'Lord of the Rings' musical opens in Toronto

The $27-million musical theatre version of The Lord of the Rings made its debut in Toronto Thursday evening, one year and one week after the project was announced.

And while fans of the J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy about hobbits and orcs and the magic of a golden ring may have been aflutter about the show, for the city itself there was much more at stake — tourism dollars.

"It's huge," Mayor David Miller told CBC News Online. "We're the third centre in the English world for live theatre [behind New York and London], but you have to try harder every day to keep that spot, and this show will re-establish our place in the world of theatre."

And that's just the start.

David Mirvish, whose company is heading a project that attracted more than 200 investors, says the side benefits to the city are huge.

"We have had eight weeks of previews, and thousands of people have seen the show," Mirvish told CBC News Online, in a Thursday interview. "We know that 43 per cent of them come from outside of the greater Toronto area."

"And that means they are staying overnight in a hotel room, and they are using other facilities in the city; they are buying food, and using taxis and hopefully going shopping while they are in Toronto."

While throwing estimated figures around about the "economic impact" of an event on a city, there was no lack of international media attention for the Rings premier.

Dozens of media from around North America, Europe and Asia were in town for the opening. And while they were milling about, Mirvish officials were shepherding a full crew from NBC's The Today Show around to get them set for a broadcast.

Earlier in the week, the American version of Time magazine featured a two-page colour spread on Lord of the Rings while the Canadian edition highlighted the play on four pages.

"This is wonderful for the province to let people all over the world know that something happy and healthy is going on in this city that is happening for the first time anywhere in the world, and that makes Toronto a special place," Mirvish said.

The province thought enough of the project to put $3 million into it upfront, money he says has already been paid back through direct provincial taxes on purchases or taxes on wages spent up to this time.

As for the greater financial risk to the investors and himself, the younger Mirvish sounded much like his father, Ed, who has been one of the biggest Toronto boosters throughout his life as a business and theatre owner.

"If you don't do anything, you'll never get into trouble," the younger Mirvish said. "But if you do do something you might be able to reach for something special that will touch people's hearts, and that ultimately is what The Lord of the Rings does."

In the first 24 hours that tickets went on sale last May, more than $1 million in sales were recorded. Tickets range from $56 for a Wednesday matinee balcony to $125 for Saturday night orchestra.

The project marks a change for Mirvish Productions, which traditionally brings in shows after they have had runs elsewhere. 

But the Rings show is an original, from-the-bottom-up work that will show in Toronto "as long as there is an audience to come and see it."

Directed by Matthew Varchus, designed by Rob Howell and choreographed by Peter Darling, the show combines all three Tolkien books into a three hour and 30 minute event. Book and lyrics are by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus, music by A.R. Rahman, the Finnish group Varttina and Christopher Nightingale.

CBC Arts Online will have a full review of the show.