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Post subject: The Official LotR Musical Thread - Review Added
Posted: Thu 17 Mar , 2005 4:37 pm
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*Edit - I just realised this really belongs in Hall of Fire. I'm leaving a shadow in Music*

I'm sure some of you are aware of this. Here's the latest info:
Quote:
The Stage Adaptation of
THE LORD OF THE RINGS
will have its World Premiere in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
at the Princess of Wales Theatre

Performances Begin February 2, 2006

The book trilogy has sold in excess of 200 million copies. The multi award-winning three-film adaptation broke box office records. Now, J.R.R. Tolkien's THE LORD OF THE RINGS arrives on stage.

An acclaimed international creative team has combined all three books into one unmissable theatrical event. With a thrilling score, a spectacular design, and featuring an ensemble of over 65 actors, singers and musicians, THE LORD OF THE RINGS is the biggest and most ambitious theatrical production ever staged.

A Kevin Wallace Limited Production, presented by Kevin Wallace and Saul Zaentz, in association with David and Ed Mirvish and Michael Cohl, THE LORD OF THE RINGS $27,000,000 stage production will have its World Premiere in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

"THE LORD OF THE RINGS has captured the imagination of the City and Provincial governments of Toronto and Ontario which have - with our Canadian partners - created the ideal platform from which to launch our Premiere production to the world," says producer Kevin Wallace. "From February 2006, visit Toronto and you will find Middle-earth"

Performances will begin February 2, 2006 at the 2,000-seat, Princess of Wales Theatre. The gala opening performance will be on March 23, 2006.

Background to the Stage Production

J.R.R. Tolkien began writing THE LORD OF THE RINGS in 1936. By the autumn of 1948, he wrote to a friend, "I succeeded at last in bringing THE LORD OF THE RINGS to a successful conclusion Å  I think there is a chance of it being published, though it will be a massive book, far too large to make any money for the publisher (let alone the author)."

The publishers Allen & Unwin accepted the manuscript and worked with Tolkien to divide the work into a more manageable three volumes, with the final installment published in 1955. Despite Tolkien's original doubt of the popular and commercial appeal of the work, today the publisher HarperCollins estimates there are more than 200 million copies of Tolkien's books in print.

Further proof of the universality of the work is the international popularity of the New Line Cinema/Peter Jackson film trilogy released between December 2001 and December 2003.

In November 2001, an early draft of a stage adaptation of THE LORD OF THE RINGS by Shaun McKenna was brought to the attention of producer Kevin Wallace.

"It demonstrated you could deliver Tolkien's trilogy on stage in one epic and eventful evening," says producer Wallace.

Kevin Wallace Limited (KWL) acquired the rights to Shaun's draft and commenced negotiations with The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Tolkien Enterprises (SZC) to secure the underlying rights. Those negotiations concluded in April 2003 when SZC (the same company that licensed New Line Cinema to produce the Jackson films) granted KWL an exclusive worldwide licence to commission and produce the first major stage adaptation of THE LORD OF THE RINGS.

At the same time Kevin Wallace confirmed Matthew Warchus Director), Rob Howell (Designer), Christopher Nightingale (Musical Supervisor), Peter Darling (Choreographer), Simon Baker (Sound Designer) and Paul Kieve (Illusions Director) were joining the project.

The Creative Process

In May 2003 Matthew Warchus set out the approach he wished to take in bringing the story to the stage. Music was to be an integral part of the storytelling, and a search began for the composer. Ultimately, the producers and creative team chose two distinct collaborators for this purpose: the Indian composer A.R. Rahman, a star of Indian cinema, stage and popular music; and Värttinä, a contemporary Finnish group comprised of three female singers and six acoustic musicians, that has built an international reputation in the contemporary world music arena.

The music of each of these collaborators is rooted in the integrity and antiquity of their respective cultures. Additionally, one of the original points of inspiration for Tolkien's story of Middle-earth was The Kalevala, Finland's national epic of mythological songs, poems and stories. Värttinä shares the same inspiration for its music and lyrics.

