Ents are featured, you don't see the attack on Isengard (understandable, I have no idea how they'd pull that off on stage). A couple of key characters missing include Grima, Faramir, Éowyn, Tom Bombadil and others.

These things aren't so much critisisms, just notes. As I said, it's helpful to know the full story before seeing the show so that you're aware of what's going on, otherwise you may be a little confused by plot holes, and you'll probably wonder why Strider, Gimli and Legolas are present at all (with the large battles of Men mostly ignored, these three characters don't really have much to do after breaking of the fellowship).

I have to reserve this final bit to awarding the character of Gollum a huge award for Best Actor. I cannot begin to describe how good he is. From his first entrance where he literally crawls down the curtain from the top of the theatre, right to the end, he's a masterpiece. He was so good, that the audience actually ended up laughing when they probably shouldn't - I think people were just amazed, and that usually results in laughter. Indeed, the guy that plays him also played in at the Toronto production, and there he won a prestigious Best Actor award.

I must say, I also though Sam was excellent, though that's not to say all the other characters weren't very good indeed.

So in conclusion... If you're a fan of LOTR, I would highly recommend you save your pennies (it's quite expensive) and get a ticket to see the show. Go with an open mind and realise you aren't going to see the films on a stage, and you will have a fantastic time.