The Lord of the Rings Musical to Debut on London Stage in 2005

By Ernio Hernandez
October 22, 2003

Bombay Dreams will make its Broadway debut this season, but its composer, AR Rahman, is busy at work on a The Lord of the Rings musical, which is set to hit the stage in London in Spring of 2005.

Joined by folk group Värttinäm, Bollywood scribe Rahman will collaborate in composing the score for the stage version of the popular JRR Tolkien trilogy recently made into films.

The Lord of the Rings will feature a book and lyrics by Shaun McKenna. Matthew Warchus (Follies, Life x 3) will direct and Rob Howell is slated to design sets and costumes. Christopher Nightingale is the musical supervisor.

The musical stageshow, capitalized at £8 million, is set to be produced by Kevin Wallace and Saul Zaentz.

"A fusion of A R Rahman's and Värttinä's exceptional talent and contemporary sound, rooted in the antiquity of their respective traditions, will provide Tolkien's mythological world of Middle Earth with a pure, unique and dynamic score," Wallace stated in a release.

For more information, visit the show's website at www.thelordoftheringsmusical.com.