The Lord of the Rings Musical

[JewelSong]

Well, I saw today's matinee's performance! And now, after a lovely dinner with conniemarie (who used to post in Frodo's Kitchen on TORC) and some Toronto friends I am ready to write my first impressions.

I hugely enjoyed the production! However, it is very much still a "work in progress" and this was evident. I would love to see it again in 6 months, when they've all all the kinks worked out and the pacing tightened up. Because the potential is enormous!

Best things:
The music was awesome! Very different from any "typical" musical - by turns Celtic, folk, Eastern, classical...no one genre seems to fit. I can't wait for the CD.
The hobbits. The musical starts with hobbits on stage - before the show formally begins, the hobbits are congregating on the stage, socializing and catching fireflies and just being simple Shire-folk. It gives us a glimpse of the Shire and why it deserves to be saved. More and more hobbits gradually come on stage and suddenly, they are dancing a rustic dance and we are in Middle Earth.
Sam and Frodo nailed it. Great chemistry between the characters; wonderful little character moments and a sweet little song about "stories and tales...now and for always" that made me cry.
The Nazgûl. I can't adequately describe how they did them - but it was very effective and a bit scary. And Frodo had his scene at the Ford.
Arwen and Aragorn...not as much Arwen as the movie, but still more than the book. And they explained about the choice she must make if she married Aragorn.
The Elves. Portrayed as "Other" - alluring but also dangerous - alien and magical. Galadriel made it very clear why the destruction of the Ring was doom for the Elves. The Lothlórien scene was beautiful and sad.
The Council of Elrond - well done! Lots of "book moments" and Gimli and Legolas played off each other well.
All the large "group" numbers - the scene in Bree rocked and the company was in good voice.

Worst.
Gandalf. Apparently, the actor playing Gandalf (Brent Carver) is some big name up here in Toronto. Terribly mis-cast and very poor performance. Much of the time, it seemed like he didn't know his lines and was unsure of where he was supposed to be or what he was doing. It wasn't a question of my not liking his interpretation of the character - there was no interpretation! He didn't seem to have any affinity for the character at all and some of his scenes were painful to watch...especially when the other principles were so well-cast and so obviously "into" their characters. I feel that his continued presence could be a real detriment to the success of the production.
The pacing. Much of the third act seem jumbled and "off." It needs work; perhaps even a complete re-write. And sometimes, I felt like scenes had been thrown together for the sake of having them there - for instance, it was nice to have Éowyn, but she had no dialogue during her scene with the Witch King and so it was unclear what she was doing. Better to cut the scene entirely than to have it so disjointed.
The stage. The stage is an incredibly complex piece of machinery - it revolves, goes up and down, breaks into sections and does all sorts of magical tricks. It also stops working in the middle of the battle of Helm's Deep! This apparently is an on-going issue.
The ending. The ending was weak. There was a wonderful song sung at the end of the first act which had lines about "the weary travelers coming home." It was reprised a couple of times and I was sure they'd bring it back at the end - it would have been perfect. But there was no musical number at the end at all. I don't think a big "Broadway" ending would work - but they need to do something!

I think that this could be a spectacular, fantastic show. It's not there yet. It needs some serious tightening up, a bit of re-writing and perhaps some casting changes before it will work. But the structure is there...it is very close. I hope the directors use the next 4 or 5 weeks to do what needs to be done.

I'll be happy to answer any specific questions and I'd love to hear what others thought of it!

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Thanks for the review, Jewel. I don't really have any specific questions, but its nice to get the impression of someone who I know (and like ). That's a real shame about the guy playing Gandalf!

[Alatar]

Thanks Jewel, I have loads of questions of course, but I don't want to completely spoil myself! Did you actually see the Battle of Helms Deep or did they has to skip it due to tech problems like they did on opening night. If you did, how does it work? Likewise with the final battle. How do the battles come across? What about the Balrog, and Shelob? How does Aragorn drive away the Nazgûl at Weathertop/Bree?

What did I say about not spoiling for myself?

[Pearly Di]

OK, so I've already squee'd about this on your Live Journal, Jewel, but I'm gonna say it again:

Frodo has his scene at the Ford!!!!!

That alone would make me want to go and see this.

I think.

