We Will Rock You (musical)

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This article is about the musical. For the song and record, see We Will Rock You.
We Will Rock You
Music Queen
Lyrics Queen and Ben Elton
Book Ben Elton
Productions 2002 West End
Las Vegas
Melbourne
Tokyo
Moscow
Spain
2004 Australia tour
Madrid
South Africa
Germany
2006 Argentina
2006 Bolivia
2006 Chile
2006 Portugal
2006 Zurich tour
2007 Toronto
2007 Chicago

We Will Rock You is a jukebox musical, based on the songs of Queen and named after their hit single of the same name. The musical was written by English comedian and author Ben Elton in collaboration with Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor. The story takes place in a tongue-in-cheek dystopian future where originality and individuality are shunned, and a lone "Dreamer" appears who can fulfil a prophecy that will enable the return of rock 'n roll.

Contents

[edit] Summary: London Version

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

(Note that in different productions of We Will Rock You the story and songs are changed slightly to better reach the target audiences.)

The story is set in the unspecified, vaguely Orwellian future. Earth's name has been changed to Planet Mall. As the name would suggest, mainstream commercial conformity reigns. Everywhere on the planet, people watch the same movies, listen to computer-generated music, wear the same clothes and hold the same thoughts and opinions. Musical instruments and composers are forbidden, and rock music is all but unknown. Representative government has been eliminated. All are controlled by the Worldwide mega-corporation Globalsoft, which is headed by the "Killer Queen" and the commander of her secret police, the evil Khashoggi. Those who stand against Globalsoft's enforced conformity are kidnapped and "brain stormed" into submission.

However, a small group of "Bohemians" struggles to restore the free exchange of thought, fashion, and (most of all) live music. As with the classic quest stories that it spoofs, the musical includes both a Messiah figure, the social outcast Galileo Figaro, and a MacGuffin that will restore freedom, the lost guitar of Queen guitarist, Brian May.

Together with his love interest, another dissident whom Galileo calls Scaramouche, Galileo joins with the Bohemians to find the guitar, and overthrow Globalsoft. However, when the Bohemians are captured and brain stormed, Galileo and Scaramouche are forced to flee for their lives.

Eventually they meet Pop, an older, hippie-esque Bohemian who yearns for the "old days" when people were free and Rock & Roll was king...or Queen as the case may be. Again fulfilling the classic role of "Guide" for the two, Pop shows them a fragment of the Queen video (which ends after the opening lyrics), "Bohemian Rhapsody," further inspiring them. Impressed by the “heavenly music,” Galileo and Scaramouche eventually decide to search for the guitar at Wembley Stadium, the location of two legendary concerts by Queen. Though the Stadium is a ruin, they find the guitar hidden in a wall. With guitar in hand, and Pop serving as "roadie" for the two saviors, they perform a rousing rendition of the title song, "We Will Rock You," and conclude with an arrangement of "Bohemian Rhapsody" that includes the entire cast and serves as an encore.

Played for laughs, there is very little real story to We Will Rock You. While the musical is a spoof of the classic quest tale with some moments of clever dialogue, it exists predominantly as a framework allowing a vocally talented cast to perform covers of Queen's greatest hits. Songs included in the production may vary from theatre to theatre, but generally include favorites such as "Another One Bites the Dust," "Hammer to Fall," "A Kind of Magic," and more.

Some pundits have noted a striking similarity between the show's plot and that of 2112, the classic concept album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1976.[citation needed] It also suggests Frank Zappa's "Joe's Garage",[citation needed] and to a lesser extent, Styx's "Kilroy was here" and Queensryche's "Operation: Mindcrime."[citation needed] There are also some parallels to Queens own late ninties computer game 'The Eye' and to the Matrix trilogy.[citation needed] One of the shows' creators described it as "King Arthur meets the Matrix."[citation needed]

[edit] Venues

We Will Rock You opened in 2002 at the Dominion Theatre in London, England. The first North American venue was the Paris Las Vegas hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show has had successful runs in Australia, Tokyo, Moscow and Las Vegas, but these productions have since closed. As of 2006 it is still playing in Great Britain, Canada, Spain, South Africa, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan

The original London production was scheduled to close on Saturday 7th October 2006 at the Dominion Theatre. Due to public demand, however, the show has now been extended indefinitely as it enters its fifth year.

In 2006 the show is scheduled to open in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Portugal with a German language touring production opening in Zürich.

