Tony Winner Brent Carver to Headline The Lord of the Rings in Toronto

Tony winner Brent Carver is set to play the great wizard Gandalf in the upcoming stage version of The Lord of the Rings at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre. The show, which boasts a cast of 55, will also feature James Loye as Frodo Baggins, Michael Therriault as Gollum, Evan Buliung as Aragorn, Richard McMillan as the wizard Saruman, Peter Howe as Frodo's best friend Samwise Gamgee, Dylan Roberts as Merry, Owen Sharpe as Pippin, Gabriel Burrafato is Legolas, Dion Johnstone is Boromir, Carly Street as Arwen, Victor A. Young as Elrond, Kerry Dorey as Théoden and Kristin Galer as Rosie.

Carver won Tony and Drama Desk Awards for his performance in Kiss of the Spider Woman. He has also appeared on the Great White Way in Parade for which he received a Tony nomination and King Lear. He starred off-Broadway in the tuner My Life with Albertine. A native of Canada, Carver has many credits in his homeland, including multiple appearances at the Stratford Festival.

Loye, who is British, appeared earlier this year in Sleeping Beauty at the New Victory Theatre. Therriault, who won a Dora Award for Best Actor for his performance in the Canadian mounting of The Producers, is currently appearing on Broadway in Fiddler on the Roof. A frequent performer at the Shaw and Stratford Festivals, Buliung recently appeared in Journey's End and Major Barbara at the Shaw. McMillan originated the role of Scar in the Canadian premiere of The Lion King at the Princess of Wales Theatre. Howe is making his professional stage debut in The Lord of the Rings. Roberts' theatrical credits include The Taming of he Shrew, Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Science Fiction, The Poet's Wife and The Tempest. Sharpe's theatrical credits include National Theatre productions of A Laughing Matter and She Stoops to Conquer. Burrafato was most recently seen at the Princess of Wales Theatre in the tour of Evita. Originally from Vancouver, Johnstone has been a member of the Stratford Festival for many years. A graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, Street's theatrical credits include Much Ado About Nothing, The Compleat Works of Wllm Shakspr abridged, How I Learned to Drive, Into the Woods, Three Sisters and Cloud Nine. Young played Mr. Peabody in the television movie Eloise at Christmas Time. Dorey's television credits include episodes of the series Starhunter, Total Recall 2070 and Twice in a Lifetime. Among Galer's credits is Blithe Spirit at the University of Windsor.

The musical adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings features book and lyrics by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus, and music by A.R. Rahman and Vãrttinã with Christopher Nightingale. The show will begin performances at the Princess of Wales on February 2, 2006. The gala performance is scheduled for March 23, 2006.

In addition to those actors mentioned above, Greg Armstrong-Morris, Joel Benson, Alexandra Bonnet, Brent Buchanan, Matt Cassidy, Mike Cota, Susan Dunstan, Joe Eigo, Josh Epstein, Omar Forrest, Matthew Gagnon, Nicholas Gede-Lange, Don Gough, Graeme Guthrie, Colin Heath, Peter Huck, Chilina Kennedy, Kristal Kiran Garib, Bryce Kulak, Monique Lund, Shannon Lynch, Ayrin Mackie, Colin Maier, Patrick McManus, Tyler Murree, Philip Nero, Danny Pathan, Sean C. Robertson, Louise St. Cyr, Vincent Tong, Peter Van Gestel, Fraser Walters, Sanders Whiting and Shawn Wright will appear.