I love the sound of the good bits. Frodo/Sam chemistry always makes me melt into a puddle of goo. I like the sound of how they've handled Arwen too.

Let's hope they get a different Gandalf if I ever think of seeing this. We gotta have ourselves a good Ganders!

(Anybody ever heard the 1968 BBC radio dramatisation of The Hobbit, btw? I really like that production, actually, but the guy who voiced Gandalf ... ... dear Eru! )

Definitely interested in buying the music CD, at any rate.

PS. Voronwë, your sig pic by Anke Eissmann is one of her loveliest and most heartbreaking pictures. I find that incident perhaps the saddest moment in the whole of LOTR. Oh, and that is the Book Frodo of my imagination, right there. She is such a talented painter of Tolkien.

[JewelSong]

Did you actually see the Battle of Helms Deep or did they has to skip it due to tech problems like they did on opening night. If you did, how does it work? Likewise with the final battle. How do the battles come across? What about the Balrog, and Shelob? How does Aragorn drive away the Nazgûl at Weathertop/Bree?

They had to skip the battle of Helms Deep, which was too bad, because from the bits we saw, it looked like it was gonna be awesome! Lots of acrobatics and staging movement (which is why the stage stopped working, I guess!)

The final battle was very confusing and disjointed and is something I think they need to tighten up and re-write!

The MUSIC during the battles was incredible.

Shelob is very cool - she takes up the entire stage and is done with a kind of puppetry reminiscent of the Lion King. Scary.

The Balrog scene was marred by Gandal's poor performance...but the lighting effects are pretty awesome and the balrog actually appears - he's some kind of puppet-thing, too...and pieces of him got blown around the stage. That ends the first act and then you hear the vacuums sucking the bits of him up (like "Balrog-Busters!)

They have blended Bree into Weathertop, which actually works - Frodo puts the Ring on in Bree and suddenly the scene fades away and we "see" what Frodo sees - we see the Nazgûl and Frodo being stabbed. (When he wakes he says, "Where is the Pale King!") At this point Aragorn (Strider) and the other hobbits run up and Aragorn tells them who he is...they then proceed to Rivendell.

Oh, and Pearl? In the scene where Frodo and Sam sing together? Sam falls asleep first and Frodo sings Sam a verse about, "Sing me a story 'bout Sam the Stouthearted - loyal companion and comrade true - who won't let me fall - holding my life in his hands." And then he reaches out and strokes Sam's cheek and then he lies down with his head in Sam's lap. I was an absolute, bawling puddle (and so was Connie!)

[Pearly Di]

Oh, and Pearl? In the scene where Frodo and Sam sing together? Sam falls asleep first and Frodo sings Sam a verse about, "Sing me a story 'bout Sam the Stouthearted - loyal companion and comrade true - who won't let me fall - holding my life in his hands." And then he reaches out and strokes Sam's cheek and then he lies down with his head in Sam's lap. I was an absolute, bawling puddle (and so was Connie!)

Oh maaaaaaaaaaaaaan!

Oh precious, we'd LOVE to see that!



PS. Sounds to me like they have distilled and adapted the story in a very clever - and faithful to the spirit of the book - way.

PPS. Balrog-Busters!

[sauronsfinger]

from todays Detroit Free Press on some of the changes

Frodo prepares for stage premiere
Toronto 'Rings' is in previews now


Hotel-show packages

About 60 Toronto hotels are offering hotel-show packages for "The Lord of the Rings." Each package includes one night's stay with breakfast, a premium ticket to the show and discount offers. All prices are in Canadian dollars. Rates vary, but start at $165 to $319 per person (about $142-$274 U.S.). Book through Tourism Toronto at 800-499-2514 or www.torontotourism.com/LOTR.

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It's addition-by-subtraction time in Toronto as the mammoth musical theater version of "The Lord of the Rings" works on problems that caused the planned 3 1/2-hour show to run nearly five hours in its first preview.

That's what previews are for, and playgoers who have seen early performances are reporting back favorably.

"There's an absolutely fantastic 3 1/2 -hour show in there somewhere," says Derrick Chua, 39, a Toronto attorney who attended the very first preview, Feb. 4, at the Princess of Wales Theatre. Chua had no illusions that he'd be seeing a finished product.

"I knew full well there was going to be some stuff that you would never ever see again," says Chua, who intends to see the show again after its official world premiere March 23.

