GREATEST SHOW ON MIDDLE-EARTH

Alina Taber had been acting professionally since she was a teenager, so she knew going into the audition that rejection is just part of the game. But something about the role of Arwen in Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s (CST) U.S. premiere of The Lord of the Rings—A Musical Tale felt right, like it was meant to be.

“The voice description for the role was exactly my voice,” says Taber, a Winnetka native who began playing the character of Lexi Olinsky on Chicago P.D. at age 16, while still a student at New Trier Township High School. “I’m like, ‘all right … hell yeah’.”

She sent in her initial audition tape with giddy excitement. It had everything they had asked for, including a few songs, clips of all the instruments that she plays, and a “belty” show stopper. And yet, weeks went by without even one callback. Taber, who grew up in a music and theateroriented family, was devastated.

“I had friends who were already getting callbacks so I was really hurt,” she says. “As an actor, you have to deal with rejection every day. But every once in a while, a project comes along that you feel so connected to that it can feel very heartbreaking when people don’t see your art for what it can be.”

After admittedly “feeling salty” about the rejection, Taber made a bold move—crafting a carefully worded email to Bob Mason, artistic associate and the casting director at CST.

“I said ‘I think I’m really perfect for this and would love to be seen in person.’ Thankfully, he listened and I got a call back,” she says, explaining how she went down to CST’s Navy Pier space to sing a few songs and do the scene. “I walked away feeling proud. I stood up for myself and for something I believed in.”

A week later, on May 7, Taber woke up on her 27th birthday to an offer. She got the part!

“It’s a story I will continue to tell for the rest of my life about the importance of advocating for yourself as an artist. There are a million talented people in this sphere. You really have to advocate for yourself as an artist,” she says. “If I had not stepped out of my comfort zone and done this, I would have missed the opportunity to do this show, which has been very special.”

The Lord of the Rings—A Musical Tale made its U.S. premiere in previews last Friday for a run that goes through September 1. Later this fall, on November 5, it will transfer to The Civic Theatre in Auckland, New Zealand—a country that has become the embodiment of Middle-earth since the release of Peter Jackson’s Oscar-winning film trilogy about the novels.

Featuring a 24-member ensemble cast, the highly anticipated, original musical adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendary trilogy comes to Chicago after a run last year at Watermill Theatre in Newberry, England. With book and lyrics by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus and original music by Academy Award winner A.R. Rahman (Bombay Dreams, Slumdog Millionaire), Finnish folk band Värttinä, and Tony Award winner Christopher Nightingale (Matilda the Musical), the production is a reimagined revival of a musical that debuted in London in 2007.

“Chicago Shakespeare Theater is delighted to create the U.S. premiere of Paul Hart’s magical and inspiring vision of The Lord of The Rings,” said CST Artistic Director Edward Hall in a statement to the media. “The Chicago-based ensemble that Paul and our team have put together promises to take us on an extraordinary adventure through Middle-earth. Launching our summer program in The Yard with this thrilling production promises an unforgettable night in the theater.”

With Irish and folk-inspired music performed live by the company onstage, the audience is transported through Middle-earth for Bilbo Baggins’ eleventy-first birthday celebration in the Shire. When Baggins gifts his nephew Frodo his most precious belonging—a gold ring—it launches him on a legendary and perilous quest. Frodo proceeds to travel to the darkest realms of Mordor to vanquish evil, a tale that will be familiar to long-time Tolkienites and devotees to the film franchise.

Taber’s role as the half-Elven queen Arwen (famously played by Liv Tyler in Jackson’s film trilogy) —a descendent of the ancient Elven House of Finwë—has immersed her into Tolkien’s magical realm for the first time.

“I’m currently reading the books and have watched the original film trilogy,” she explains. “Sometimes I struggle with attention span on high fantasy novels but Tolkien is different for me. There is so much heart in the story and it’s been fun learning more about the incredible world that he built.”

The U.S. premiere at CST coincides with the 70th anniversary of the July 29, 1954 publication of The Fellowship of the Ring, the first book in the internationally renowned trilogy.

“I think it’s a really unique production and what better city to bring this show to the U.S. than Chicago,” says Taber, adding that performing on the stage at CST has long been on her theatrical bucket list. “Everyone is just phenomenally talented and so sweet. I’m incredibly lucky to be working with such a talented group of actors and musicians.”

While Taber can’t remember exactly how or where she got her start in theater, she credits her parents and the North Shore community for an abundance of opportunities and support for the arts.

“I used to go to a summer camp called TWIG. One year we did Princess and the Pea so I was probably 9, but there may have been moments before that,” she says. “Even as a kid, my friends and I, along with my sister, would make up plays and perform them for our parents. I think that imaginative play time is where I got most of my start in theater.”

She did a few school shows and had an agent by the time she was a teenager. One of her first professional roles was in David Mamet’s The Water Engine at a theater in Chicago.

“It’s a story about a scientist who invents an engine that runs on water and the businessmen who want to get in the way,” she explains. “I played a couple different child characters. I was 13 years old and just met some of the loveliest people.”

In addition to starring as Golda in New Trier’s production of Fiddler on the Roof her senior year of high school, she did more professional theater before her big television break on Chicago P.D. Taber played Lexi Olinsky for four seasons, which took from her junior year at New Trier through college.

“I was at Fordham University for one semester but New York chewed me up and spat me out,” says Taber. “I wasn’t ready for New York.”

She came back to Chicago to study at DePaul, earning a degree in history with a minor in sign language. Agents would continue to book her for commercial spots and print ads but soon after graduation, Taber committed herself to the pursuit of live theater.

“All roads lead back to this,” she adds. “Theater has a special place in my heart. As an artist, it can be so fulfilling from an ensemble perspective to develop a show with a group of people. That comradery creates these really intimate, lasting relationships.”

Before getting cast in The Lord of the Rings—A Musical Tale, Taber received rave reviews as Stella in Paramount Theatre’s A Streetcar Named Desire—an experience that she says was tough, given the subject matter, but also one of the most brilliant, transformational roles she’s ever played.

As a vocalist and songwriter, she has also performed in “Ella Fitzgerald: Live at Mr. Kelly’s” at City Winery in Chicago, “Patrick Lives On Anti-Gun Violence Benefit” with the cast of NBC’s One Chicago, and “BB King’s Birthday celebration with Shirley King” (daughter of BB) at Motor Row Brewing on Chicago’s south side.

With The Lord of the Rings—A Musical Tale officially in production at The Yard and the prospect of performing in New Zealand on the horizon, Taber is excited to be expanding her repertoire even further in what is shaping up to be a global musical theater sensation.

“I’m playing five instruments and learning how to play the harp specifically for this show. Learning a new instrument, especially a notoriously difficult instrument, has been a challenge,” she says, adding that she’s grateful for the opportunity to work with and learn from seasoned harp players in the cast. “It’s been such an incredible experience. This show was brought to Chicago from England but it continues to be reimagined. As actors, we are helping to build a world through music, puppetry, and dancing, and it’s been absolutely amazing.”

The Lord of the Rings—A Musical Tale will run at The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare Theater through September 1. For more information, visit chicagoshakes.com/lordoftherings.