Hobbits are dancing...

...and the show has not yet begun!

...Now that it's over it has become my new favorite, only slightly dislodging Les Mis?rables, which inspired me to spend my life doing theatre. Lord of the Rings inspired me all over again!

The acting and singing were fine, but it was the creative telling of such a rich story that put it on the top of my all-time list.

The Balrog and Shelob were phenomenal, but the real star was the stage. It started as a simple turntable (a la Les Mis), but it had so many sections that could each move independently that it could become anything, and it did.

I was also tickled by a couple of things the films left out: a reference to Tom Bombadill and Sauroman's hijacking of the Shire and his subsequent fall.

An amazing piece of theatre.