The $27-million (Canadian) production is believed to be the most expensive stage show in North American history and will run exclusively in Toronto (a 4 1/2 -hour drive from Detroit) before there is a second production, possibly in London sometime in 2007.

As of last weekend, with many technical glitches fixed, the show had slimmed down considerably, "making it a 3-hour, 55-minute experience at the moment," producer Kevin Wallace said Tuesday.

"One of the principal focuses is on tightening the story," Wallace says. "It's a filleting process." Somebody who has seen an early preview and returns after the show opens "won't be able to say, 'Look, they've taken a scene away.' "

Filleting is subtler. "If a song is landing after two verses and a chorus, why sing the third verse?" Wallace asks rhetorically.

"The actual stage time needs 17 minutes out of it," Wallace says, and the two intermissions need to be shorter.

The first filleting, six minutes' worth, will show up in Friday's preview performance. Two weeks later, March 2, "We'll be at our playing time," Wallace says. "Then we'll see how much time applause puts back in."

Verbal and Internet applause has been deafening. "Overall, I think it's going to be a spectacular show," says Chua. From the moment you enter the auditorium, "It's pretty stunning; it looks like the woods are coming off the stage and into the theater."

"It was wonderful. I loved it," a person using the Nóm de net Topaz writes on TheOneRing.net (www.theonering.net), a Web site "forged by and for fans of J.R.R. Tolkien." Topaz, who attended the show with his or her two daughters, writes, "It was different from the beloved films. In some ways it was closer to the beloved books. ...

"It was done with imagination, creativity, professionalism, flair, beauty, and most of all, love."

By the way, Wallace swears that neither he nor anyone associated with the production is posting comments on Web sites.

Vincent, another contributor to TheOneRing.net, characterized the show as "incredible and memorable and sure to become a classic indeed. ... It was unlike really watching Middle Earth, it was like being there."

If you're not familiar with Middle Earth, know that it's where "The Lord of the Rings" takes place.

Chua, who describes himself as both an avid playgoer and a big Tolkien fan, says his knowledge of Tolkien's trilogy and the three recent "Lord of the Rings" movies places him at an advantage, at least as the show currently stands. "I think that's the biggest thing right now. If you don't know that stuff, you might get lost."

There's a point, Chua says, where Frodo, the hero, puts on the all-powerful ring and becomes invisible to everyone except an enemy Black Rider. That isn't clear, he says, unless you already know what's going on.

Wallace is already on the case. "We've identified three points where the orchestration is competing with a significant line. One is where Frodo finds the ring has slipped onto his finger and he is invisible. But the Black Rider can see him."

As musical director Christopher Nightingale told Wallace, "he has to dig a hole in the orchestration so a line can be heard."

With a $15 million-dollar advance sale and playgoers expected from all over the world (including slightly less than 25 percent from the United States), there's a wide-ranging audience to reach.

"We ultimately," Wallace says, "have to satisfy people who love the films, people who love the books and people who love the theater and want to have an epic experience."

[MaidenOfTheShieldarm]

Jewel, all I have to say is SO. JEALOUS. <Metaphorically, I am that colour.

Too bad about Gandalf. You'd think they'd have better casting for that role.

The stage alone sounds amazing! They've got a revolving stage in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Last Five Years (which I only saw on video) and even that was pretty awesome, so . . . wow. And even if the stage does break, to see Helm's Deep on stage!

I wonder if they'll make changes at all like they do with out of town runs of Broadway shows. I know Toronto isn't really an out of town tryout, but when (if?) it comes to Broadway it would be interesting to see if they changed anything (e.g., pacing, the ending etc.). (Edit: read SF's article, so that answers that.)

(This is bringing out the two geekiest parts of me and it is not pretty.)

I need to see this show.

Also, broadwayworld.com has an interview with the woman playing Galadriel here. More about her than about LOTR, but there it is anyway.

[MithLuin]

More news articles, since it officially opens tonight or tomorrow or something:

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Conten ... 7643938417

Not necessarily new news.... but pictures! In costume! Very exciting...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... Id=5285362

http://www.calendarlive.com/stage/cl-ca ... 8396.story?

