The ambitious stage production of The Lord of the Rings, which opened in Toronto in March, will close Sept. 3, producers of the epic musical announced Wednesday.

"On the 3rd of September the flame will be extinguished in Toronto, to be rekindled in London on the 9th of June," producer Kevin Wallace told a news conference at the Princess of Wales Theatre.

Michael Therriault was hailed for his performance as Gollum.
(Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)

The show is scheduled to open at the Drury Lane theatre in London next spring. The closing of the Toronto show gives the producers a chance to take some aspects of the production, including physical properties such as sets, to London for a revised show.

"I believe The Lord of the Rings will go down as an iconic development in theatre and we have made theatre history here," an emotional Wallace said before announcing the closing date.

"We are enormously proud of the achievements of our international creative team," he said, adding that he has invested the last 4½ years in this production. Almost 200 people have been involved in the Toronto show.

Peter Howe (Sam) and James Loye (Frodo) perform in The Lord of the Rings.
(Manuel Harlan/Courtesy Mirvish Productions)

Bitter about the critics

Wallace spoke bitterly about the rough reception Toronto critics gave the musical adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy of fantasy novels. Three of the city's four daily newspapers gave the show negative reviews, and it was panned in many U.S. papers.

"We have struggled with the mixed message that went out on the evening March 23rd [when the show opened] and the morning of the 24th," he said. 

The poor reviews are believed to have hurt The Lord of the Rings at the box office.

Producer and owner of the Princess of Wales theatre David Mirvish said the show's running costs alone were 50 per cent higher than its musical hit, The Lion King, and the show would have had to sell out — which it did not — to recoup its production costs.

Mirvish refused to give a figure for ticket sales, but said they have been "respectable."

Customers holding tickets for performances after Sept. 3 will be offered replacements for an earlier date or reimbursed, he said.

The production's 52 actors have been given nine weeks notice. Wallace hinted some might be hired for the London version of LOTR, but said casting for that show won't begin until September.

No other show has been lined up for the fall for the Princess of Wales theatre.

The announcement comes amid otherwise good news for the production, which is the first major stage adaptation of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Won seven Dora awards

On Monday night, the show won seven Dora Mavor Moore Awards, including best new musical. The awards are Toronto's equivalent of the Tony Awards.

Wallace acknowledged problems with the Toronto show and said the producers are taking note of some of the criticism as they revise the show for its London run.

"What we are going to create in London is a show that will have a greater universal language," he said.

The show will be reduced to three hours, including intermissions, and some subplots will be dropped, Wallace said. He also said the London production would enhance its use of music.

"Music will be used to pulse through the third act and heighten the emotional experience of the show," he said.

He said he believes the show has a "British sensibility," in part because of Tolkien's legacy and because both Wallace and director Matthew Warcus are British.

He cited British critics, including reviewers in the Daily Mail and the Times, who gave the Toronto show good reviews, and expressed hopes that the show would get a kinder reception in London.

After London, The Lord of the Rings may move on to Germany. Talks are underway to take the British show to Germany in 2008. That development could be announced in the next few weeks, Wallace said.

The Toronto show is believed to have cost about $28 million and investors are still hoping for an extended run around the world to recoup their costs. The Ontario government gave the producers a $3-million loan that has not yet been reimbursed.