They're bored of the Rings

Despite lavish scenery, beautiful costumes and amazing technical wizardry, The Lord of the Rings musical fell flat when it opened in Toronto last week.

The C$27 million ($38 million) stage production sought to rival the visual effects of Peter Jackson's movie trilogy and it did, aided by a revolving stage that rose and fell with the action.

But the nearly four-hour musical never tapped into the powerful themes of love and friendship that underpinned J.R.R. Tolkien's books and Jackson's movies. In the end, it was all spectacle and no heart.

Entering Toronto's Princess of Wales theatre, where the musical had its world premiere last Thursday, was a "wow!" moment.

A fairy forest of twisted branches and roots flowed from the stage into the orchestra and the box seats.

Hobbits, with hairy feet and pot bellies, scurried among the audience chasing special-effects fireflies. Audience members finding their seats cheered and clapped along as the hobbits danced.

But the charm of that moment turned to stiff bombast and missed opportunities as the musical got under way.

Director Matthew Warchus and the show's creators insisted they would not be bound by the conventions of musical theatre. But would it have killed them to include even one hummable song?

The score - an interesting-in-theory collaboration between celebrated Bollywood composer A.R. Rahman and the Finnish contemporary folk group Varttina - sounded like generic New Age music on steroids and was utterly forgettable.

The romantic sub-plot between the Elvish beauty Arwen (Carly Street, who had a lovely and powerful voice) and the heroic Strider (Evan Buliung, who shouted nearly all his lines) never delivered a spark.

The relationship of the ring-bearer Frodo (James Loye) and his loyal friend Sam (Peter Howe) showed promise but got little space to develop as the musical crammed in countless battle scenes.

A sweet, quiet song near the end, when Sam and Frodo ruefully imagined the tales that would be told about their epic journey, was touching but served only to highlight what was missing from the rest of the production.

In the musical, as in the movie, Gollum stole the show. Canadian actor Michael Therriault played the wretched, ring-obsessed creature with a cringing flexibility that rivalled any computer-generated creation.

The production did boast breath-taking moments: the wizard Gandalf's battle with the monster in the mines of Moria; the appearance of the giant tree-men ents; the ascension to the elves' tree-canopy haven.

Unfortunately, they did not add up to a compelling story.

The musical is scheduled to run until the end of June before opening in London. Tickets cost C$94-C$125, and some Toronto hotels are offering special Lord of the Rings packages.

Perhaps with some major changes the musical could fulfil the promise of the books and the movies, and become a feast for the soul as well as the eyes.