PRESS RELEASE
Producers of The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale, the stage production based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic trilogy, today confirmed the Australian cast that will tour Australia in 2025, including Sydney, Perth and Melbourne.
Stepping into the shoes of the characters beloved by generations of readers, are some of Australia’s most talented and acclaimed musical theatre performers and actor-musicians, with Laurence Boxhall as Gollum, Andrew Broadbent as Elrond, Hannah Buckley as Pippin, Stefanie Caccamo as Arwen, Rohan Campbell as Boromir, Jeremi Campese as Merry, Ruby Clark as Rosie, Terence Crawford as Gandalf, Wern Mak as Samwise Gamgee, Rob Mallett as Strider, Connor Morel as Gimli, Rarmian Newton as Frodo Baggins, Conor Neylon as Legolas, Jemma Rix as Galadriel and Ian Stenlake as Saruman.
Completing the company of thirty-two is Georgia Anderson, Gianna Cheung, Nicholas Cunningham, Cameron Davey, Natasha Dumlao, James Frampton, Anthony Garcia, Jonathan Gardner, Matt Hourigan, Esther Lukins, Jayme Jo Massoud, Patrick Schnur, James Whiting and Zayneb Zerzouri.
Longtime fans and newcomers alike will journey to Middle-earth™ in the company of Hobbits, asJ.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy of books The Lord of the Rings is brought to life on stage by a cast of multi-skilled actor-musicians, in a theatrical event that celebrates community, courage and camaraderie.
Created under license from Middle-earth Enterprises (the owner of exclusive worldwide motion picture and stage rights for The Lord of the Rings), The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale will make its Australian premiere at the State Theatre Sydney from 7 January, before touring to Perth’s Crown Theatre from 19 March and Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre from 26 April.
“It is thrilling to have this stellar group of Australian theatre talent soon heading into rehearsals to create the Australian Production of Paul Hart’s acclaimed theatrical production of The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale. From January 2025, Middle-earth comes to Australia!” said Kevin Wallace of Kevin Wallace Productions.
Australian Producer Torben Brookman from GWB Entertainment added, “We’ve assembled some of the best actors, musicians, and musical theatre talent from across Australia to bring this epic tale to life on stage. This company of extraordinary storytellers will share one of the most beloved stories of our generation live on-stage, all-around Australia, for the very first time.”
The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale had its initial production at The Watermill Theatre in the United Kingdom, and US premiere at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, receiving rave reviews with The Guardian proclaiming it ‘The Greatest Show on Middle-earth’ and WhatsOnStage declaring ‘Tolkien would have been so proud’.
As the Hobbits celebrate Bilbo Baggins’ eleventy-first birthday in the Shire, he gifts his nephew Frodo his most precious belonging – a gold ring. This fateful moment launches Frodo on a legendary and perilous quest across Middle-earth to the darkest realms of Mordor, to vanquish evil with his loyal Fellowship. The dynamic score is performed live by the company on stage, weaving together original music with storytelling.
The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale features a book and lyrics by Shaun McKenna (Maddie, La Cava)and Matthew Warchus (Groundhog Day) and original music by Academy Award winner A.R. Rahman (Bombay Dreams, Slumdog Millionaire), Finnish folk band Värttinä, and Tony Award winner Christopher Nightingale (Matilda the Musical).
The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale is presented in Australia by Kevin Wallace Productions, GWB Entertainment, Middle-earth Enterprises, Tim McFarlane, KHAM Inc, People Entertainment Group, The Watermill Theatre and Chicago Shakespeare Theater.
