Thursday, August 27, 2009

Review-We Will Rock You (London)



This show is in its fifth season at the Dominion Theatre on London's West End. It is the longest running show in the history of this theatre and it's a blast to watch!

If you weren't a fan of Queen, you should have been. When Bohemian Rhapsody was released, they were told that people would never buy any of their records because their type of music had never really been heard of before and kids just weren't interested in hearing songs that lasted over 3 minutes. The original recording (if I remember correctly) was well over 7 minutes long. Suffice to say it was a smash hit in Britain and in the States.

Of course, Queen was already on the map in the U.K. Queen released their first album "Queen" in 1973. It got great reviews but little mainstream play. In 1975, "A Night At The Opera" was released and the rest was history.
Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon were Queen and they were raucous! Everything they put out kicked ass and this musical highlights some of the best music they ever put out. The basic story is told in the future when the Internet controls everything and everyone. Music and musical instruments are banned. Anything remotely related to music and dancing are allowed only if taught and approved by Globalsoft and it's leader "Killer Queen".

It starts in a school where all the young people are brainwashed into life of Globalsoft. Two rebels emerge from the throng of students. The boy's name is "Galileo Figuero" and the girl's name is "Scaramouche" (if you know Queen, you know where these names come from) and their story involves becoming Bohemian and leading the uprising against Globalsoft (or internet ga-ga).
There are allot of puns and word plays using Queen music titles and some inside jokes I imagine are British or West End in nature. The story was a bit choppy for my taste but the cast and crew were fabulous and the music is what we're there for anyway. Tons of Queen songs that you can't help but sing along with. Definitely worth the money to see if you ever make it to London's West End!

No comments: