Canadians Are Lords of Musical Rings???
Date: 29 July 2005
On the subject of musical casting, British theatregoers may be disappointed not to see more UK heavy-hitters in the now announced line-up for the stage adaptation of
The Lord of the Rings. Earlier this year,
Alex Jennings and his former
My Fair Lady co-star
Malcolm Sinclair took part in a London-based workshop, playing wizard Gandalf and his nemesis Saruman (See
The Goss, 21 Mar 2005), the parts played by
Ian McKellen and Christopher Lee in Peter Jackson’s award-winning screen versions of JRR Tolkien’s trilogy. Those parts have now been taken by Canadians Brent Carver (who won a Tony Award for
Kiss of the Spider Woman) and Richard McMillan. Fair enough, given that the March 2006 world premiere will now take place in Toronto rather than London, due to a lack of an appropriate West End venue (See
News, 15 Mar 2005). Still, UK actors have managed to get a few feet in.
James Loye (whose London credits include
Sleeping Beauty, Cymbeline and
Twelfth Night) will play Frodo, the ring bearer and reluctant hero, while
Owen Sharpe (
Oliver, She Stoops to Conquer, A Laughing Matter) will play his hobbit mate Pippin. The creative team – director
Matthew Warchus, designer
Rob Howell and choreographer
Peter Darling – are also British as is producer
Kevin Wallace. Wallace has described the 55-strong company as a “hybrid”, featuring experienced classical actors as well as physical theatre performers and singers. The plan is to bring the musical to the West End after Canada.
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