#ben mathew

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The Lord of the Rings: A Musical Tale

@ Chicago Shakespeare Theater, July to September 2024

📸 Liz Lauren

Official photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

[the-daughter-of-a-wolf]

🍃 my loveable cousin 🍃 (acrylics on canvas, 2024)

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!!!

So, we had a secret extra participant in the gift exchange - Chicago and New Zealand's Merry, Eileen Doan herself! Our exchange organiser Mo felt that giving someone the sole responsibility of making art for an actual cast member might be a bit daunting, so it was agreed that Eileen would be making a communal gift for the whole fandom, and I would take on the extra task of making something for Eileen, since I've been making cast portraits for a while now anyway. I was thrilled to do it, especially as I absolutely adore Eileen, and have loved following his journey with this show! ❤️

Eileen requested art of the Chicago hobbits, and since fitting four hobbits in one piece felt like a bit too tall an order, I settled on the dynamic duo of Eileen's Merry and Ben Mathew's Pippin! Their dynamic fills me with so much joy, and it was a lot of fun to paint them together! I did struggle a LOT with getting their likenesses down, and I especially feel like I didn't really do Eileen's charmingly mischievous energy justice, but I really really hope they both like it anyway! 🙏

So happy lotrmusicalmas and new year to Eileen! Thank you for your loving, unique and heartfelt contributions to this show and fandom, we're so lucky to have had you as our Merry! Best of luck to all your future endeavors and hope we've not seen last of you in Middle-Earth! ❤️

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Some beautiful Hobbit-centric shots, courtesy of Michael Kurowski (Sam)!

The Lord of the Rings: A Musical Tale, Chicago Shakespeare Theater

📸 Rich Hein

Official photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

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The Lord of the Rings: A Musical Tale in Auckland, Aotearoa ✨️

📸 Liam Newth

Scenes: The Cat and the Moon, Now and For Always, Lothlórien

Official photos: 1 | 2

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The four Hobbits in rehearsals: Michael Kurowski (Sam), Spencer Davis Milford (Frodo), Eileen Doan (Merry), Ben Mathew (Pippin)

shared by Spencer Davis Milford via Instagram stories on 13 June 2024

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Congratulations to Ty Shay, who made his Merry debut today! ✨️

shared by Ty Shay & Michael McBride via Instagram stories on 26 November 2024

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America is getting its first taste of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ musical, with Chicago actors as the hobbits

The sweeping musical at Chicago Shakespeare Theater strives to be both epic and intimate in its staging of the classic J.R.R. Tolkien novels

Mike Davis interviews the cast and creative team of The Lord of the Rings at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater for WBEZ Chicago.

Topics:

bringing the epic classic to the stage

making such a big story feel intimate

adapting the score for actor-musicians

📸 Timothy Hiatt