Fellowship!
Encyclopedia
Fellowship! is a musical
parody
stage play based on The Fellowship of the Ring
the first volume of J. R. R. Tolkien
's The Lord of the Rings
, and Peter Jackson's 2001 film adaptation of it. The book was written by Kelly Holden-Bashar and Joel McCrary with music by Allen Simpson and lyrics and additional material by Brian D. Bradley,
Lisa Fredrickson, Kelly Holden-Bashar, Joel McCrary, Edi Patterson, Steve Purnick, Cory Rouse, Allen Simpson, Ryan Smith, Peter Allen Vogt and Matthew Stephen Young. The musical was first performed at the El Portal Forum Theater in North Hollywood, California.
The play follows the major events of Tolkien's story. It re-imagines Bilbo Baggins
as an aged Jewish comedian, the Balrog as a sleep-deprived diva
, the battle on Weathertop
as a West Side Story-style gang fight, and Rivendell
as a Scientologist
stronghold. Part live action, part puppet show and part animation, the show removes or summarizes parts of the story that would slow it down. While played for laughs, the music features original compositions instead of parodies, and the song styles range from cheesy 1980s rock to sleazy cabaret numbers.
The play had a successful six-week run in early 2005, and played several sold-out shows at the 2005 San Diego Comic Con. L.A. Weekly named it a "Pick of the Week", and both Backstage West and the Los Angeles Times
listed it as a "Critic's Choice."
In 2006, the play won Musical of the Year and Best Comedy Ensemble at the 2006 LA Weekly Theater Award
s. The show was also nominated for Best Musical Direction.
At the 36th Annual Saturn Awards
, held on June 24, 2010, in Burbank, California, the play won the award for Best Local Stage Production: Small Theatre. It was the first time an award in this category had ever been given at the Saturn Awards. Composer Allen Simpson and cast members Matt Young and Ryan Smith accepted the award on behalf of the play. The award was presented by actor John de Lancie
.
The 36th Annual Saturn Awards were presented by The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, a non-profit organization created in 1972 to honor, recognize and promote genre entertainment. The Academy was founded by noted film historian, Dr. Donald A. Reed, who died in 2001. Robert Holguin currently serves as President of the Academy.
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
stage play based on The Fellowship of the Ring
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It takes place in the fictional universe Middle-earth. It was originally published on July 29, 1954 in the United Kingdom...
the first volume of J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, and Peter Jackson's 2001 film adaptation of it. The book was written by Kelly Holden-Bashar and Joel McCrary with music by Allen Simpson and lyrics and additional material by Brian D. Bradley,
Lisa Fredrickson, Kelly Holden-Bashar, Joel McCrary, Edi Patterson, Steve Purnick, Cory Rouse, Allen Simpson, Ryan Smith, Peter Allen Vogt and Matthew Stephen Young. The musical was first performed at the El Portal Forum Theater in North Hollywood, California.
The play follows the major events of Tolkien's story. It re-imagines Bilbo Baggins
Bilbo Baggins
Bilbo Baggins is the protagonist and titular character of The Hobbit and a supporting character in The Lord of the Rings, two of the most well-known of J. R. R...
as an aged Jewish comedian, the Balrog as a sleep-deprived diva
Diva
A diva is a celebrated female singer. The term is used to describe a woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, and, by extension, in theatre, cinema and popular music. The meaning of diva is closely related to that of "prima donna"....
, the battle on Weathertop
Weathertop
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, Weathertop is a hill in the Eriador region of Middle-earth, the southernmost and highest summit of the Weather Hills...
as a West Side Story-style gang fight, and Rivendell
Rivendell
Rivendell is an Elven outpost in Middle-earth, a fictional realm created by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was established and ruled by Elrond in the Second Age of Middle-earth...
as a Scientologist
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
stronghold. Part live action, part puppet show and part animation, the show removes or summarizes parts of the story that would slow it down. While played for laughs, the music features original compositions instead of parodies, and the song styles range from cheesy 1980s rock to sleazy cabaret numbers.
The play had a successful six-week run in early 2005, and played several sold-out shows at the 2005 San Diego Comic Con. L.A. Weekly named it a "Pick of the Week", and both Backstage West and the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
listed it as a "Critic's Choice."
In 2006, the play won Musical of the Year and Best Comedy Ensemble at the 2006 LA Weekly Theater Award
LA Weekly Theater Award
LA Weekly Theater Award is an annual critics' award established in 1979, given by the LA Weekly for outstanding achievements in small theatre productions in Southern California...
s. The show was also nominated for Best Musical Direction.
At the 36th Annual Saturn Awards
36th Saturn Awards
The 36th Saturn Awards, honoring the best in science fiction, fantasy and horror film and television in 2009 were presented on June 24, 2010, in Burbank, California. The most awards of the night were won by Avatar, winning all ten of its nominations...
, held on June 24, 2010, in Burbank, California, the play won the award for Best Local Stage Production: Small Theatre. It was the first time an award in this category had ever been given at the Saturn Awards. Composer Allen Simpson and cast members Matt Young and Ryan Smith accepted the award on behalf of the play. The award was presented by actor John de Lancie
John de Lancie
John de Lancie is an American actor. He has been active in screen and television roles since 1977, though he is best known for his recurring role as Q on the various Star Trek series and as Frank Simmons in Stargate SG-1....
.
The 36th Annual Saturn Awards were presented by The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, a non-profit organization created in 1972 to honor, recognize and promote genre entertainment. The Academy was founded by noted film historian, Dr. Donald A. Reed, who died in 2001. Robert Holguin currently serves as President of the Academy.