[2 of 2 customers found this review helpful]
One of the worst stage shows ever
By J&A
from Baltimore, MD on 7/10/2006 Pros:
Nothing positive to say
Cons:
Amateurish, Hurried plot, Poorly Acted, Unappealing musical score, Unispired set design
This was the single worst theater-going experience we have ever endured. My wife and I are are big fans of the Peter Jackson film adaptations of the JRR Tolkien books. In many repsects, we feel the films add a depth of character that even the books lack.
This stage adaptation was a major step backward, and given how much we paid for the tickets, the poor quality of the show was all the more disappointing. In fact, we decided to walk out after the second act rather than endure another hour of nonsense.
Rarely does a show fail on so many levels
- extremely poor acting, which reflects a poorly conceived and written book. In particular, the performances by the actors playing Gandalf and Galadrial were especially bad.
- While the show comes in at just about 3.5 hours, the story seems rushed in an attempt to fit all the major plot points into a single sitting. The writters would have been better off taking the route of Nicholas Nickelby, by allowing for a longer overall performance but breaking it up into afternoon and evening segments. Forget leaving any time for character development or establishing chemistry among the players.
- The music was uninspiring - kind of like enya meets celtic chanting; often it overpowered the dialogue (not that much of the dialogue was worth listening to anyway)
- the costumes were average at best; and having the orcs jump around on the kind of extenders used by disabled athletes just made them look like demented Disney characters from the Lion King
- the staging was poor, with the battle scenes looking totally amateurish; don;t even get me started on the laughable Balrog set used during the flight through Moria.
My wife and I have been to outstanding theaterical performances throughout the world, including numerous productions in NYC and London, and I can say confidentially that the production of the Lord of the Rings at the Prince of Wales theater in Toronto was the worst.
