This really took a lot of time and effort, but finally the public will have a chance to estimate the work of David Mirvish, Michael Cohl and Kevin Wallace, who finally agreed one of the most expensive and ambitious musicals ever – the adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
The negotiations to stage a $27 million musical began last October. The premiere is to take place at Toronto’s Princess of Wales Theatre next year. The exact date is most likely – the 2nd of February. The first choice was London – the city of musicals – but the necessary theatre the Dominion was at that time occupied by another musical, We Will Rock You!
Mr. Mirvish and Mr. Cohl first wanted to see how Mr. Warchus was planning to adapt J.R.R. Tolkien's epic trilogy for the stage. And obviously they liked it. Mr. Cohl, who has gained wealth and fame as promoter of the Rolling Stones, whose recent musical Bombay Dreams enjoyed a great success on Brodway.
The show's cast will consist of 52 actors. It had been in development for 3 years. The Ontario government agreed in 2 weeks term and invested 3$ million. The Tourism Development Department invested another $3 million. The music to the show is composed by A. R. Ramhan and Finnish group Varttina.