In the summer of 2003, Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus set about redrafting Shaun's original text; set and costume designer, Rob Howell, began the design process; and A.R. Rahman and Värttinä began to compose the score with Christopher Nightingale.

The epic nature of Tolkien's story demands that traditional stage and scenic techniques be rethought and expanded. Having completed several workshops of the text, music and scenic elements through 2003 and 2004, THE LORD OF THE RINGS is now ready to go into rehearsals in Toronto in October 2005.

"What we have is a beautiful and spectacular adaptation of Tolkien's epic that in word, music, design and performance honours the original trilogy in its imagination, scale and insight. THE LORD OF THE RINGS is one of the great stories of the last century, and not surprisingly it will take us three hours of stage time to perform our version of all three books - three unforgettable extraordinary hours in Middle-earth for audiences of all ages," says producer Kevin Wallace.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS on stage

Combining classical drama, physical theatre, music and spectacle, the production cannot be described in conventional terms. For instance, although the production will be filled with music and, like Tolkien's books, have numerous songs, it is unlike any traditional musical.

"Our respect for Tolkien's book means that every step of this adaptation to the stage has been rigorously thought through to avoid all possibility of trivialising the material," says director Matthew Warchus.

"We have not attempted to pull the novel towards the standard conventions of Musical Theatre, but rather to expand those conventions so that they will accommodate Tolkien's material. As a result, we will be presenting a hybrid of Text, Physical Theatre, Music and Spectacle never previously seen on this scale.

"Following in the tradition of many great quest stories told on the world's stages over the millennia, I believe Tolkien's story of the One Ring will blossom and flourish in its adaptation. Great theatre has a boundless capacity to thrill, delight, touch and amaze an audience and this piece, with its extraordinary flights of imagination and powerful emotional core, will, I think, thrive on the stage.

"To read the novel is to experience the events of Middle-earth in the mind's eye; to watch the films is to view Middle-earth as though through a giant window. Only in the theatre are we actually plunged into the events as they happen. The environment surrounds us. We participate. We are in Middle-earth."

The World Premiere Production

Casting for the premiere production will begin immediately across Canada. Rehearsals start in Toronto on October 24.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS will be the cornerstone show of Toronto's Mirvish Theatre 2005-06 Subscription Season. Mirvish season subscribers will have exclusive access to tickets until May 15.

Single tickets for the initial booking period go on sale via www.lotr.com at 9:00am (EST) on May 15. Phone sales and in-person sales at the theatre box office will begin at 9:00am (EST) on May 16.

The official website - www.lotr.com - will broadcast all casting and ticketing news about the production. Audience members are advised to join the email list for timely news of the production.

PRODUCTION CREDITS

KEVIN WALLACE and SAUL ZAENTZ
In association with DAVID & ED MIRVISH, and MICHAEL COHL
present

THE LORD OF THE RINGS

Book and Lyrics by
SHAUN McKENNA
and MATTHEW WARCHUS

Music by
A.R. RAHMAN
VÄRTTINÄ
with CHRISTOPHER NIGHTINGALE

Set and Costume Design by ROB HOWELL

Sound Design by SIMON BAKER (FOR AUTOGRAPH)
Moving Image Design by THE GRAY CIRCLE
Illusions Direction by PAUL KIEVE
Tolkien Creative Consultation by LAURIE BATTLE
Musical Supervision by CHRISTOPHER NIGHTINGALE
Orchestrations by CHRISTOPHER NIGHTINGALE, A.R. RAHMAN AND VÄRTTINÄ

Choreographed by PETER DARLING

Directed by MATTHEW WARCHUS

A KEVIN WALLACE LIMITED PRODUCTION
Based on the Lord of the Rings trilogy of books by J.R.R. Tolkien. Written and produced under license from The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Tolkien Enterprises (SZC). THE LORD OF THE RINGS and the names of the characters, events, items & places therein are trademarks or registered trademarks of SZC and are used under license. All rights reserved. © Kevin Wallace Limited 2005.

