It should have a lot of great beer-drinking songs from the Shire:
When the stage version of J. R. R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" opens [in Toronto]next spring, the show is expected to feature about 18 songs, a cast of 55 and about 12 million investors.
Literally. That's because, in an act of unprecedented governmental showmanship, Ontario's officials - on behalf of their 12 million citizens - have signed on as investors for the show, which is expected to be one of the most expensive ever. Taking on a role traditionally played by impresarios, idealists and other theatrical gamblers, the provincial government will contribute some $2.5 million of the show's $23 million budget, betting that the production's global appeal will justify a unique, and risky, public-private partnership. . .
"Our estimation is that a 36-week run could bring in close to $40 million Canadian," said Bruce MacMillan, president and chief executive of Tourism Toronto, which calculated monies spent on hotels, restaurants and taxes before opting to invest. "Everything is a risk, but we did our due diligence." . . .
The stage version's $23 million price tag would make it more expensive than any show on Broadway. "The Lion King," by comparison, cost Disney some $20 million.
Like Las Vegas - which has imported several major Broadway shows in recent years, including "Avenue Q" and "Mamma Mia" - Toronto seems to be angling for tourists with a taste for theater, a demographic that it hopes will also sample other of the city's cultural outposts, like the Royal Ontario Museum.
"We'd like to be second behind New York," said Bill Allen, the deputy minister for tourism for the province of Ontario. "Frankly, we lost a lot of our place in the theater scene, and we see 'Lord of the Rings' as a way to bring that back."
