Front Row Centre Theatre Review: THE LORD OF THE RINGS
By: Mark Andrew Lawrence Mar. 27, 2006
Theatre Review: THE LORD OF THE RINGS
By Mark Andrew Lawrence, frontrowcentre@rogers.com
The theatre should be a magical place, and these days there is no place more magical than the interior of Toronto's Princess of Wales theatre, which has been transformed into middle earth for Matthew Warchus' staging of THE LORD OF THE RINGS.
From the moment you walk in and observe the cast chasing fireflies and enjoying free-spirited folk dances, you are transported to a land long ago and far away. Visually, the production is unlike any stage show that has come before it. Rob Howell's set design is a technological marvel that takes us from place to place seamlessly. Aided by Paul Kieve's illusions and magic effects what happens on stage is a feast for the eyes.
Unfortunately there is a good deal less to stimulate the mind or engage the heart. Middle earth envelops us but at the same time keeps us at a distance. There is a wonderfully simple and touching duet for Frodo and Sam midway through Act Two, but it's one of the rare times in the show that our emotions are engaged.
This brings up another problem. Although the show is loaded with music it is not a musical. Half-dozen songs are used as set dressing but do not develop the story or characters. There is a travelling song, a lively tavern dance number, and a couple of bland pop-anthem ballads. Like a lot of movie music underscoring it is effective in heightening the dramatic moments though all too often it overpowers the action and the music doesn't stay with you. You do not come away thinking of this production in musical terms.
What it wants to be, actually, is a grand opera. The story is so rich that it could in fact benefit greatly by a full operatic treatment. As it stands now with the near continues underscoring and the off-stage chorus of voices (in one key battle scene sounding suspiciously like Orff's "Carmina Burana") it is an opera without singing.
The epic nature of the piece brings out one special effect after another. It really is a case of sensory overload, and somehow lost in the mix is Frodo's coming-of-age story. The show hops from event to event in a breathless recap of the highlights of the book, but there is not enough space to breathe. The program included a lengthy and detailed synopsis, which anyone unfamiliar with the books will need to fully understand what is happening. While you want to sit back and take in the visual splendour, there are only a couple of moments that make you want to lean forward and zero in on the performers.
By placing everything visually right in front our eyes, we are never asked to use our imaginations. Do producers no longer trust audiences to fill in the details?
Do they also think that audiences are deaf? Simon Baker's sound design is high decibel bombast, blasting the viewers out of their seats. Like so much else about the production there seems little room for subtlety.
This carries over to the performances. The scene-stealer here s Michael Therriault as Gollum, slithering across the stage in what appears to be cast-offs of the invisible man's bandages. It's not subtle, but it is effective.
As Frodo Baggins, James Loye seems so busy leapfrogging from adventure to adventure that his innocence really only comes into play in a few smaller scenes. James Howe as his friend Sam is given fewer opportunities to shine but fortunately when those rare opportunities emerge he makes the most them.
Evan Buliung as Strider, the ranger is properly commanding and Richard McMillan does another of his scene-stealing turns as the wizard Saruman.
Playing Gandalf, Brent Carver tries to add variety to the proceedings by not declaiming every single line, but unfortunately with so many of the others pitching their performances as such a high level, it has the effect of making some of Carver's scenes underplayed. In fact most of the characters speak in pronouncements instead of just talking to each other.
Director Matthew Warchus has done a fantastic job directing traffic as the cast navigates Rob Howell's revolving multi-level set. Everyone involved has laboured to create a mysterious, enchanting, sometimes frightening world inside the theatre. At the end, we see it was all one big magical stunt, leaving the viewer wondering, "How did they do that?"
THE LORD OF THE RINGS is currently on sale through June 26th at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre, 300 King St. West, Toronto. Prices are as follows:
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