LOTR UK & INTERNATIONAL PRESS REPRESENTATION:
Peter Thompson Associates
info@ptassociates.co.uk

TORONTO PRESS REPRESENTATION
Mirvish Productions
John Karasatamatis, Director of Communications
Sue Toth, Communications Manager
info@mirvish.com
Here's the official Site. Not sure if the music played during the flash intro is from the show but it sounds appropriate.

Lotr Musical Homepage

Incidentally, for anyone worried about a showbiz version of LotR I spotted this quote on the Irish RTE Website:


Quote:
But the producers have promised to go back to the original tale of Middle Earth and not try to reproduce the dazzling special effects from the movie trilogy, which earned $3 billion worldwide and garnered a string of Oscars.

"We are ultimately dependent on 50 actors and musicians to tell the story rather than technology," producer Kevin Wallace said as he announced details of the Can $27 million musical.

"We are going to have to break new ground. It is a hybrid of text, music, spectacle and physical theatre," he added.

Eager to quell the fears of devoted Tolkien purists who dreaded the classic being transformed into a showbiz extravaganza, he said: "There will be no singing and dancing Hobbits. The music will be in a very traditional mould and draw on ethnic traditions."
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Last edited by Alatar on Fri 22 Jun , 2007 10:32 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Pippin4242
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Posted: Thu 17 Mar , 2005 6:03 pm
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I can't wait! :cheers

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Iavas_Saar
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Posted: Thu 17 Mar , 2005 7:50 pm
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Thanks for that info Alatar! I'm pretty excited :D

Is anyone else familiar with the music for Rahman's Bombay Dreams? I love it. Obviously LOTR calls for a different style, but the man is a great composer.

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Andri
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Posted: Fri 18 Mar , 2005 10:57 am
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Will we finally get to see the "all-singing-all-dancing-Balrog" ballet act? ;)


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Iavas_Saar
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Posted: Fri 18 Mar , 2005 5:16 pm
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LOL

It's interesting to know how they'll handle scenes like the Balrog though.. will Gandalf be singing his lines?

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Posted: Tue 22 Mar , 2005 3:00 pm
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More info from here:

Tortonto Star Article
Quote:
How does Warchus plan to put the diminutive creatures on stage next to full-sized beings?

He holds his head in his hands in mock agony. "Of all the things that used to keep me awake at night, that was at the head of the list. But we found a solution.

"We can't make the hobbits 3-foot-something like they are in the story, but what we need is a gap in height between the hobbits and the others — wizards, or men, or elves. We've determined through numerous tests and workshops that if the human eye sees a difference of 10 to 12 inches, then you perceive it as a different species.

"So we can cast hobbits up to, say, 5-foot-6 and then put them opposite a 6-foot person who's wearing a 4- or 5-inch lift of some kind on their shoes. Not stilts, because they've still got to swordfight and run around, but if you have someone appearing to be 6-foot-5 opposite someone who's 5-foot-6, that will read as a major height difference from the audience."

Warchus admits another major problem is how much actual spectacle he needs to show. "I know we won't convey a battle by having a man walk across a stage carrying an arrow in slow motion. We need to deliver audience expectations with a production of grand scale, but we're trying to find what theatre does best."

To accomplish this vision, Warchus needs an amazingly diverse cast, but his agenda is not to have all of them responsible for every aspect of the show.

"There will be some people whose primary skill is that they're great actors, others who will form a core choir group with magnificent singing and still others who are sort of circus performers — aerialists, puppeteers, that kind of thing.

"Yes, there'll be some crossover. I like the idea of a melting pot. The kind of people who normally wouldn't be sitting in the same rehearsal room working side by side, each one trying to tell the same story to the same end."

He holds his hands far apart as if to show the magnitude of the task and then suddenly clasps them. "My job is to bring them all together. No aspect, no colour, no dimension of the book will be short-changed."

