The Lord of the Rings (musical)

The Lord of the Rings
Music	A. R. Rahman Christopher Nightingale Värttinä
Lyrics	Matthew Warchus Shaun McKenna
Book	Matthew Warchus Shaun McKenna
Basis	The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
Productions	2006 Toronto 2007 West End

The Lord of the Rings is the most prominent of several theatre adaptations of J. R. R. Tolkien's epic high fantasy book series of the same name, with music by A. R. Rahman, Christopher Nightingale and the band Värttinä, and book and lyrics by Matthew Warchus and Shaun McKenna.

Set in the world of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings tells the tale of a humble hobbit who is asked to play the hero and undertake a treacherous mission to destroy an evil, magic ring without being seduced by its power.

The show was first performed in 2006 and was expected to be revived for a world tour in 2015. With a £25 million budget, it is the most expensive production in West End theatre history.

London-based theatre producer Kevin Wallace and his partner, Saul Zaentz—stage and film rights holder and producer of the animated film version of 1978—in association with Toronto theatre owner David Mirvish and concert promoter Michael Cohl, produced a stage musical adaptation with a book and lyrics written by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus, and music by A. R. Rahman and Värttinä, collaborating with Christopher Nightingale.

The three-and-a-half-hour-long three-act production, with a cast of 65 actors, was mounted in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the Princess of Wales Theatre, at a cost of approximately C$30 million. It was promoted as a spectacle of unusual scale. It starred Brent Carver as Gandalf and Michael Therriault as Gollum, and was directed by Matthew Warchus and choreographed by Peter Darling, with set and costume design by Rob Howell. The production began performances on February 4, 2006 and had its press opening on March 23, 2006. It received mixed notices from the press. and had its final performance September 3, 2006.

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