New York City Becomes Middle-Earth: The Fellowship Of The Ring At Radio City

Working with NYCC retail partners as well as friends at United Cutlery, Sideshow Collectables, and BBC Audiobooks America, we were able to transform bits of Manhattan into Middle-earth. Anyone who visited Midtown Comics would find Arwen's Hadhafang sword on public display, and visitors to Kinokuniya Bookstore and Image Anime could see various Sideshow Collectables Lord of The Rings statues -- with both the weaponry and figurines on view up until the concerts and, now that the events are over, soon to be given away in contests to customers.

The biggest highlight of the activities leading up to Radio City, however, was a presentation on October 1 at The Paley Center in New York City. A discussion between composer Howard Shore, actor Billy Boyd, and writer Doug Adams moderated by MTV's Kurt Loder, it was an intimate event open to only a hundred or so fans -- very far removed from the epic hall that would soon be transformed by LOTR's music -- and every seat inside The Paley Center buzzed with energy. Let me amend that. Every seat both in the audience and on stage buzzed with energy. The Paley Center LOTR event, titled "Shore on The Score", was an echo chamber of reverence for Tolkien's books, Jackson's films, and Shore's score. It was a night of hearing just how much respect, dedication, and research went into every aspect of Shore's composition and the LOTR films overall. While I've said previously that I didn't count myself as a fantasy fan, that didn't mean I didn't know the influence of the LOTR name, and everything I and New York Comic Con did in the lead up to the Radio City concerts was with heavy shoulders because of the magnitude and meaning LOTR had upon us, and it was fascinating and breathtaking to see this same fervor from everyone involved. All the audience -- average New Yorkers, LOTR buffs, and music students -- were in awe of being this close to Shore and this close to LOTR, and, even more, Shore, Boyd, and Adams spoke with such care about the trust, faith, and singular nobility that is touching The Lord of The Rings legend.

I left The Paley Center with my mouth dry and hands sweaty. As I always knew how much meaning The Lord of The Rings had, this was the first time I felt it.

I must say before leaving this section that there was so much more I wanted to do with The Lord of The Rings that must wait until 2010 (we'll come to that later), particularly transforming the High Line Garden into The Shire. If you, dear reader, have any contact with the High Line who'll return my messages, I'd love to be in touch!

Howard Shore Fun Fact: In addition to composing the score to all three LOTR films, Howard Shore has composed the music to movies ranging from Gangs of New York, The Aviator, Silence of The Lambs, and The Departed to eXistenZ, The Last Mimzy, Dogma, and Mrs. Doubtfire.

The First Night
I'd never been to Radio City before The Lord of The Rings, so before even the concert, I was knocked down by the grandeur of Radio City itself. Every New Yorker knows Radio City's lovingly classic face across from Rockefeller Center, but this front is but a dim candle compared to the glistening fire within. Built with a gilded opulence and architecture from a time long ago, Radio City's Art Deco interior dwarfs all who enter, with the overwhelming experience of gazing upon its royally painted walls matched only by the realization of its never-ending size.

Once inside and in my seat before the show, I turned my head to the audience around me. Far and away, we were in a sea of suits and ties and grey hair was the rule. But suits, ties, and grey hair mingled with fathers and sons, Godzilla T-Shirts, X-Men jackets, jeans, as well as hobbits, elves, and even one fan dressed head to toe as Gandalf the Grey. My favorite of Friday's attendees, though, were two Lolitas in the first mezzanine, both wearing dresses from Baby, The Stars Shine Bright. The array of those attending was only further testament to the power that The Lord of The Rings conjures. No matter how the audience was dressed, they were here because of Tolkien's spell.

Looking forward, Radio City's "Great Stage" beneath an arch echoing a setting sun was framed on both sides by large screens presenting messages from the concert's partners. Swiss Air, the Angel Orensanz Foundation, Le Poisson Rouge, Turbine's The Lord of The Rings Online, and even AMC's The Prisoner were represented as were photos and art from fans. I had mentioned earlier that New York Comic Con hosted LOTR photo and art contests. Looking at the photo contest, we asked New Yorkers to take pictures of their city, images of Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island which were tinged with Tolkien's magic. Originally, I had anticipated getting Mordor-inspired photos of the subway and images of the Chrysler Building that were influenced by Gondor. Instead, I got a lot of green. The vast majority of the images were of Central Park as a modern day Shire. So many of the photos were fantastic, but should we run this event again, take note that there's more to Middle-earth and New York City, and you'll get bonus points if the primary color of your photograph isn't green. To the art contest, we asked children and adults to send in their LOTR fan art, and while a good number of images were inspired by the films, I was terribly impressed that the greater number were not -- instead original works drawing their influence from the books themselves.