Although Canadian Actors' Equity has allowed Warchus the right to bring up to five performers into the country from Britain, he insists that "I'm coming into Canada with a clean slate. Nobody is attached to any role. I'd like to meet with some of Canada's great classical actors and see if they'd like to go on this journey with us."

He slumps back in his chair and sighs, as though exhausted by the enormity of the task in front of him. Then he rubs his eyes and seems newly inspired.

"It's about life's journey, growing from childhood toward death and then a resurrection. It's nothing smaller than that. After all, it's The Lord of the Rings."

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Iavas_Saar
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Posted: Tue 22 Mar , 2005 5:36 pm
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I'm certainly impressed by the amount of thought and care being put into it. :)

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Posted: Mon 28 Mar , 2005 4:22 pm
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Wanna play Frodo? Can Marty sing?
Quote:
TORONTO (CP) - Canadian actors who are feverish to play Frodo or gunning to be Gandalf in the upcoming musical version of Lord of the Rings will get their shot at open auditions next month.



"The ensemble of actors we engage for The Lord of the Rings will come from different backgrounds," producer Kevin Wallace said in a release.


"The text requires classical actors; the songs demand a unique vocal style from the company."


In addition to actors and singers, producers are looking for those with expertise in stilt-walking, acrobatics and gymnastics.


Open calls are to be held at the Westin Grand Hotel in Vancouver on April 2, at the Estonian House in Toronto on April 8 and at Place des arts in Montreal on April 29.


All performers are asked to bring a photo and resume with them.


Singers are asked to bring one short song.


The musical is to have its world premiere in Toronto in February 2006.

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Lhaewin
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Quote:
In addition to actors and singers, producers are looking for those with expertise in stilt-walking, acrobatics and gymnastics.
This line bothers me a lot. Why are they looking for actors with those skills when they don´t want to do a usual showbiz musical? Are we going to see stepdancing Hobbits and aerobic workouts for Orks?

What will they have to cut out for a musical? We have the trilogy with twelve hours in the TE version and we are still complaining about missing parts after having seen the Extended Editions. What does it mean to cut the story down to three hours or so and to insert songs and dancing sequences?

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Posted: Mon 28 Mar , 2005 8:46 pm
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I'll be very surprised if there are Dancing sequences. This very much has the "feel" of a Les Mis style production to me. Stilt Walkers my be representing Ents or Mumakil. Acrobats could be representing the Eagles or Fell Beasts. There is far, far more to the modern musical as an art form than would be suggested by Hollywood musicals like "Singing in the Rain". An obvious example of this theatricality would be the Lion King musical which utilises many stilt walkers and puppeteers.

Regarding the storyline, of course there will be dramatic adapdation. Anyone who expects to see all the events of a 1500 page novel in 3.5 hours is going to be sadly disappointed. I have already seen a stage production of LotR that was about 2 hours long and covered most of the dramatic structure of the books. Obviously it was hugely abridged, but the story was recognisably Lord of the Rings. I didn't much care for some of the visualisations but you don't expect to see a Film when you go to the theatre.

I'm really looking forward to this. In fact I'm seriously considering a trip to the Premiere. Any Canadians up for a moot in February?

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[quote="LhaewinWhat does it mean to cut the story down to three hours or so and to insert songs and dancing sequences?[/quote]

I'm guessing that nothing will be cut to make way for songs and dancing. If anything, those will be used to push the story forward instead of as a tangent. For example, perhaps the battle of the Pelennor Fields will be a dream ballet type of thing. Eowyn and Faramir might end up with a beautiful song instead of dialouge. I would be very suprised if they did anything that involved something along the lines of "Well, the scene is done. I think it's time for a song!" a la 42nd Street or Anything Goes.

I would go see this just for the aesthetics and staging, etc. After seeing the Lion King (which was probably the most visually spectular thing I've seen on stage bar none), I have high hopes for what this could be. Of course, it could be a disaster as well, but that's a risk with everything.