I found all these on AlleyCatScratch's list... someone from there drew preliminary sketches of some of the costumes (dresses, mostly):

http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/LO ... sage/55192

[Rowanberry]

This morning, there was a flash of the musical in the news, most probably because of Värttinä's music.

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

So Bombadil gets cut out once again, eh? Well, that settles it! I'm going to create my own...

ONE MAN BOMBADIL SHOW!


Seriously, that's a shame that Gandalf is so poorly cast. That tells you something about show business, which is, very often someone with a recognizable name is cast over someone more deserving of the part.

I believe Quenya was based on Finnish.

That's my understanding, too, at least phonetically. Sindarin is based on Welsh.

I was disappointed that the style of the singing is the very typical musical theater singing style as, besides not sounding any different than every other musical (to my ears, at least), that style of singing grates on me a bit.

I dislike that style of singing, too. It tends to be very nasal, and there are so many performers who sing that way! (Where's the emote with the smiley face plugging its ears?) For example, Kristin Chenoweth is a very popular performer in musicals, but I don't care for her singing.

[MithLuin]

I'd watch your One Man Bombadil show!

No, seriously, if anyone ever makes LotR into a TV series, it should def. include Bombadil. I think he would work best as an 'episode' - he is hard to work into the whole, because he stands alone, really. But that is no excuse to forget about him!

But I would dread seeing him on stage, in a movie, etc - because the chances of anyone 'getting him right' are slim. That's why I'm more enthusiastic about watching your interpretation of him - I know you understand who he is.

And I've heard there is a reference to him in the Musical, which is something (however pitiful and small the gesture may be).

[MaidenOfTheShieldarm]

There was an review in the New York Times yesterdays, which you can (for the moment) find here.

I haven't read it yet so there could be spoilers, but there are neat photos!

TORONTO — An hour or so into what feels like eons of stage time, one wise, scared little hobbit manages to express the feelings of multitudes. "This place is too dim and tree-ish for me," mutters a round-ish, twee-ish creature named Pippin, groping through a shadowy forest in the second act of the very expensive, largely incomprehensible musical version of "The Lord of the Rings," which opened Thursday at the Princess of Wales Theater here.


Forum: Theater
You speak not the half of it, O cherub-cheeked lad of Middle Earth. The production in which you exist so perilously is indeed a murky, labyrinthine wood from which no one emerges with head unmuddled, eyes unblurred or eardrums unrattled. Everyone and everything winds up lost in this $25 million adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's cult-inspiring trilogy of fantasy novels. That includes plot, character and the patience of most ordinary theatergoers.

Presumably, there is a contingent out there that will regard this curiously homespun-feeling behemoth as a sort of sacred ritual. Indeed, perhaps the sanest approach to this production, adapted from Tolkien's books by an international team of artists led by the British director Matthew Warchus, is to look upon it as an arcane religious pageant that can be fully appreciated only by the initiated. That would be those familiar enough with the source material (preferably to the point of being fluent in Elvish) to understand the totemic significance of the amorphous shapes that pass through an eternal, vision-taxing twilight, murmuring dialogue that, when intelligible, brings to mind vintage "Prince Valiant" comic strips.

Let me hasten to add that I was not a Tolkien virgin when I walked into the Princess of Wales Theater. I read the "Ring" trilogy (and its delightful predecessor, "The Hobbit") at least twice when I was a child. And I sat as happily as a little boy at a PlayStation through the more than nine hours of Peter Jackson's three-part movie version. Had I not, I would not have begun to have made sense of many of this production's aspiring edge-of-the-seat moments, including the final climax in which the pesky ring that causes so much trouble is destroyed. (Please don't write to say I've spoiled the show for you; believe me, I'm doing you a favor.)

The woman who accompanied me to the show had no prior acquaintance with the world of Tolkien, and she gave up on trying to make sense of the story early in the first of the show's three acts. As a fashion editor, she was able to derive some pleasure from discovering parallels between the costumes and current style trends. If you lack such resources to draw upon, you may find this "Lord of the Rings" is less like a spectacular fashion show than a seriously long (more than three and a half hours) drill team competition for high schools devoted to the nurturing of geeks, goths and hippies manqué who are really annoyed that they were born too late for Woodstock.

