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Originally Posted by Huinesoron
Exciting! Do you know if they keep all the song lyrics the same?
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In the ones I've watched (2020 play, garden play, 2019 fanfic play) they kept all the lyrics except for one spot, I forget where though, where in a ballad to someone they switched the speaker and the one spoken to for one of the lines, I wasn't sure of the rationale, but it wasn't anything game-changing. The fanfic play has some unique songs, and I am pretty sure they quoted some of the free text directly from the source material. Oh, and the garden play ends with Melian eloping with Sauron (or possibly Morgoth?).
"Everyone dies 
... But the story doesn't end there!"
MELIAN:
In reality everything was different.
Thingol, my husband, was quite the blockhead.
I have long been bored of our Elvish forest.
I want to taste the wonders of the dark side!
?SAURON:
I have long been bored of the cursed Silmaril.
Life in the citadel of evil is dreary without feminine powers
I could have been enticed by Finrod - [censored for family friendly purposes]
But I would have delighted more in a woman's charms.
MELIAN:
Who is this fair man who stands before me?
Is he not destined to me by my fate?
I suddenly understood: I need only you!
I am ready to be yours, O Dark Lord!
SAURON:
Come to me, and we will live without a care in the world
I will [do some censored things]
BOTH:
Together we will finish this eternal war
We will join the forces of light and dark as one!
"And they lived long and happily ever after."
...Sauron here clearly has some unfulfilled erotic fantasies.
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Originally Posted by Hui
I've just been watching the 2020 stageplay, which is very pretty, but also very neatly gets rid of That Thingol Moment: it casts the Thingol-Melian duet as taking place during the meeting with Beren (Thingol threatens him with a sword!), and then cuts the duet off hard to segue straight into the Aria.
I'm now wishing desperately that it was possible to move the Quarrel to after the Duel, and have it cut off not by Thingol, but by Luthien. I don't think it's possible without rewriting Cel'n'Cur's opening lines, sadly - they're too obviously talking directly after Finrod leaves.
Also the shift might take the focus away from Team Finrod for two long, with three back-to-back Feanorian numbers. Ah, well.  |
Yeah, I don't think that's doable without a major re-write of the musical. If Thingol Steals The Mic is taken out completely, Melian needs a different opening for her Aria. If the Aria flows right after their first Duet, is that not too much Thingol-And-Melianing at once? It should be broken up a little. If the quarrel gets moved to a later point - it loses the "right after Finrod left" effect, and still leaves the Aria problem. The other alternative is to change the ending of Quarrel to resolve it in a way where Thingol Doesn't Steal The Mic. And then, somehow at some point, provide another opening for the Aria (theoretically it could go after Dream, but not ideal, because it would break up the sequence of love songs). I don't think it would work in a full musical set-up; I think it only works well for them because they did an abbreviated version.
EDIT: glancing briefly at some of the other stuff you've linked - some of these might be good for musical inspiration and reference. For instance, I overall like Showdown best of all in V2, but there are some with quite good acting, and the 2018 concert has a very musically clear Sauron who will be much easier to copy when the time comes.
Also, I've seen the 2006 outdoor performance before, and I recommend it for the goofs. It's meant for people who already know the play and will get the inside jokes. The actors are having fun with it. Also, it has V1 Finrod where we can see his acting in Truth - though musically I prefer the V1 recording, I am not a fan of the metal version and I think he sings better there.