The mega-bucks musical adaptation of The Lord of the Rings opened last night in Toronto and the critcs weren’t very kind.
The New York Times’ critic Ben Brantley went north to discover that “the musical numbers are often solemn, incantatory affairs, suggesting Enya at an ashram” and labels the whole effort “largely incomprehensible.”
Richard Ouzounian tells Toronto Star readers, “when the 3 1/2-hour, $28 million behemoth finally comes to an end, you may find yourself fighting back tears, but they'll be ones of disappointment.”
And in The Globe and Mail, critic Kamal Al-Solaylee says that, for it to be a better show, “all it needs is an engaging storytelling approach, an emotional arc, credible performances and a more coherent musical score.” Ouch.