Comments on: Smoots in the West End of the Shire

Smoots in the West End of the Shire

rob511 — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 14:53:13 -0800

The LoTR musical needs Hobbits of a certain stature. What stature is that, budding thespians might ask? Well, smoot-height, of course! (Actually, 5'7" — or 170 cm — is the maximum height a would-be Frodo or Bilbo could be.) Another requirement is the ability to sing two songs ... and hairy appendages wouldn't hurt. So start knitting those foot-merkins! Auditions: 18 September, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Catherine St (tube stop: Covent Garden).

By: poweredbybeard

poweredbybeard — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 15:03:16 -0800

And, as someone who's seen that... abomination... I expect that they should be short on self-respect as well.

By: monju_bosatsu

monju_bosatsu — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 15:06:40 -0800

I, for one, am tired of these Shire-centric posts.

By: GuyZero

GuyZero — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 15:12:19 -0800

Remember that this is the same LoTR that closed about, oh, two years earlier than expected in Toronto. The production is, in short, a mess.

By: blue_beetle

blue_beetle — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 15:31:24 -0800

My childhood is gone. a peaceful shire, and star wars; scoured, both. Please stop.

By: krinklyfig

krinklyfig — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 15:43:18 -0800

Oh, God, please, make it stop ...

By: Smedleyman

Smedleyman — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 15:48:06 -0800

Nimoy gonna sing in this one too?

By: cortex

cortex — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 15:49:11 -0800

Is "scoured" supposed to be two syllables? SCOW-erd?

By: koeselitz

koeselitz — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 16:11:37 -0800

SCOW-red...

By: Soulfather

Soulfather — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 16:24:15 -0800

In my dialect, 'scoured' rhymes with 'flowered'. LoTR was never meant to exist in musical form. If it was, every bugger who reads it wouldn't have such a hard time resisting the temptation to skip all the damn songs.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 16:33:38 -0800

I'm waiting for the Wicker Man musical.

By: Parannoyed

Parannoyed — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 16:37:18 -0800

*I'm* waiting for the Hellraiser musical.

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 16:51:26 -0800

Soulfather writes "LoTR was never meant to exist in musical form." Actually, Tolkien explicitly hoped that LOTR would inspire artists of all stripes to create*, and music was definitely on the list of things he said. Much as there are innumerable books, plays, songs, paintings about (say) Robin Hood or King Arthur, Tolkien's hope was to give England a mythology of its own that could be built on, as opposed to something adapted from French (for example) roots. * except fanfic. Ugh.

By: yeti

yeti — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 17:08:51 -0800

Soulfather: every bugger who reads it wouldn't have such a hard time resisting the temptation to skip all the damn songs. Reading Don Quixote right now. I'd be a damned liar if I said I di'nt skip past every time Cervantes decides to throw in a sonnet or two. Same with J.R.R and his diddling songs.

By: owhydididoit

owhydididoit — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 17:09:57 -0800

Led Zeppelin should get involved.

By: jfuller

jfuller — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 17:19:00 -0800

> * except fanfic. Ugh. Fans write music too, you know. Or maybe you don't. If you've never heard any, count your blessings.

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 17:30:41 -0800

Oh I'm aware of filking--I find it amusing, since there's always a tongue-in-cheek self-parody at play. And hey, Rush did write 'Rivendell'. But by all the Valar, if I ever have to hear the musical equivalent of LOTR fanfic, I may be forced to stab myself in the ears.

By: bashos_frog

bashos_frog — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 17:48:13 -0800

*I'm* waiting for the Hellraiser musical. That might actually work. Wanna collaborate?

By: Deathalicious

Deathalicious — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 18:03:17 -0800

The Diary of Anne Franke: The Musical

By: krunk

krunk — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 18:07:57 -0800

I have a friend who was in the Toronto production, and yes, he is short. Another, who is 5'6" (the maximum height during that run), almost didn't get an audition because he was too tall. The irony of potentially missing the role of a lifetime for being too tall at 5'6" was not lost on him.

By: winks007

winks007 — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 18:15:07 -0800

awwww shucks, 69". (snaps fingers)

By: Meatbomb

Meatbomb — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 18:20:04 -0800

The Wicker Man was a musical.

By: longsleeves

longsleeves — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 18:59:22 -0800

"Tolkien's hope was to give England a mythology of its own that could be built on" Does England not have mythology from the past? I ask. King Arthur, faeries and gnomes, and the divine priviledge of the monarchy come to mind.

By: goodnewsfortheinsane

goodnewsfortheinsane — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 19:59:07 -0800

Deathalicious writes "The Diary of Anne Franke: The Musical" It's been done.

By: Bugbread

Bugbread — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 21:06:38 -0800

dirtynumbangelboy writes "if I ever have to hear the musical equivalent of LOTR fanfic, I may be forced to stab myself in the ears."

Mine's a tale that can't be told, My freedom I hold dear. How years ago in days of old, When magic filled the air. It was in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair. But Gollum and the evil one crept up, And slipped away with her. Ain't nothing I can do no, I guess I'll keep on rambling. I'm gonna shake. Gonna ramble on, sing my song. Gonna work my way around the world. I can't stop this feeling in my heart, Gotta keep searching for my baby.

-Led Zeppelin

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 04:20:45 -0800

longsleeves writes "'Tolkien's hope was to give England a mythology of its own that could be built on' Does England not have mythology from the past? I ask. King Arthur, faeries and gnomes, and the divine priviledge of the monarchy come to mind." Arthur is basically some Anglicization grafted onto French roots. Faeries etc. are (if memory serves) Celtic/Irish/etc--Tolkien was aiming for something that was English, uniquely so.