I had a chance to see it for free and I wasn’t interested, I can’t imagine having to pay $120!!

‘LOTR’ musical closing early
TORONTO (CP) – Just three months after it opened to largely negative reviews, producers of the $28-million Lord of the Rings stage show have announced it is closing.
“If the critics think they don’t have power, believe me they do,” Rings producer Kevin Wallace told a news conference Wednesday. The show will close Sept. 3. A revamped version will reopen next May 9 in London.
Wallace levelled much of the blame for the show’s abbreviated Toronto run at critics, saying the show had had a “rough ride” on this side of the Atlantic.
“When you’re going to spend $120 (on a ticket), you do need the affirmation,” he said.
Calling London the “spiritual home” of the show, he said British critics responded more favourably.
The show, based on the beloved J.R.R. Tolkien novel, opened with great fanfare in March.
Clocking in at three hours and 30 minutes, it was widely acknowledged to be a technological wonder with 17 elevators embedded in the 36-tonne, computer-controlled stage floor.
But the reaction from many established critics was tepid.
The New York Times said: “Everyone and everything winds up lost in this … adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s cult-inspiring trilogy of fantasy novels. That includes plot, character and the patience of most ordinary theatregoers.”
Added The Associated Press: “Deciphering the story, adapted by Shaun McKenna and director Matthew Warchus, may be the hardest part of a theatregoer’s job. . . . The nearly 60 actors on stage have trouble making much of an impression.”
Wallace said the London version will be tweaked and whittled down to three hours.
Some of the Toronto company will also join that production, with details to be announced in September, he said.
Toronto Mayor David Miller blamed the Rings closing on the reluctance of Americans to travel in large numbers in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Despite the critical barbs, the Lord of the Rings cleaned up at the Dora theatre awards handed out earlier this week. It was named outstanding new musical and won six other awards.