Beings the stage musical production of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings cost £25,000,000 making it the most expensive production in West End history, you’d expect a little bad critique, but it appears some critics have blasted the show.
The Daily Telegraph’s Charles Spencer has said despite the efforts to overhaul the Toronto effort the show was a “Thumping great flop.”
The Independent’s Paul Taylor said the storytelling was “Rushed” and “This show is unlikely to blow you away.”
The Daily Mail’s Quentin Letts said it was “Corny” and “cornier than Kansas.”
However, a host of attending celebrities were kinder in their criticism. Dame Judi Dench said, ” For anyone who is a Tolkien fan, it is just a terrific treat. I have never seen the films but I am a great fan of Tolkien’s writing. It has wonderful choreography and the cast worked so hard.”
Viva Laughlin
What it’s about: Based on a BBC series called Blackpool, Viva Laughlin is about an guy who opens a brand new casino in a smaller city in Nevada. Did I mention that this is a musical?!
What’s good: Oh sweet Lord, how I love this show. If you’d told me that CBS was going to put on an Americanized remake of an interesting but not great Brit-drama and that the characters would spontaneously start singing, I wouldn’ve told you that sounded like certain disaster. To have it turn out to be the best network show of the season (or at least my personal favorite – by a very wide margin – is damn near miraculous.
It’s important to note for the skeptical (though this might not allay any reservations) that the songs are not original compositions, but pop tunes spanning the last 40 or 50 years. “Viva Las Vegas” and Blondie’s “One Way or Another” are some notable ones. The characters don’t lip synch or merely sing…they sing along with the original track, so you can hear both at once…an interesting and confident stylistic choice.
Cast is also great. Lloyd Owen, a british actor with a long career behind him plays the lead, and he’s got just the right amount of smarmy confidence and, when the story calls for it, abject fear. And, somehow, they got Hugh Jackman (Wolverine from Oklahoma!) to play the bad guy! Melanie Griffith makes an appearance as well as a sort of washed-up femme fatale.
Viva Laughlin is totally ridiculous and extremely fun to watch. It reminded me a lot of the early seasons of Nip/Tuck, only without the mean-streak and pretentious aspirations. Oh, and with singing.
What’s not so good: Hell, I don’t know. I just really, really love this show.
Will it be a hit? FOR SURE !!!!!!
Comment by Jake Malone — October 1, 2007 @ 5:18 pm
…. a LOTR musical…… i dont know… it just seems a bit weird… i am a great fan of Tolkien’s books and think the movies… though a little inaccurate were pretty good….. but LOTR doesn’t seem like something that can be performed on a stage and especially have singing added…… LOTR is about a great journey and at some points is a little sad and singing isn’t a thing sad people do….. and orcs… singing….. Trolls… singing…. forget it….. oh and of course…. the great eye….. how does he sing……. ok! he is telepathic.. and he is a kind of messed up Maia (after dying about twice and losing his ability to change form and his body)i don’t know….. this guy doesn’t really sing…. the only people i can truly imagine singing are the Elves and Hobbits( the Hobbits are so carefree!) …. they sing in the books why not here but the rest just doesnt work……
Comment by Gabriel — January 7, 2008 @ 3:31 pm
I saw the show a few days ago & ‘m seeing it again!!!!!!
The musical allows the you to enter Middle-Earth, be attacked by orcs & be part of Aragorn’s army - the films made me feel like myself and did not take me into Middle-earth, they just let me watch the events unfold.
If you ever get the chance to see the musical, you should follow it up as it is Middle-Earth!!!!!
Comment by Tiffany — May 14, 2008 @ 11:17 pm
Me again lol - They should get this onto a DVD so that everyone will have the chance to see it!!!
Comment by Tiffany — May 14, 2008 @ 11:17 pm