The Hobbit Media Coverage
Hobbit goes by the book
'Rings' movies spur production
- by Ted Shaw, Star Entertainment Writer (Appeared in The Windsor Star March 11, 2004)
MIDDLE EARTH: Cast of The Hobbit, clockwise from left: Christopher Lawrence Menard, Tracey Atin, Jamie McLaren, Mark Lefebvre and Katie MacTavish. Star photo: Tim Fraser.
Windsor's Korda Productions has brewed up a little Middle Earth magic for its next show.
The Hobbit, a play based on J.R.R. Tolkien's novel about goblins, elves and little people, is kicking off Korda's new family series in classic style.
The same people who put together last fall's The Rocky Horror Show for an adult audience are gearing this one to kids and their parents.
The show they've picked couldn't come with a better pedigree. Tolkien is the fantasy writer of choice right now with the success of The Lord of the Rings trilogy of films.
The Hobbit, which was written later than the Rings, tells of adventures that happened earlier to a youthful Bilbo Baggins. But many familiar characters appear, including the wizard Gandalf and the scheming former hobbit Gollum.
We wanted something kids could relate to but wasn't really a kids
show,
said director Jeff Marontate.
This version fits the bill perfectly. It was adapted by St. Catharines, Ont, writer Kim Selody for the Manitoba Youth Theatre about 10 years ago.
Once we decided on The Hobbit,
Marontate said, the trick was
finding a script. There are a couple of good ones, but we couldn't get the
rights in Canada.
Selody's adaptation avoids much of the sophistication of the movies, but it isn't designed for children.
It follows the book pretty closely,
said Marontate.
One of the features is the portrayal of Gollum, a character Marontate and the rest knew going in would be directly identified with the movies. In Peter Jackson's films, Gollum is a computer-generated goblin with spidery limbs and bulging eyes.
Marontate went to the source, Tolkien's books, for his depiction, which he
says is more creepy
than the movies.
There is nothing sympathetic about how we portray Gollum,
he
said.
Tracey Atin, one of Korda's founders, appears in six roles in The Hobbit, including Lord of the Eagles and Old Took.
Although there are only three shows — Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. — Atin hopes The Hobbit has some legs. Already nearly 3,000 school children will take in the brief run.
So much work has gone into this, it would be nice to be able to do it
again,
she said. Everything but the set is portable, so it's
conceivable we could do it someplace else.
The portability applies to the music for this show, too. Rather than using a pit orchestra or band, The Hobbit will use tapes of a new score composed by Atin's husband, Robert Godden.
Godden, a retired high school math teacher, wrote about 10 new songs or instrumentals and recorded them at Stuart Campbell's Kingsville studio.
The Hobbit is not a musical, but music is used to embellish some scenes, including about six songs that employ poems or phrases in the novel.
I started with Tolkien's own words and the setting, which is ancient
Irish or Celtic,
said Godden.
Then I wrote music that felt a little like Celtic, bluegrass and
otherwordly New Age, if you like.
Godden, who plays guitar, often wrote songs to explain math concepts in the classroom. He also directed plays at General Amherst High School in Amherstburg.
He wasn't a fan of Tolkien, however.
Our 11-year-old son, James, dragged us kicking and screaming to all the
Lord of the Rings movies,
he said.
The 10 cast members play about 35 roles, requiring masks and more than two dozen costumes. The casting calls for elves, goblins, hobbits, and a variety of creatures, including a dragon, eagles and a pair of giant spiders.
Besides David Court's set depicting Middle Earth, this production of The Hobbit boasts elaborate costumes, again based on Tolkien's original descriptions rather than the films.
Hobbits are described as preferring bright colours, said Marontate, so greens and yellows dominate the costume design.
Kelly Ridley made nearly 30 costumes out of cotton, then handpainted them to simulate embroidery and other features.
I used dyes, acrylic paints, even a Sharpie marker,
she said.
Mark Lefebvre, who plays Gandalf, said audiences will be thrilled with the results.
The timing for this couldn't be better because of the movies,
he
said. It's in the curriculum at some schools, too, so kids and teachers are
eager for this kind of show.
The show's Bilbo Baggins, Katie MacTavish, 18, remmbers watching the animated version of The Hobbit over and over as a kid.
I think Bilbo is a great character. He's down to earth, but a little out
there, too.
A great effort made by all
The Hobbit showcases a talented group of actors performing a slow, repetitious play
- by Dina Masotti, Lance Arts Editor (Appeared in The Lance, the University of Windsor's student newspaper, on March 23, 2004)
On the weekend of March 13 and 14 Korda Productions showcased its latest play: The Hobbit. Adapted from the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit is a prelude to the Lord of the Rings trilogy that follows the adventures of Bilbo Baggins. As a quiet Hobbit, Bilbo is enticed by Gandalf the wizard to reluctantly embark on an adventure with a group of Dwarves to regain some treasure that was stolen from them at the hands of a dragon.
On Saturday night the theatre was not entirely sold out, but a decent crowd had gathered to witness a hobbit's journey filled with creatures of the unknown. When Bilbo Baggins came out at the beginning of the show, I was immediately impressed. The role was played by first year BFA Acting student at the U of W Katie Mactavish, and from the beginning to the end she was Bilbo in his entirety. She captured his meticulous movements, his precise speech, and was altogether an incredible sight to watch. Mactavish was in almost every scene and although her talent was evident, it was not enough to save the play as a whole.
The real height of excitement throughout the production came sometime within the first act when the audience was introduced to Gollum played by University of Windsor student Adam Giles; Adam absolutely perfected the character of Gollum. On stage he was captivating and intriguing with a four-legged walk and animal-like movements. I was entirely convinced that it was not a human by Giles' incredible ability to move so effortlessly on all fours. He brought great energy to the play that started to plummet once he left the stage. His scene was the first of only three scenes to gain applause by the end of the night.
The story of the Hobbit is obviously directed towards a younger audience, and the crowd was filled with mostly families, but by the time the intermission hit, it felt like the play was dragging a bit. Even the two children seated in front of me were asking their parents when it would be over obviously bored by the redundant battles and trials along Bilbo's journey. Not to say Korda Productions did not do the best with all their resources as costumes were flawless and extravagant, and the lighting was amazing at creating moods and different settings, but the play itself is not really that exciting. You are taken on adventure after adventure but it begins to feel old before a conclusion arises.
The play did provide some excitement in terms of presenting a world of unknown creatures and elements. No one really knows what Goblins look like, but Korda Productions presented these creatures as green monsters and the Great Goblin, once again played exceptionally by Adam Giles, was a brilliant display of a green mutant king sitting on his throne controlled through puppetry. Also, the illusion of giant spiders across the stage with an even larger web was an interesting contrast to reality, but it was not enough to make the play a must see.
The play was put on throughout the week for schools and on the weekend for the rest of the world. Although Korda Productions did the best with what they had, the slow, similar adventures seem better suited to a multi-million dollar blockbuster that could provide more diversity and greater action rather than a tiny theatre with space and money restrictions. The cast and crew were littered with University of Windsor students and alumni and it seemed every aspect of the play, aside from the slow, repetitious plot, was perfectly executed. With such talent and energy I am sure Korda Productions next show will be a hit, as long as they pick something with a little more excitement.