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Posted: Thu 31 Mar , 2005 1:56 pm
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Well, the following clip shows a hell of a lot of promise for the visuals. As I suspected the stiltwork is for the Ents at least. The Black Rider looks absolutely fabulous. I'm not sold on the music just yet, but I'll hold my fire until I hear more!

http://www.pulse24.com/In_The_Raw/Raw_V ... #stagelotr

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Thanks for finding that clip, I really like what I'm seeing. The Nazgul does indeed look excellent. I liked the description of how they'll involve the audience in the world being created.

It's too early to tell much about the music, but I'm pretty positive, especially about Rahman.

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Thanks for the info and links Alatar. I hope it will come to Paris. I'm eager to see a real actor playing Gollum and not a CGI creature. I think a 3h LOTR musical could work. You just need to choose wisely what to keep and what to cut. I hope they base their adaptation on the book and not on the film.


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Source:
http://jam.canoe.ca/Theatre/2005/04/09/989001.html
Quote:
TORONTO - Outside the Estonian House on Broadview Ave. yesterday, 2,000 wannabe hobbits, orcs and elves lined the parking lot and driveway, like the hordes of Sauron preparing to attack Gondor.

Okay, actually, they were more like a lot of high school and college kids who cut class for an American Idol-like lottery shot.

The prize: A role in the Lord Of The Rings musical that makes its world premiere in Toronto next March 23.

Inside, hobbit status was looking a lot more like a possibility for 32-year-old Brent Buchanan. The ex-funeral director from Carmen, Man., had just finished a guitar rendition of the Billy Bragg song The Passion, showcasing a pleasingly folky baritone for casting director Stephanie Gorin.

"Were you measured out in the hall?" Gorin asked.

"No," Buchanan replied.


"Well, how tall are you?"

"I'm 5-foot-4."

With that, Gorin broke into a smile and said, "We like that... Okay, Dylan's going to give you the sides to Pippin to learn, and we'll bring you back on Sunday."

A little later, reminded of the "we like that" comment on his height, Buchanan laughed and said, "I don't hear that very often."

Short men weren't the only items on the shopping list.

"We're looking for people who can play hobbits, who have great personalities, can sing and are under 5-foot-7," Gorin said. "They should be very physical because this is a very, very physical show.

"We're looking for a gorgeous-looking male," she said (adding, "Aren't we all?"), "who's maybe 5-9 or 5-10 with a beautiful voice, to play Legolas or Aragorn. And we're looking for Arwyn and Geladriel. And they, too, have to have beautiful voices. We're looking for nice, clear, clean voices without vibrato."

And yesterday morning, she was getting set to work through the night to find them. The 2,000 auditioneers completely dwarfed (hobbited?) the 450 who turned up in Vancouver recently on the same LOTR audition tour. (It hits Montreal next).

"This is the biggest turnout ever," Gorin said. "I worked Phantom open calls, Crazy For You, Rent, The Lion King. This is the biggest. I was hoping it would be just 1,000. It's an exhausting thought, but we have to get through everybody."

And the American Idol metaphor is accurate in some ways, in terms of the rejects.

"You always get people coming in who think they can do this and can't. I remember once a guy coming in with a wrench 'attached' to his pants, thinking it would make him sing higher. But people who come who aren't talented have the right to try like anyone else."

Making the odds even higher for most of the auditioners is the fact that Actors Equity members such as Buchanan get preference (and were sped through the lines). There were about 300 of them.

"Every production we've ever cast, we've found a few non-Equity people from open calls. You never know," Gorin said.

The odds didn't deter the crowds. Jordan Smith, Alysha Dupuis, Jasmine Tostolin and Oz Weaver cut class at London's H.B. Beal Secondary (and rehearsals for an amateur production of Children Of Eden) for the road trip, and were at the back of the line at 11 a.m. "I see myself in the chorus," Weaver said, with a laugh. "I can do Gollum's voice from the movie, but I'm guessing they want a new voice this time around."

Nick Kozij, 18, of Mississauga also aimed realistically. "I see myself as Soldier #6. I'd be thrilled to get that," he said.