In following the adventures of the hobbit Frodo Baggins (James Loye) in his quest to save the ancient world of Middle Earth from the forces of darkness, this "Lord of the Rings" makes extensive use of a 40-ton stage (featuring 17 elevators) that revolves and rises, more than 500 often cumbersome costumes (Rob Howell designed them and the sets) and vast projected images that bring to mind much-magnified biology class slides. The program credits give prominent place to moving-image direction (the Gray Circle), illusions and magic effects (Paul Kieve), special-effects design (Gregory Meeh) and a "Tolkien creative consultant" (Laurie Battle).

Yet for all the technology, the show's look is often reminiscent of an arts and crafts fair. Its dominant images include a giant, twiggish wreath that is occasionally lowered to frame exposition sequences (there are lots of those); some striking, if ambiguous, Julie Taymor-ish puppetlike assemblages; sky-scraping stilt walkers; levitating fairies; and myriad long poles carried by cast members, meant to signify everything from trees (natch) to processional majesty.

The show's mantra could be, "Speak softly and carry a big stick." A lot of the book and lyrics (by Shaun McKenna and Mr. Warchus) are sacrificed to the distortions of electronic amplification and booming background music. The dialogue that can be heard often sounds as if it comes from a Hollywood medieval sword-banger of 50 or 60 years ago. ("How often we sang together before you left my father's house." Or: "You are wise to ask, Frodo son of Drogo." Or: "Then there is a lady in the golden wood, as old tales tell.")

As for the songs — well, do not be so foolish, mortals, as to think they are mere show tunes. Created by the polyglot team of A. R. Rahman (of "Bombay Dreams" and Bollywood), Varttina (a Finnish folk group) and Christopher Nightingale, the musical numbers are often solemn, incantatory affairs, suggesting Enya at an ashram. Many of them are performed at least partly in Elvish. (If you think that means a lisping Presley imitator, this is definitely not the show for you.) Others recall the folky parody tunes from the spoof documentary "A Mighty Wind."

The choreography is by Peter Darling, whose work for the London hit "Billy Elliot: The Musical" is breathtaking, but who here seems stymied by the sheer size of his ensemble. There is a protracted Morris dance-style sequence in a quaint tavern, in which the cast members refreshingly hoist benches instead of the usual poles, and much semaphoric gesturing and slow-motion writhing for the fight sequences. Since Paul Pyant's lighting tends to the crepuscular, it is not always possible to tell who is fighting whom.

Nor is it easy for the cast members to register emotions legibly amid the gloaming. The show's best-known actor is Brent Carver (a Tony winner for "Kiss of the Spiderwoman"), whose hole-pitted line readings as the magisterial wizard Gandalf inappropriately suggest that the old sage is suffering from a Hamlet-like crisis of resolution. Evan Buliung is better cast as the action-figure hunk Strider (a k a Aragorn), and the audience clearly warms to the scenery chewing of Michael Therriault as the whiny, sneaky Gollum, who here looks like an unraveling mummy and sounds like Renfield, Dracula's old sidekick. Mr. Loye does what he can as Frodo, as does Peter Howe as his loyal companion, Sam, but they are no match for the shadows that swamp the stage.

You may be interested to know that, according to a news release, the dress worn by the beauteous Galadriel (Rebecca Jackson Mendoza, who sings of Elvish good will in the style of Celine Dion) has more than 1,800 hand-sewn beads. (The release does not stipulate whether nuns were the seamstresses or if they lost their vision to the work.)

But the show's must-have fashion items are clearly the springing shoes worn by some of the evil Orcs (at least I think that's what they were), who look like a squadron of vengeful houseplants trained in the martial arts. The shoes allow their wearers to leap high into the air merely by flexing their knees. This action provides some of the scarce occasions when "The Lord of the Rings" feels other than Middle Earth-bound.

The Lord of the Rings

Book and lyrics by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus; music by A. R. Rahman and Varttina, with Christopher Nightingale. Directed by Mr. Warchus; choreographer, Peter Darling; sets and costumes by Rob Howell; lighting by Paul Pyant; sound by Simon Baker (for Autograph); musical supervisor, Mr. Nightingale; moving-image direction by the Gray Circle; Tolkien creative consultant, Laurie Battle; special-effects designer, Gregory Meeh; illusions and magic effects, Paul Kieve; musical director, Rick Fox; orchestrations by Mr. Nightingale, Mr. Rahman and Varttina. Presented by Kevin Wallace and Saul Zaentz, in association with David and Ed Mirvish, and Michael Cohl. At the Princess of Wales Theater, 300 King Street West, Toronto, (416) 872-1212. Running time: 3 hours 30 minutes.

