New Musical - Search for Frodo
 

Look here for news from the BBC today.

Personally, I love Lord of the Rings, and I love musicals, but I really don't see how they can mix. I think it will be extrememly difficult to stage effectively, and I'm not sure who they intend to appeal to. Would most Lord of the Rings fans be interested in a musical? And would most musical fans be interested in Lord of the Rings? I remain sceptical for now. What do the rest of you think?

Im not really a musical fan but it sounds intersting. Well most anything to do with lotr catches my attention. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] But I would want to go see it. I have to admit seeing the characters singing would be a little...humorous.

Im just wondering how they will do this..on one stage but Im not really knowledgeable in the musicals and play department so it could be quite easy! It was hard to make it a movie I just think of how hard it would be to transform it into a musical!

[ May 28, 2003: Message edited by: Talon Stormcrow ]

I would go to laugh.

Please, NO!

I really wonder how a musical will do justice to Tolkien. A musical is traditionally almost always light-hearted, and LotR is very deep and serious in most parts of the book. Also, most of the songs would be hard to do justice to in a musical's atmosphere, except for maybe the Hobbit songs and Tom Bombadil's. Maybe I'm a bit too pessimistic about it, and maybe these people aren't trying to capitalise on a recent 'craze' that has swept the world. Oh well, I suppose I'll wait and see. [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]
Peace

I can not claim to be a fan of musicals. I saw Cats and hated it, but I saw Chicago (the film version, and loved it but that is because I am an amature Jazz fan.
So I am not sure about LOTR musical. I am still having a hard time trying to picture what the musical would be like.

What type of music? Dancing? Etc...
The music and dancing will have to be unlike anything that anyone has ever experienced before, except for in the movie?

LOTR and a musical... [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img]!! Is that posible.. ok maybe we are all just over reacting, it will be good it has to be good! It just doesn't seem posible.. like you guys said it is a deep story that a musical just would not go well... a musical is for fun romantic movies/books not for LOTR!!!

That link was good for a laugh.

I'm sorry to all of you die hard musical fans out there, but I can't get the image of Gimli in some flambouyantly obsurd outfit singing out of my head.

"This will be like nothing the West End has ever seen before," said producer Kevin Wallace.
>And I'm not so sure that it's like anything the west will ever want too see!

But then again maybe I'm being too harsh. the Lay of Leithian would be pretty good on stage if done right. (Aragorn reciting it, that is. But then again that happens in the movies, not the books... but maybe they'd put it into the play? But enough of the asides... too amny in one post make me look crazy...)

Haha [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] Scot you are funny! But it is true I dont want to even see it, I might just die of a heart atack!! [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

I'm not too concerned that the musical format will be too light for LotR (Les Mis and Miss Saigon both have pretty hefty, dramatic storylines, and tear-jerker endings which have worked extremely successfully.) However, I wonder how they will manage the effect of the different races. Will they get children to play hobbits? (please, no!) Or use some high-tech special effects/props à la The Lion King? And who could take a Balrog-Gandalf duet seriously?

**giggles**

Gimli in tights! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

He he, sounds funny. Although my faith in theatre versions of anything regarding Tolkien was dashed when I saw The Hobbit on stage. After a glittery paper mache Smaug, you learn not to expect wonders from them.

Hmm. I read about this in the paper this morning and nearly let out a howl of horror on the tube. [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img]

Quite apart from all the valid observations made above about how to go about staging a story with Hobbits, Balrogs, Giant Spiders and the like, how on earth are they going to fit it all into 3 hours? The films are going to be about 9 hours in total (10-11 hours if you take the extended editions), and look at all the flak Jackson has taken.

I just can't see it myself, although I s'pose I should reserve judgement ... [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

I read this in the Sun and thought it was just them talking rubbish...
Please no! Please no! For the love of all that is good and righteous!

(By the way, Saucepan Man were you reading the Sun? I wouldn't have had you down for that sort of person. Maybe it was in all the papers, I wouldn't know. My Dad only gets The Rubbish With Richard Littlejohn In It.)

I think the only way that they could get the adaption within workable theatre constraints would be to do something like PJ originally proposed to do with the movies (where there would have been two of them each about 1.5-2 hours long), or to make it like the cartoon version's adaptation of the story. Either way, no thanks.

[img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] [img]smilies/mad.gif[/img] [img]smilies/mad.gif[/img] [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img]

In other words, certainly not! [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

I read this in the local paper this morning and horrible, inappropriate songs started running through my head:

(Sung to the tune of Little Bunny FooFoo)
We are the Nazgul
Riding through the forest
Looking for the Baggins
And the silly ring!

I love LotR and musicals but have very grave misgivings about this!

This idea is very... interesting.

???

Personally, I always like the more depressing ones... (Les Miz, The Phantom, etc.)

So... I just skimmed through the article and probably missed it, but who is writing it?

