Brian May takes on the Ottawa Citizen!

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This is mostly about the Lord of the Rings fiasco in Toronto, but there's also talk of bringing We Will Rock You to Toronto next year. And it's hilarious that Brian May is writing letters to the Ottawa Citizen. Story copied from here.

I was interested to read (in my inbox -- somebody always obliges) your critic Jamie Portman's vitriolic damnation of The Lord of the Rings ("The Lord of the Rings on stage was doomed from the beginning," July 3).

You might imagine that I, as a creator of the, according to Mr. Portman, "moronic" musical We Will Rock You, might have a down on the Tolkien show too; after all, its producers were trying very hard to edge us out of our beloved Dominion Theatre in London for most of the last year. The bid failed because of the continued enormous demand for our Queen Rock Theatrical, now in its fifth packed year, and the eventual commercial failure of LOTR in Toronto.

But I feel differently. I actually doubt if your Mr. Portman has ever staged a show of any significance himself, so I must discount his opinions as worthless; I would pause only to say that his one-dimensional nastiness about a team of people who have obviously put their heart and soul into a monumental show saddens me greatly. Or perhaps I ought to be sad that a major newspaper should give him column inches.

We, as Queen and Paul Rodgers, recently visited Toronto, one of our long-time favourite cities, a few months ago -- to play a very memorable (to us) return concert, after an absence of many years.

Because of our interest in The Lord of the Rings as producers and writers, we took the trouble to visit the show. As someone who has now spent a significant portion of his life lovingly tending a show of our own making in the theatre, I have to tell you all that in my opinion The Lord of the Rings is potentially one of the great theatrical events ever. Yes, the Toronto show had its weaknesses -- we thought that much of the casting was unsuitable, and we felt uncomfortable with a lot of the music, but every show has wrinkles which need ironing out along the way (ours included).

Having said this, let me say as loud as I can: The concept of the show is daring, the choreography is superb -- I mean superb -- the costumes are fabulous, the special effects stunning, and the sets and the way they dovetail into the action are nothing short of stupendous.

I have never seen anything like it -- ever. The script may have problems, but in my opinion nothing that could not be sorted by applying a bit of blue pencil, and, really, we know the story, right?

This is not a venture that was "artistically doomed from the start" -- a severe challenge, perhaps, but one which was all but met in the first outing, in my book. Anyone who came out of that theatre not feeling that they got their money's worth must have been very jaded, or a theatre critic (ah -- maybe both).

I can see no reason why this extravaganza, revisited and polished in the light of recent experience could not be a smash in London. I hope someone looks carefully at their running costs, because the West End can be treacherous over short periods, but this show has to be seen.

Of course there is a tiny irony in the fact that a brand new Canadian version of our We Will Rock You is now planned to open next year in the very theatre made available by the departure of The Lord of the Rings. But there will be no crowing.

We plan to come and personally work with the cream of Canadian talent -- for every WWRY is written on a new canvas, tailored to the way Rock and Roll has lived and evolved in that territory.

No, we will not be overconfident. We will go in with a healthy respect for all that has gone before, and a firm belief that we will strike the right chord with Toronto.

Brian May is the lead guitarist for the rock band Queen.

[hamilton]

But I feel differently. I actually doubt if your Mr. Portman has ever staged a show of any significance himself, so I must discount his opinions as worthless;

Why must people always resort to this as an argument? I've never written a novel either, but I can identify a shoddy one when I read it. By Brian May's logic, no one but a playwright or stage producer could ever be a theater critic.

(Note: I have not seen this particular production, and have no idea of whether or not I agree with Mr. Portman's critique.)

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The guy played Bohemian Rhapsody, give him a break.

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[bradm]

There are some things I don't like about what May wrote. He seems to be of the opinion that something that's spectacular (not necessarily good, just a spectacle) and technically difficult to put on is to be praised and liked, despite unsuitable casting, music that made him uncomfortable, and a problematic script. (This is like praising the design of an airplane because it has really good lighting and super-comfortable seats, despite underpowered engines, wings that tend to break off, and landing gear that doesn't work.)

I saw a bit with Arthur Miller (one of the 20th Century's greatest playwrights; he wrote "Death Of A Salesman" among others) where he talked about how spectacle plays like "The Lion King" (and I think he'd lump LoTR in with it) had killed any chance serious drama had on Broadway. You couldn't stage "Death Of A Salesman" on Broadway in this age; instead, it'd be relegated to an off-Broadway (or off-off-Broadway) theatre with 100 or 200 seats, which isn't big enough to generate enough revenue to put it on. (IIRC, "Salesman" has a cast of about 11, and some fairly complicated staging).

When I was in Las Vegas for Vegoose, I saw posters and flyers all over the place for "We Will Rock You", and it would have been the last Vegas show I went to see (OK, maybe Celine Dion would have been last...). Overthetopular spectacles like that get no interest from me; I went to see Penn & Teller instead.

Aloha,

Brad

[MarcO]

And why does a critic have to worry about all "the heart and soul" the performers and producers put into a "monumental" show? Is the critic supposed to protect their fragile feelings?

Ugh. May then goes on to say the casting, music and script were all flawed. What exactly is his point again?

And "hamilton" is - as usual, irritatingly - correct in his call-out. That's a pretty stupid comment from someone who has been in the business for 30+ years. Welcome to complete irrelevancy, Mr. May.

[Deeps]

Where's the tonal proficiency...for the love of god....I can't stand to read this article in mono.

[edger]

lol

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I saw a bit with Arthur Miller (one of the 20th Century's greatest playwrights; he wrote "Death Of A Salesman" among others) where he talked about how spectacle plays like "The Lion King" (and I think he'd lump LoTR in with it) had killed any chance serious drama had on Broadway. You couldn't stage "Death Of A Salesman" on Broadway in this age; instead, it'd be relegated to an off-Broadway (or off-off-Broadway) theatre with 100 or 200 seats, which isn't big enough to generate enough revenue to put it on. (IIRC, "Salesman" has a cast of about 11, and some fairly complicated staging).

I agree with everything else you wrote... But one of the most popular plays on broadway last year was Julius Caesar.... And a couple years before that was Hamlet... Hardly 'spectacle' shows and definitely serious drama.

Salesman has very easy staging if you do it right. Certainly not as complicated as the blockbusters.

Good discussion though

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[bradm]

I think Miller meant that if "Death Of A Salesman" were new play, it wouldn't be able to get onto Broadway today; I agree, a revival of "Salesman" could get space, as could "The Iceman Cometh" of "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolff", but those are well known plays today. Instead, "Salesman" would be relegated to a small theatre, where its staging and cast size would be make it difficult to present (and make profitable).

Aloha,

Brad

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I think Miller meant that if "Death Of A Salesman" were new play, it wouldn't be able to get onto Broadway today; I agree, a revival of "Salesman" could get space, as could "The Iceman Cometh" of "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolff", but those are well known plays today. Instead, "Salesman" would be relegated to a small theatre, where its staging and cast size would be make it difficult to present (and make profitable).

Right, as would most new original dramas.

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[Davey Boy 2.0]

i heard a musical version of Ghostbbusters is coming to a theatre near you soon.

a Ghostbuster blockbuster, if you will