The musical retelling of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings has arrived in Perth.
It’s a chance to join Frodo, Sam, Gandalf, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Legolas and Boromir as they form the Fellowship of the Ring and head to Mordor to throw the powerful jewelry into the fires of Mount Doom, but with songs.
The first thought when news of this musical coming to town arrived was, did the world need a musical version of the The Lord of the Rings?
In the lead up to attending the opening night I wondered what the songs would be, and what would they be like? Would there be a sing-along akin to We’re Off the See the Wizard? Would we see a lament called Nobody Loves an Orc? Would Sam and Frodo have a buddy number to rival Movin’ Right Along by Kermit and Fozzie.
Thankfully the musical part of this show is far more sedate, and well away from the jazz hands end of the musical theatre spectrum. It’s a mix of Celtic inspired sounds mixed with a heathy dollop of new age influences. Indian composers A.R. Rahman, Christopher Nightingale and Finnish folk band Värttinä created the music. While Shuan McKenna and Matthew Warchus wrote the lyrics and book.
As you enter the auditorium the folk of the Shire are already in the middle of joyful festivities on stage, the Hobbits skip through the crowd, Bilbo Baggins chats to audience members, Samwise Gamgee persuaded a woman in front of me to open her Maltesers because it was time for second breakfast. As the lights go down our journey begins.
Peter Jackson’s trilogy of films looms large over this production, and each actor faces the prospect of whether to make this role their own or provide an impression of the one already established in our minds. For the most part they opt for the latter.
The cast includes some well-known musical theatre stars. Stephanie Caccamo who had a memorable performance in Black Swan State Theatre Company’s Oklahoma is Arwen, Ian Stenlake is hamming it up Saruman and Jemma Rix is engaging as Galadriel.
There are also some newcomers who give solid performances. Wern Mak is captivating as best-best-friend-ever Samwise Gamgee and Hannah Buckley makes the gender-swapped role of Pippin her own.
Laurence Boxhall plays Gollum. The character is a carbon copy how Andy Serkis brought the character to the screen, except Boxhall manages to do it without all the CGI, and his movement across the stage is very impressive.
Despite being a big budget musical with a gigantic cast, this production can’t really breakout of the orbit of the film trilogy. Thankfully it’s shorter, clocking in a three-hour length. It sheds most of the epic battles of the story by focusing largely on the plotline of Frodo and Sam, however there is a point where a troupe of eight orcs battle our heroes using the power of interpretive dance.
There are moments of great comedy, and when a giant arachnid looms over Froddo it is quite terrifying. Other sections rely on booming voices off stage, or video projections which are less engaging. The songs are completely forgettable.
Did the world need a musical of Lord of the Rings?
That depends. If you’ve read the book more than once, have the extended version box set of the films on DVD, and own more than two Swancon sci-fi and fantasy convention t-shirts – you’ll probably love it.
If you’re a huge lover of musical theatre, you’ll survive it.
If you cringe and the thought of a three hour visit to Middle Earth with music that sounds like it comes from a shop where you can buy crystals and tarot cards – probably best to stay away.
Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale plays at Crown Theatre until 6th April.
