Another musical in Rahman's lap
The theatrical London launch of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien's best-selling masterpiece, comes as Hollywood builds the author's work into its biggest box-office hit series. On Wednesday, the man producing the eight-million-pound London play announced Rahman's newest, most high-profile commission.
Producer Kevin Wallace said Rahman was needed to write "unique" music, with an "exotic quality" and "brilliant melodies". He added, "We know he will write something which audiences will adore".
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. No one mentioned Rahman's valuable role as a brand ambassador for the launch of a whole new era--that of global theatre. But the play's producers have already made known their plans to take the show around the world in a truly multi-cultural global stage performance.
Rahman, ex-Bollywood, has the London street credibility of having successfully scored the music for Andrew Lloyd-Webber's Hindi film-inspired London play. The diminutive Rahman, affectionately installed in the popular British imagination as the "Mozart of Madras", is to collaborate with Finnish folk group Varttina for The Lord of the Rings. But the play's multi-national moorings, cheekily described as 'Bollywood meets Finland', are not the only reason it has reached the headlines. It has already created a record for the most expensive production ever staged in London's theatrical heart, the West End.
On Wednesday, theatre critics said Rahman was an inspired choice to compose the music for Tolkien's nearly 50-year-old epic story. But the announcement was not entirely unexpected. Rahman is known to Wallace, who has produced several Lloyd-Webber musicals. In itself, said one theatre insider, the Tolkien commission signals Rahman's arrival and complete acceptance within the world of Western stage production.
The play's producer has already promised that his "re-creation of Tolkien's fantasy world on the stage will have a real sense of wonder and awe for the audience". Wallace said, "To do justice to the Lord of the Rings you have to pull out all the stops".
Rahman's involvement in the project could not have been announced at a better time. The third of the Tolkien films-trilogy is due to be released around the world on December 17. The first two in the series are already in the top 10 most successful films of all time.