All this said, the winners of these contests took home various items, ranging from tickets to the concerts, to CDs signed by Howard Shore, to copies of Guillermo Del Toro's The Strain. (He's directing The Hobbit. There's a connection.) The biggest feather in all the winners' caps, though, was having their art on display inside Radio City, and more than something hung on a small piece of a wall, the winners had their works presented larger than life before all 6,000 seats within Radio City Music Hall.

It must have been a magnificent feeling for the winners in the audience seeing their photos and art so big, in front of so many people, in such a historic venue. (I just authored the DVD with all the art on it, and it was a trip for me.)

A little past 7:30 PM, Friday's concert formally began. Led by Ludwig Wicki, The 21st Century Symphony Orchestra, The Collegiate Chorale, and The Brooklyn Youth Chorus and vocalist Kaitlyn Lusk set to work to bring the music of The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring to life. And that is what happened. The film projected in colossal proportions behind them, Maestro Wicki and all those he assembled breathed life into the flickering images. And all those in the audience were involved, too. For we were not simply passively watching a film. Instead, we, too, contributed to the spirit, the excitement, the reverence, and the awe in the room. This was magic happening. This was a new chapter of the legend of The Lord of The Rings.

Howard Shore's score is a richly detailed tapestry with powerful, beautiful different threads representing the Elves, the Orcs, the Dwarves, and Man, each race rendered with very divergent -- and often very ancient -- instruments, and to see and to hear men and women creating this symphony live on stage inspired only wonder. And applause. A lot of applause. After each new movement and every choral piece, the audience erupted in claps and cheers, the loudest and most bold being the two peaks in the ebb and flow of the score -- Gandalf's battle in the Mines or Moria after an unreal, unrelenting guttural chorus and the cresendoing end credits weaving together all of The Fellowship of The Ring's motifs and themes. After an instant standing ovation and bows from Maestro Wicki, The 21st Century Symphony Orchestra, The Collegiate Chorale, and The Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and Kaitlyn Lusk, Composer Howard Shore took to the stage along with Billy "Pipin" Boyd as well as no one else than Frodo himself -- Elijah Wood. While Boyd's appearance had been publicized beforehand, Elijah was a special surprise, a treat revealed only hours before the concert. After another round of applause and the emergence of the house lights, the first night of The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring came to an end.

And I must state that Maestro Wicki wore a fantastic suit.

Howard Shore Fun Fact: The music of The Lord of The Rings features instruments including Japanese taiko drums, metal bell plates, and chains beaten upon piano wire.

The Second Night
How do you top The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring's opening night? It's a difficult question to answer, but -- somehow -- the second night was even more electric than the first. While Friday was an evening blending suits and ties with fanboys, grey hair and black jackets were the exception on Saturday. Saturday's audience was decidedly younger, with more T-Shirts, more jeans, more costumes, more Lolitas, as well as Stephen Colbert. And, serendipitously, it all began with a street fair stretching up the Avenue of The Americas from Bryant Park to Radio City.

On Saturday, the claps and cheers were louder and more frequent. Saturday's audience knew every beat of the film and interacted, laughing, cheering and applauding through the entire score as well as at every character introduction and new current in the plot. (If you're wondering, ladies still like Legolas. A lot.) And even after the house lights went up and Howard Shore took his bow, the applause did not cease.

And I must correct a statement set forth early on. While I said that I've never had a soft spot in my heart for fantasy, and even The Lord of The Rings is no exception, that is no longer the case. Following this past weekend and experiencing The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring, I've already purchased Tolkien's books and I'm looking dearly to see the Extended Editions of the films. The Lord of The Rings at Radio City made a fan out of me.

Howard Shore Fun Fact: Howard Shore is returning to the world of Tolkien, composing the score to Guillermo Del Toro's upcoming The Hobbit.

The Two Towers
At the close of both nights of The Lord of The Ring: The Fellowship of The Ring at Radio City, following the end credits, an image and a date was shown in screen. The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers is coming to Radio City Music Hall on October 8 and 9, 2010. One year away, the second act of The Lord of The Rings will immerse Manhattan in Middle-earth, and for anyone familiar with New York Comic Con, you'll no doubt realize the next NYCC is October 8, 9, and 10, 2010. This is no coincidence, and I and everyone with New York Comic Con are truly blessed, honored, and humbled to be able to work with our friends at CAMI Music again and to give our fans a truly unique experience, for The Lord of The Rings and New York Comic Con will be embarking on some sincerely special collaborations as we plan for a weekend one year away that will be nothing short of magical.

Now, looking at how to end this, I'm at a loss. I could continue to string together superlatives, but there's nothing I can succinctly say to sum up my feelings and my pride. Instead, I must borrow from Mr. Howard Shore and repeat the last few lines of his introduction from the Radio City program guide.

"From the very first time I sat in the audience watching and listening, I felt that I was seeing the music with more clarity and hearing the image in an entirely new way. It became a completely new experience."