WITH: James Loye (Frodo Baggins), Peter Howe (Sam Gamgee), Kristin Galer (Rosie Cotton), Brent Carver (Gandalf), Owen Sharpe (Pippin), Dylan Roberts (Merry), Richard McMillan (Saruman), Evan Buliung (Strider), Victor A. Young (Elrond Halfelven), Carly Street (Arwen Evenstar), Cliff Saunders (Bilbo Baggins), Ross Williams (Gimli), Gabriel Burrafato (Legolas), Dion Johnstone (Boromir), Michael Therriault (Gollum), Rebecca Jackson Mendoza (Galadriel), Shawn Wright (Treebeard) and Kerry Dorey (Théoden).

[Alatar]

Ouch!


Unfortunately, other reviews are echoing this. The transfer to London now looks to be in doubt...

[truehobbit]

NOW I'm curious to see it!

[JewelSong]

Hey, the review in the Boston Globe was pretty positive...and they don't do positive all that much!

http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/a ... ter_stage/

I wouldn't go by the NY Times. Old stick-in-the-muds.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Unfortunately, the negative reviews do seem to out-number the positive ones, so far as I can tell.

[MithLuin]

I checked out the titles of other stories that NYT guy wrote, and it seems he skewers everything. He is a theater critic, emphasis on CRITIC. I would like to know what he liked before taking his condemnation too seriously. His review was the most extremely negative one I have seen. I don't think he is a fan of fantasy, and would find stories of little guys who save the world from evil dark lords to be boring - so there was never much hope of him liking the musical!

The guy who interviewed Jewel had a much more favorable report. He notes the weak points, but overall sounds quite enthusiastic:

The Lord of the Rings is flawed, but visually extrordinary

As did Newsweek which is, notably, not generally a theater critic.
Oddly enough, they repeated the "ZZ Top" comparison of the ents. What is making people say this?

The repeated criticisms are most likely valid: Gandalf is weak, the show is very "dark" (as in, lighting, not scary), it seems to rush along (whole 1200 pages in under 3.5 hours [with 2 intermissions] - it has to rush!), a bit confusing to the uninitiated (but isn't LotR always?), so many supporting characters, etc.. I mean, some of these critiques were to be expected. I think that issues of pacing and the music competing with the actors can be worked out when they restage it in London. But it took Jackson 11 hours to tell us this story - the musical was never going to have the chances to 'linger' that he did.

The "soundtrack" hasn't been praised that much - is it really that bad, or were they just expecting something different?

The creative team responsible seems to be defending Brent Carver's interpretation of Gandalf, so I'm guessing he'll stay. Such a shame, though - talk about someone who doesn't need a character arc!

<<<Pssst, Hobby>>> .... If you come to the Gathering, you can Just sayin'

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

I'd watch your One Man Bombadil show!

All right!

Anybody else? Tickets are going fast!


I found a link to this (London?) Times Online article at TORN: First Night reviews.

That article had a link to this DEMO RECORDING.

One of the links MithLuin provided above had this MUSIC SAMPLE.

[JewelSong]

They have GOT to dump Brent Carver. I don't care how big a name he is...his Gandalf sucks.

Still less satisfactory is Brent Carver as Gandalf. Clearly young for the role, Carver does nothing to suggest the gravitas, wisdom or authority of age and seems hesitant and ill at ease, not remotely the powerful, world-weary wizard he should be.

On the other hand...

James Loye is an appealing Frodo, and his relationship with Peter Howe’s touchingly loyal Sam Gamgee is the show’s beating heart. Michael Therriault is terrific as Gollum, full of bitter, sibilant wit, and squirming and convulsing with pain and repressed desire for his Precious. Evan Buliung makes Aragorn suitably virile and intense, and Carly Street is a dignified, pure-voiced Arwen...

In the end, though, theatrical magic wins out over the weaknesses. “Stories we tell will cast their spell, now and for always,” sing Frodo and Sam. With some fine tuning, this tale could hold its audience in total thrall. For now, its best moments are, like the ring, an intoxicating enchantment.