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The Return of the King. Top, L to R: John Ferrick, Robert McLean, Amada Amadei; Center, L to R: Brooks Darrah, Scott Hamilton Westerman, Brian Amidei, Patrick Blashill; Front, kneeling L to R: Robert Kauzlaric and Warren Jackson. Photo: Suzanne Plunkett. |
The Return of the King
from the book by J.R.R. Tolkien
adapted by Karen Tarjan
directed by Ned Mochel
October 5 - December 9, 2001
Lifeline Theatre
6912 N. Glenwood Ave
Chicago IL 60626
Thu-Sat 8pm, Sun 7pm
http://www.lifelinetheatre.com
This, then is my counsel. We have not the Ring. In wisdom or great folly it has been sent away to be destroyed, lest it destroy us. Without it we cannot by force defeat his force. But we must at all costs keep the Eye from his true peril. We cannot achieve victory by arms, but by arms we can give the Ring-bearer his only chance, frail though it be.
-- Gandalf the Wizard, in the book The Return of the King
Lifeline Theatre's The Return of the King brings the third book of J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy The Lord of the Rings to the stage in epic, if condensed, version of the classic fantasy work. While The Lord of the Rings has spawned many visual re-creations, animated and real-life, movie and television (with another movie on the way), Lifeline's production adds something unique to this roll call, combining the immediacy of theatrical performance with new interpretations and insights while still upholding the spirit of the original work. Versatility is the byword in this production, which blends action, imagination, acrobatic fight scenes, puppetry and shadow-play into the heroic drama of the last act of Middle Earth. The essentials are here -- the shadowy power of Sauron, the heroic rides of the warriors of Rohan and Gondor, the far-seeing machinations of Gandalf, the humble valor of Sam and Frodo -- and the production is well worth seeing.
The play's source, the trilogy known collectively as The Lord of the Rings, set a new standard for epic fantasy in 1937 and remains a popular work to this day. The story as a whole concerns the battle over the One Ring of Power as Sauron, dark Lord of Mordor, strives to control the whole of Middle Earth and its peoples. The first two books, The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, have previously been adapted by Lifeline Theatre (performances, regrettably, not seen by this reviewer). The Return of the King completes the trilogy, carrying the story from the hobbits' entrance to dread Mordor via the desparate doorway of Cirith Ungol, to the tale's heroic conclusion in Minas Tirith, with a brief visit back to the Shire. Of necessity, with nine actors and 2-1/2 hours of runtime, the 311-page third book experiences elision and slight rearrangement: there is a certain "If this is Tuesday, it must be Mordor" feel to the rapidity of the scene changes. However, the production touches on the salient points and is put together with enough cohesion to give the flavor of the original work. Viewers not familiar with the story have a green slipsheet in the program to bring them up to speed, and both they and those already in the know will have a ball. Lifeline's shoebox stage, with an intimate, roughly 90-seat house, and action that runs up and down the center aisle as well as onstage, puts one right in the middle of a strange and wonderful experience.
Part of that wonder is the immediacy of emotion that live actors, playing right before one's very eyes, bring to a written text. At one point, Frodo (Patrick Blashill) bitingly accuses Sam (Scott Hamilton Westerman) -- brave and faithful Sam, who has braved Shelob's lair and orcish towers to save his beloved Master -- of trying to steal the Ring from him. Unlike a TV or film version, no screen interpolates between the viewer, and the energy of the actors, and Sam's piteous sobbing, cut to the quick, come across with extra energy. Such immediacy is one good reason to see the show.
The darkness of Mordor is brought to life in the mix of old bedsprings, disjointed baby-doll parts, and technological ejecta of car parts, computer parts, and stereo pieces, mounted on walls underlaid with architectural plans in buff: the stage set suggests unease, artifacts, journey. Picking up the story from The Two Towers with hobbits Frodo and Sam at the mercy of an eerie, part-puppet monster spider Shelob, Act I rocks with blockbuster energy (and some good laughs). This show is demanding physically, the acrobatic demands representing a high level of commitment and teamwork, and the energy onstage is mammoth. Technical prowess and the acrobatic cast reach their crowning glory in the battle of shield-maiden Eowyn (Amanda Amadei) against the monstrous Lord of the Nazgul (Robert McLean, also playing Aragorn and Shagrat). Sound tech, melded to simluated "slo-mo" with action-movie nods to martial arts films and The Matrix, will (there's no other way to say it) rock your socks off.
Paradoxically, Act II loses a bit of that blockbuster energy. Here is where, in parts, the rapid change of scene is confusing, and after the "big bang" of Act I, the action seems to have less punch; although in truth, this parallels Tolkien's narrative, where the last third of the tale, that following the climactic events at Mount Doom, is a more peaceable winding down to the conclusion. Sauron, a howling, monstrous presence in Act I, is unexpectedly absent from the struggle at Mount Doom, which leans on Gollum's fiery end for its drama (Gollum, it should be mentioned, is a wholly-puppet character, eerily real in his movements and actions); and the last-minute-rescue feel of it all -- not so much the hobbits themselves, but the Mordor hosts pressing the warriors of Gondor and Rohan -- is not emphasized. There are, still, moving moments aplenty as events play out to their conclusion. After lifting the heart with heroism and hope, the show ends on the wistful note of the Grey Havens: the feel is that of a departure outward into memory or imagination.
