Frodo’s latest quest: Delivering The Lord of the Rings, the musical

The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale, the stage production based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy epic, will make its Australian premiere at Sydney’s State Theatre in January 2025.

Seventy years after the 1954 publication of The Fellowship of the Ring, the first book in Tolkien’s best-selling trilogy, auditions are under way for the Australian cast of the musical, which opened last month at Chicago’s Shakespeare Theatre.

Spencer Davis Milford as Frodo in the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre’s production of The Lord of the Rings, coming to Australia in January.Credit: Liz Lauren

Created under licence from Middle-earth Enterprises, the owner of exclusive worldwide motion picture and stage rights for The Lord of the Rings, the show condenses the 1137-page saga into just under three hours of musical drama.

Fredrica Drotos, steward of Middle-earth Enterprises, said the show would appeal to the large numbers of Tolkien fans in Australia and New Zealand, where director Peter Jackson shot his three feature films based on the book and where this show will debut in November before coming to Australia.

“Our goal is to safeguard the legacy of this story and bring it to new audiences who might not have read the books, but know it through films, video games and collector cards,” she said.

Producers Kevin Wallace and Australia’s GWB Entertainment hope to capitalise on recent interest in the tale of Frodo’s quest across Middle-earth to the darkest realms of Mordor to vanquish evil and deliver the ring to Mount Doom.

Spencer Davis Milford as Frodo and Tony Bozzuto as Gollum in the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre’s production of The Lord of the Rings, coming to Sydney in January.Credit: Liz Lauren

Last month, San Diego’s Comic-Con transformed into Middle-earth to launch the trailer for Prime Video’s second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which debuts on August 29.

“It’s very exciting to take on arguably the biggest copyright in the world and deliver it on stage for both fans and newcomers to the story,” said GWB Entertainment’s Torben Brookman.

“We are hoping it will bring new young male audiences to musical theatre, who may be gamers and not your normal theatregoers or book readers.”

The stage show starts as the hobbits celebrate Bilbo Baggins’ eleventy-first birthday in the Shire, as he gifts his nephew Frodo his most precious belonging – a gold ring.

Spencer Davis Milford as Frodo and Tom Amandes as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale, in Chicago.Credit: Liz Lauren

It showcases the same characters beloved by generations of readers, such as Gandalf, Aragorn and Galadriel and villains Sauron and Gollum, but the stage version focuses on the fellowship between Frodo and his friend, Samwise Gamgee.

With book and lyrics by Shaun McKenna (Maddie, La Cava) and Matthew Warchus (Groundhog Day), it features a folk-inspired score, with original music by Academy Award winner A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire), Finnish folk band Varttina, and Tony Award winner Christopher Nightingale (Matilda the Musical).

After a successful season in 2023 at The Watermill Theatre in the United Kingdom, the show transferred to Chicago, where it runs until September 1, and has attracted legions of superfans dressed up as wizards, elves and other favourite characters.

The show will open at Sydney’s State Theatre on January 7, with tickets starting at $69.

Helen Pitt travelled to Chicago courtesy of GWB Entertainment.