Never mind. I found it.

[ May 30, 2003: Message edited by: Eressië Ailin ]

I was thinking about this play yeterday and I still dont know how they will pull this off.. [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] ??? It just doesn't make sense..

Thank goodness. Just that!

And to not waste bandwidth- where do you think they'll fit in the songs? I can imagine an Arwen/Aragorn song and Eowyn singing of her unrequited love but they surely aren't going to interrupt battle scenes? And some bits, like Sam thinking Frodo's dead would just be TOO soppy.

The hilllls are allllive with the sound of NAZZZGULLLL

It would be a terrible thing, if it happens the way I'm picturing it in my mind. How will they cast hobbits and a dwarf? And the battle scenes.... I think if they had to make a Tolkien musical, it should be The Hobbit. Then they could have 14 normal height guys (like 5'6") and a few taller guys for Gandalf and the Elves and stuff.

The Hobbit might be a little bit better but could you imagine Smaug singing and destroying Laketown? That would be quite odd...yet amusing! hehehe [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Well, someone on a website I used to use for my writing (fanfiction.net) is writing a piece called Lullabies of Broadway, which is basically Lord of the Rings characters on stage doing songs from musicals and it all generally falling apart and being very funny.

It sounds a good idea, but it'll be complicated, expensive, and either really long or with half the good bits cut out. Saying that though, if anyone working on it is reading this, I'll volunteer to write a couple of songs for it.

Just a couple of days ago my band teacher pulled my friend out of class to talk to her. We were both worried that she was introuble. When she came back, she whispered to me "There making a Lord of the Rings musical!" I squeeled really loud and everyone stopped playing and laughed. It was funny.

I think it would be great to have a LotR musical. I would diffinatly see. I also think music people would enjoy doing lord of the rings.

I couldnt play my instrument for laughing at gimli in tights. sorry, but i just could not do it.

My mom told me about it yesterday, and all I could think of was Gandalf singing, which I simply don't approve of.

More articles!

Here, and here!

Hehe. Having been rather disparaging of the Sun earlier, I have to take my hat off to them for their suggested song titles.

[img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

May the Valar protect us from this fowl creation of many Dark Lords!
And this is coming from someone with a degree in musical theatre... there are some boundries that should not be crossed, and making a musical of LOTR is one of them.

When I first saw the short news article I was hoping it was just alot of talk and probably wouldn't get off the ground. However I showed my husband (who plays in the pit for Phantom and La Boheme on Broadway) the latest article posted by Arwen and he said they certainly had enough details worked out to sound pretty serious.

We both think that although there are many serious works that have made great musicals, LotR is just too hard to stage.

Yes.......It really is hard to imagine a singing Frodo or .... an singing eye of Sauron? Why do I have the feeling that it just does not go together .
Well atleast thank heaven they are not making a operah . Now that would be a catastrophe.... [img]smilies/cool.gif[/img]

I found this thread, hoping that the musical rumor was not true. But, to my woe, it seems to be happening. My reaction: What?!?! An LOTR musical!?!?! [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] That's just wrong!!!! [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] As several of you have already said, there are some lines which just should not be crossed, and this is one of them.

As an aside, I think that an LOTR opera would actually be kind of cool, if well done. In my experience, operas often achieve deeper range of emotion and (sometimes) more serious stories. Plus, hearing the Fellowship singing in French or Italian would be funny, but a lot more interesting than a musical (in my opinion). I mean, really, singing orcs?!?! [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] [img]smilies/evil.gif[/img] [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img]
Was the Sun serious about Hugh Jackman as Aragorn? Because that seems pretty weird! [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img]

Ok so maybe if a really well-done job than it's fine with me . But how would you react to a ballet "Lord Of The Rings" ? Try imagining the fellowship in tights [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] Now that is what I call an unagreeable thought no matter is made in a really good way or is it the last piece of s*it .
But another thought ran through my mind : how will they make the hobbits in the musicle be as small as they are supposed to be ? Maybe they will hire some pigmys or what? [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]
And just think about singing cave trolls...... [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

UGH! UGH! YUCKYUCKYUCK! I love theater, I love it to death, and I love LotR but that's territory I don't think she even be mentioned. That's more like one of those dark New Age paintings, better left at the back of somebody's mind to fester. Ugh.....

I agree with Luthien_ Tinuviel. If well done, an opera would be more capable of expressing the meaning and depth of the books, but a musical? Musical's are for Broadway! That sounds more like spoof ammo to me. I'm almost absolutely positive Tolkien is turning in his grave at the mere notion of something like that. (And I'm sure it's not to the music from Rent either!)

An ill-conceived idea, at best. It is rather akin to trying to turn the Iliad and the Odyssey into a television series. [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

Does anybody want to hear Gandalf or Gollum sing... or Sauron for that matter? ::shudders::