The Return of the King is an imaginative and eclectic mix of techniques ancient and modern, and of mood and impression. Sound tech (lavish and used to advantage in evoking monstrous voices, wistfully echoing songs, the crunch of a battle-gloved fist hitting home) works side by side with puppetry and shadow-puppet tradition; serious high heroism mingles with the "epic" backyard world of kids playing at the sword-and-sorcery events in the books. The mix, eclectic as it is, works -- in fact, works better to bring Tolkien's world to life on a theatrical stage than a more "traditional" approach might. There's a generous dose of humor in the mixture, unexpected at first dash but quickly assimilated, and good at keeping the play from getting top-heavy with heroism. On Lifeline's small stage -- approximately 50' across -- the "spectacle," if that word may be used, is as convincing as many million-dollar blockbuster shows.
Through the years, characters in The Lord of the Rings have acquired an expected look and feel. As examples, hobbits are small, jolly, homely; elves are tall, lean, waif-like; Gandalf is an old man with a pointy grey hat and a long white beard. Lifeline's production doesn't feel constricted by these, and again, the results work, giving more for the mind to chew on than simple re-creation. Warren Jackson as Legolas the Elf, for example, is shorter than the hobbits and also his foil, Gimli the Dwarf, but his stature presents an intriguing what-if, and his aloof dignity fits in well with the role. Gandalf (Brian Amidei, also playing Eomer) is a younger, energetic, burly wizard, a nice departure from the usual wise-old-man. Costumes, as well, are reinterpreted. Rather than recreate a strictly Brothers-Hildebrand, "Middle-Earth" look, the basic costumes, black jumpsuits accessorized mountain-team style with "Tolkien Project" badges (as well as individual arm patches indicating cast members' participation in this and the two previous productions of the Tolkien trilogy adaptations), convey both the flavor of teamwork and fellowship, and the anonymity that allows the rapid costume changes of double and triple roles. And, just as the set incorporates contemporary references, Aragorn's black trench coat recalls that of Morpheus in The Matrix, and the half-face baby masks used in the costumes of Eowyn and the Lord of the Nazgul bring to mind the frightening baby-face image in Brazil -- two relatively recent fantasies of light and darkness. Through this, Tolkien's work, spun from his own time, takes on attributes of our own era.
Here and there, the interpretation has its small flaws. The portrayal of the Mouth of Sauron (here identified as the Voice of the Nazgul) as a weird, sexy Lilith of a woman, jars: her sexual overtones are in contradiction to the spirit of The Lord of the Rings, where "good" love is courtly and "evil" asexual. In Mordor, Sam unexpectedly kicks Gollum, which is out of character for the stalwart but, at root, gentle hobbit, even in anger. (In the book he aims a kick at him, something quite different.) Ioreth the healer -- a colorful, wholly-puppet character skillfully manipulated and voiced by Brooks Darrah -- although a possible interpretation of the text, ends up not quite gelling with the mood of the surrounding events.
Both acrobatic and emotive, the cast flies through a variety of roles, often with split-second changes. Robert Kauzlaric as Merry keeps the action moving with map-pointing and asides, and is complemented in comic relief (though both have their heroic moments) by John Ferrick as Pippin (also Theoden). Amanda Amadei is a fittingly frosty, brave Eowyn. Brian Amidei brings a boldness and confidence to the character of Gandalf, although his size and energy somewhat eclipse Robert McLean's Aragorn -- it would have been interesting to see the casting reversed in this case. McLean, with his rum-runner's look and close-shaven head, is more Aragorn-as-Ranger than latent king. Brooks Darrah brings a grim and determined energy to both Gimli and Denethor. And finally, Patrick Blashill brings an appropriately wistful, brave, otherworldly energy to Frodo; and Scott Hamilton Westerman, whose build recalls a bit of Yorkshireman, is a sturdy and humbly valiant Sam Gamgee.
Author Umberto Eco notes that a successful work has "a capacity for continuing to generate different readings, without ever being completely consumed," and sixty years and more have proven the staying power of The Lord of the Rings as such a work. A written review can do only so much: this production, with its vibrant melding of sound technology, imagination, emotion and dynamic action, must be seen to be fully experienced. An excellent adaptation of a classic epic work, The Return of the King is well worth your time and attention. Tickets are $20.00; nearby parking is free, and Lifeline Theatre is also convenient to the CTA Red Line (Morse stop).
--Katherine Rook Lieber
Katherine Rook Lieber has edited ArtScope.net's Visual and Performing Arts reviews since 1998. Ms. Lieber is Editor and Associate Producer for ArtScope.net.
Editorial Note: Books mentioned in www.artscope.net reviews may be purchased through this site's Amazon.com link. Quotes from J.R.R. Tolkien's book The Return of the King are taken from the 1983 Houghton Mifflin hardcover edition. Umberto Eco is quoted from A Postscript to The Name of the Rose, 1984:Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. |