Meanwhile, there is a second shot -- a "circus audition" in May for stilt walkers and acrobats to fly through the air in battle scenes. Argentina-born Guy Mansilla, 32 -- who's married to Shakespearean actress Florence MacGregor -- was killing the hours until his audition by juggling. He plans to hit both auditions.

"The truth is, I'm not a great fan of Lord Of The Rings," he said. "I love the symbolism and the wisdom, but I find it difficult to grasp the wisdom when they're killing 2,000 million people and animals in one scene. I'm not a fan of violence."

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Lhaewin
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Alatar, I did not find this clip. :help: :oops:

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Sorry Lhaewin. Looks like the link has expired.

I hope this one lasts longer.

http://mfile.akamai.com/10676/wmv/ondem ... otr220.asx

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Posted: Fri 13 May , 2005 10:42 am
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From TORN today....
Quote:
Just a little reminder to anyone who is interested in attending the world premwiere of the Lord of the Rings musical, the multi-million dollar stage presentation slated to open in February of 2006 in Toronto, running through June. On-line ticket sales begin this Sunday, May 12 at 9 AM Eastern Daylight Time, with phone sales and in-person box office sales following the next morning. (A London engagement is anticipated for Autumn 2006.)
From the website: Ticket Prices are from $78-$125 CDN

That works out at $62-$100 US or €49-€78

I'm thinking I'll probably wait for the UK Performance and maybe M77T?

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Posted: Fri 13 May , 2005 12:59 pm
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From Yahoo News

TORONTO (CP) - The quality of Canadian actors who have auditioned for parts in the upcoming Mirvish stage presentation of Lord of the Rings has been "gratifying," says British producer Kevin Wallace

Budgeted at a record $27 million, the ambitious theatrical extravaganza is scheduled to have its world premiere Feb. 2 at Toronto's Princess of Wales theatre, with rehearsals set to begin this October. Eventually, the production will be headed to London's West End.

"That text needs very fine actors," Wallace said in an interview about the adaptation of author J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved fantasy trilogy. "Canada's fine actors have been coming in and been auditioning for the piece. So to hear those words spoken by that calibre of actor - which is what they need - is very reassuring."

Since auditions began early last month, the casting director has seen some 4,000 hopefuls, including 350 who showed up at a casting call in Vancouver, between 500 and 600 in Montreal and 2,000 in Toronto. By next week, those numbers are expected to be whittled down to between 110 and 120 to be brought back in June. The final cast will total about 50.

Wallace was unable to say if any name actors have made the cut so far, or even applied, but he says that unlike the movies, they are not seeking a "star" to sell tickets, declaring that Lord of the Rings is the star.

"We're looking for the best actor for the role," he says. "We aren't holding it against anybody if they are a name but at the same time we're not looking for names."

One of the more unusual parts of the audition process has been the search for stiltwalkers, actors with both the stamina and a circus-like ability to perform on stilts, presumably to play some of the huge talking tree people, the Ents, or stylized versions of Tolkien's scary ringwraiths or black riders.

Tickets go on sale globally online only for 24 hours beginning at 9 a.m. EDT this Sunday (www.lotr.com) and beginning Monday morning will be available by phone or at the box office. Asked what sort of initial response they are expecting, Wallace was cautious, explaining that they are just at the beginning of an unprecedented year-long public relations campaign targeting all of Canada and the northern United States.

"All the way through until the 23rd of March when the world's press will come to the Princess of Wales and they will review it," he says. "And by then eight weeks of preview audiences will have been speaking in defining the show for the market as well."

Wallace says the campaign will emphasize that they have, indeed, found an ingenious and creative way of translating the Tolkien books - and not director Peter Jackson's highly successful film versions - to the stage.

And he has no concerns that they may have missed the tide of popularity created by Jackson's films because the power of Tolkien's story itself is eternal.

"Since the books were first published in 1955, they've captured the imaginations of generation after generation."

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Lhaewin
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Thank you for the information, Alatar and also for the link, which still works. :)

London 2006? Very tempting...

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