Theatre producers raise curtain for media glimpse of Lord of the Rings
TORONTO (CP) - Like an orc invasion, the media descended on a stark east-end rehearsal studio Monday for what producers promised would be a "taste" of the massive theatrical production of Lord of the Rings, scheduled to open in February.
With no props, costumes, sets or lighting - just a bare stage and some recorded music - six excerpts from the three-hour, $27-million Mirvish production based on J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved fantasy trilogy were performed in front of an outsider audience for the very first time.
"The world is waiting for Toronto, for Ontario, for Canada to offer this great epic story to it for the first time ever," Irish-born producer Kevin Wallace declared to the gathered throng.
"Yes, it's a world premiere and it is yours!"
There were majestic, menacing stilt walkers depicting those dreaded ringwraiths, diminutive actors as Frodo Baggins and his Hobbit company, wooden swords, fair elf maidens and a simple gold ring in the centre of it all.
And less than eight weeks from now, when the whole thing is ready to be unveiled on the city's Princess of Wales stage, impressive special effects are promised too, the theatre's own unique equivalent of the kind of digital effects that made the Peter Jackson film trilogy such an impressive cinema experience.
But the Rings stage experience will be attracting fans from far and wide, fans who may not be regular theatregoers, who may be more used to the ready-made audio-visual stimuli provided by movies.
Wallace didn't see that as a problem.
"This is a scale the likes of which frankly nobody will have seen before," he promised. "You're standing within 15 feet of Frodo. You can see the sweat on his brow. You can see the emotion in his eyes. And you're breathing the same air. That's a unique experience in the theatre."
And he rejected the suggestion that theatre is somehow an elitist experience.
"The theatre's a popular art form. It's a terrible thing when people think 'Oh this is just for a certain section of society,' It's not. The theatre's for everybody."
Canadian actor Brent Carver, who plays Gandalf, said the films were beautiful and Sir Ian McKellen was fantastic as the grey-bearded wizard. But he agreed the stage can offer extraordinary things.
"A simplicity that I think only the theatre can really give to a live audience, you know?"
And then there's music. Lilting solos, symphonic crescendos and mournful, eerie choruses.
"Mr. Jackson did an extraordinary job but they didn't include any of the songs," stressed Carver. "The book is filled with people expressing themselves fundamentally with music. Absolutely fundamental to their existence. Middle Earth was sung into existence."
The score was assembled from diverse sources: A.R. Rahman from India, the Finnish folk music group Varttina and British composer Christopher Nightingale. And Carver said it all works.
"Tolkien was mad about Nordic myths and the Finnish language, actually, and languages period. So it's very interesting that the world of Finland and India and Britain and Canada is all coming together in a way. . .to speak an international language."
If all goes well, the production will, within a year's time, be headed for London's West End. And eventually to Broadway.
"Yeah, but no hurry, though," said Wallace, content that Canada will always be where it began.
"It's going to be the place that I think Tolkien fans will come on pilgrimage to, to see the original production in Toronto."
Both Wallace and Carver admitted being nervous about presenting such a barebones sneak preview at this time, but they agreed that it will be positive for the production.
"It's actually good for the actors to taste what it's like to play this in front of an audience," said Wallace. "So it's a bit of a shot in the arm halfway through the rehearsal process. It did feel good."
Carver admitted it was nerve-wracking but there was "a very good feel in the room."
Wallace was asked, after following in filmmaker Peter Jackson's footsteps, if King Kong might be next for a theatrical musical.
"What a good idea!" he exclaimed.
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On the Net: www.lotr.com
Regards,
Shah Navas
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