The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien is one of the beloved book trilogies in the history of literature. You know the story: a humble Hobbit is charged with taking a magical ring from Point A to Point B, which is a lot harder than it sounds. Thanks to director Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings has also become one of the most beloved movie trilogies. But what about the stage? Versions of the story have come to the stage before, but they never became as popular as the books or the movies. Perhaps The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale can change that.
Directed by Paul Hart with book and lyrics by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus, The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale debuted at the UK's Watermill Theater in Berkshire last summer, and an even iteration was staged at London's Royal Drury Lane in 2007; they've been working on this for a while. Now, the musical will debut in the U.S. at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater in Chicago, IL on July 19. It will run through September 1 before touring internationally, with dates to be announced in June, according to Deadline.
Chicago has a reputation as a city where stage people try out versions of plays and musicals before showing them off to wider audiences. “We loved creating this version which was retold from the perspective of the Hobbits at The Watermill and will now be expanded far beyond those horizons," Hard said. "It will be thrilling to share with new audiences internationally as part of this next stage.”
I live in Chicago and am definitely tempted to check this out. I like The Lord of the Rings and I like musicals. What could go wrong....right? Take a look at the trailer below:
The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale also features original music by A.R. Rahman, Finnish folk band Värttinä, and Christopher Nightingale.
Tolkien estate signs off on release of Lord of the Rings opera
As long as we're talking about Lord of the Rings musicals, TheOneRing.net reports that the Tolkien estate has signed off on the release of a Lord of the Rings opera written by Paul Corfield Godfrey and performed by the singers of the Volante Opera in Wales. There are 30 'chapters' in this opera designed to be performed over six evenings. We can expect a recording to come out in 2025. In the meantime, enjoy this preview:
Meanwhile, the second season of the Prime Video show The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is scheduled to premiere sometime later this year. It's all Middle-earth, all the time.
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