LONDON — The lavish stage musical "The Lord of the Rings" will close July 19, 13 months after opening to lukewarm reviews.
Producers announced Friday that the show, based on J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy saga, will close after 492 performances at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. With a budget of $24 million, "The Lord of the Rings" is one of the most expensive musicals ever produced.
It had its world premiere in Toronto in March 2006, but closed six months later. It was trimmed and reworked for its London run, but still failed to impress some critics.
While a year is a respectable run, the show's predecessor at the Theatre Royal, "The Producers," ran for twice as long.
Producers said talks were under way to take the show to Germany with a German-speaking cast. A touring version is being developed to open in New Zealand next year before going to Australia and east Asia.