The road, it seems, does not go ever on: The large and unwieldy theatrical production of Lord of the Rings, budgeted somewhere in the neighborhood of a record $25 million, will go back into its hobbit hole on Sept. 3. Toronto will revert from geek pilgrimage to "New York City" backlot set for mid-range Hollywood films.
The producers blamed critics, as usual. They had a point this time. The New York Times‘ Ben Brantley did more damage to the young hobbits than Sauron ever could. Brit critics were kinder, and that’s one reason why the show will reappear (in shortened form) on May 9, 2007 at Drury Lane in London, and thence (producers hope) to Germany, where it will undoubtedly compete head-to-head with another Wagnerian saga, The David Hasselhoff Musical.
It’s not a bad backup plan actually: They’ve gotten an excoriating but not fatal dry run, a luxury most shows don’t enjoy. And the losses sting, but London (with its seeming tolerance for bloat) will probably love the show — which is, I’ll admit, overlong and underclear, and more ceremonial than dramatic. It’s also fantastically art-directed, but even the most inventive theatrical design concepts are a tough sell in Hour 3, when your eyes are rolling back, the tunes all sound like the waiting-room music at your yoga studio, and you can’t tell an orc from a handsaw anymore.
But with another few months and another few million, there’s always room for improvement.
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Okay, Nemoy is officially more tragic than Pickle Girl on Maury and Brit’s Demi Moore ripoff.
Yet, there’s an ounce of pleasure in it somewhere…
I think the critics have actually been overly KIND to this show. I’m a huge LOTR fan and I enjoy musical theater. This show was B-A-D from start to finish. Bad casting, bad acting, boring songs, not great singers, shody editing… the list goes on. Where they spent $30M is beyond me. Well, I guess the stage looked good. That’s about all the positive I can muster. So don’t blame the critics folks, look in the mirror. You have nobody to blame but yourselves. Next time hire people with talent.
Oh Scott Brown, you’ve behaved so well in the last little while and then you got your hate on for Toronto again. Silly Rabbit!
I think, sadly, that you have an inferiority complex. Yes we know that New York has nothing like the Toronto International Film Festival, and we know that New York, while a sprawling metropolis will never be quite as clean as Toronto. But Scotty, what’s your beef? “New York back lot?” Those are words that hurt man. Especially considering nine times out of ten TV shows that take place in New York are shot in L.A. on an actual back lot. Listen man, let’s not fight. I graciously accept your apology.
Dude, have you even been to Toronto? Yes, we have low production costs and much friendlier people, hence the desire to film in the city. It is, in addition, an amazing place that hosts one of the top film festivals in the world, has wonderful fine arts and cultural offerings (The Canadian Opera Company, Ballet Canada, the Toronto Symphony)and a wide variety of festivals and entertainment options year round. Maybe you should leave the confines of your “bubble” (be it NYC or LA) and explore the wider world outside America before you make snide remarks about other world class cities. Remarks such as the one you made (re: backlot set) give readers the general impression that film critics and entertainment magazine writers are ostentatious, malicious and arrogant (as discussed in a recent review for the Devil Wears Prada)
Um, Toronto theatre has this long history of horrible, lavish musicals – Napoleon anyone? – that tank and then hide the lameness of it all by blaming the critics. And what’s with the whole Toronto doesn’t suffer from a major New York inferiority complex, that it is somehow culturally more than a New York back lot? It’s like the only city in the world I know of where “New York style” is used to describe bars, restaurants, condos, etc to lure the empty-headed hipster doffuses that call Toronto home to make the “scene.”
I am a VERY PROUD CANADIAN. I love my country. But comparing Toronto to NYC is a joke. NYC kiss a** anytime.
I’m sure as a proud Canadian you meant NYC kicks ass, right? “Kiss ass” is slightly different, you know, in like meaning and all.
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