To take three densely written and plotted novels - often cited as the property of the geeks which took millions to be adapted into three long films - and to try and produce a crowd-pleasing musical seems like a foolhardy idea. To take that show and then stage it in the West End, following in the wake of a dissapointing Toronto run, seems doubly so. But that's what the producers of The Lord of the Rings: The Musical have done, and it says something for the power of Tolkien's original text and the power of its message that it works at all. And it has to be said that despite its three hour running time, The Lord of the Rings is an entertaining crowd pleaser, even if it's not a critical success.

The main problem with the production is its billing. Yes there are a number of songs contained here, but few are memorable. Fans of Riverdance and Enya may be sated, but it's not the world’s greatest musical, but then it’s not trying to be. The music is much more akin to a film score, underscoring the action and heightening the emotion of a near constant through composed production.

It's the spectacle that hits you and will leave you talking long after you’ve left the theatre. In that respect the show is more like a Las Vegas production, a huge £12.5 million extravaganza with no expense spared in its attempt to dazzle, and on this level it certainly doesn't disappoint.

From its opening scene where Bilbo slips on the ring and disappears, to the battle with the Elks, the appearance of a huge spider, the menacing black riders and the spell binding entrance of Galadriel, a mixture of traditional theatrical techniques are combined with those from Hollywood.

In fact, the epic battle for Middle Earth is brought to life as a stunning piece of total theatre that merges acrobatics and aerial displays with a visual spectacle of music, drama and an ingenious revolve into a mesmerising journey.

Concentration is not a problem. The fact that it competes well with Peter Jackson's hit trilogy is perhaps its greatest feat - and demonstrates where the money has gone. However, you do begin to tire of the constantly rising and falling stage and the twee nature of the Hobbit scenes.

The plot has been whittled down to its bare essentials but still manages to bring out the story’s themes, while racing along at a cracking pace and concentrating on the plight of the Hobbits, and Frodo and Sam in particular. Inevitably fans of the books and the films will mourn the loss of such scenes as the Battle for Helms Deep et all, but the writers have successfully distilled the essence of Tolkien's message – that the power of friendship can be used to banish evil.

But, unlike the film, the stage show manages to connect the story to the present day making it clear that the Time of Man is now, conveying the sense of sadness that the beauty and magic of Middle Earth has been lost forever.

That's not to say that some of the action doesn't drag - an insipid ballad between Aragorn and Arwen holds up the action somewhat, a crucial misjudgement as a much-needed sense of urgency as we race towards the finale is lost.

But while plot and spectacle generally dazzle, performances are more patchy with actors dwarfed (excuse the pun) by the events going on around them. Worse, some of them feel they have to compete with the staging by going over the top - step forward Steven Miller as Boromir, straight out of the Donald Sinden school of acting.

Fortunately James Loye as Frodo and Peter Howe as Sam keep it small, with enough subtlety and charm to get us rooting for them while still hinting at the homoerotic undertones that have kept the internet buzzing for years. Laura Michelle Kelly gives a haunting and beautiful performance as Galadrial and gets the show’s best tunes, but it's Michael Therriault as Gollum that steals the show - no mean feat considering you can't help but compare his performance to Andy Serkis' star turn in the films which used CGI to create the schizophrenic, ring-obsessed creature.

The Lord of the Rings seems to have followed a pattern set by Les Misérables - a show hated by the critics but instantly embraced by the public. But whilst it doesn't have the songs and performances to repeat the latter’s success story, the reaction of the audience during its opening performances suggests The Lord of the Rings will be in the West End a good while yet.

There certainly is one show to bind them all.

The Lord Of The Rings
Theatre Royal
Drury Lane
Catherine Street
London, WC2
0870 890 6002 / www.lotr.com

Opened 19 June 2007 and currently booking until 29 March 2008

Can’t make it to the show? Then buy The Lord of the Rings Official Stage Companion: Staging the Greatest Show on Middle-Earth. Get it online and save some money to put towards the extended edition DVD box set of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.