On March 14, 2007 the musical began previews in Toronto at the Canon Theatre, replacing Wicked, which made its return engagement in Toronto through late December. Brian May, the Global Music Supervisor for the project, confirmed that it will be an all new Canadian version of the musical. Open calls for singers and dancers were held throughout November in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Yvan Pedneault was chosen as Galileo, Erica Peck as Scaramouche, Alana Bridgewater as Killer Queen, and Evan Buliung as Kashoggi.

Original cast recording albums have been released for the London, Madrid, and German productions.

A North American tour and a UK nationwide tour are currently in the pipeline.

The South East England Premiere of 'We Will Rock You' took place on 6th March 2007 at Theatre Royal Winchester performed by Performing Arts Winchester.

'We Will Rock You' will be peformed by Ryedale Youth Theatre on April 11-14.

[edit] Amateur productions

From the 29th November 2006 they started a scheme 'Schools will rock you' to do a limited release of rights to amateur theatre companys and schools[1]

The first Irish amateur theatre production of the show takes place in Kilkenny's Watergate Theatre in April 2007 presented by amateur musical group Starlight Stage Productions.

Stanwell School in Penarth, Wales held the premier of the amateur version, 'Schools Will Rock You', in December 2006 just ahead of Winstanley College in Wigan, England, who performed in February 2007. The Reading University Drama Society (RUDS) were third to perform the show in March 2007.

The official Irish Amateur Theatre Premiere will be staged at the Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny, in the south east of Ireland from April 25th - 28th 2007 presented by Starlight Stage Productions with permission from the schoolswillrockyou initiative

The first non-Equity US production will be staged at the Jedlicka Performing Arts Center just outside of Chicago, Illinois. This marks the first production of the musical in the United States since the production closed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2006.

[edit] Songs

[edit] Act One

  1. "Innuendo" (Instrumental, with original recorded vocals by Freddie Mercury and backing vocals by cast)
  2. "Radio Ga Ga" (The Ga Ga Kids)
  3. "I Want To Break Free" (Galileo)
  4. "I Want To Break Free" (Scaramouche)
  5. "Somebody to Love" (Scaramouche)
  6. "Killer Queen" (The Killer Queen)
  7. "Play The Game" (The Killer Queen)
  8. "Death On Two Legs" (Instrumental)
  9. "Under Pressure" (Galileo & Scaramouche)
  10. "A Kind Of Magic" (The Killer Queen & Khashoggi)
  11. "I Want It All" (Britney & Meat)
  12. "Headlong" (Galileo, Scaramouche, Britney & Meat)
  13. "No-One But You (Only the Good Die Young)" (Meat)
  14. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (Galileo, Scaramouche, Britney & Meat)
  15. "Ogre Battle" (Instrumental)

[edit] Act Two

  1. "One Vision" (The Ga Ga Kids)
  2. "Who Wants To Live Forever" (Galileo & Scaramouche)
  3. "Flash" (The Ga Ga Cops & Captive Bohemians)
  4. "Seven Seas of Rhye" (Khashoggi)
  5. "Fat Bottomed Girls" (The Killer Queen & Yuppies)
  6. "Don't Stop Me Now" (The Killer Queen)
  7. "Another One Bites The Dust" (The Killer Queen)
  8. "Hammer to Fall" (Galileo & Scaramouche)
  9. "These Are The Days Of Our Lives" (Pop)
  10. "We Are The Champions" (The Bohemians)
  11. "Bicycle Race" (The Bohemians)
  12. "Headlong" (Galileo, Scaramouche & Pop)
  13. "We Will Rock You" (Galileo)
  14. "We Are The Champions" (Galileo)
  15. "We Will Rock You" (Fast) (Mostly Instrumental, vocals by All)
  16. "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Galileo, Scaramouche, Khashoggi & The Killer Queen)

[edit] Cast Members

Main article: List of We Will Rock You (musical) casts

[edit] Reference

  1. ^ Schools will rock you

[edit] External links

 v • d • e Queen
John Deacon • Brian May • Freddie Mercury • Roger Taylor
Live performances • Songs
Discography
Studio albums: Queen • Queen II • Sheer Heart Attack • A Night at the Opera • A Day at the Races • News of the World • Jazz • The Game • Flash Gordon • Hot Space • The Works • A Kind of Magic • The Miracle • Innuendo • Made in Heaven
Live albums: Live Killers • Live Magic • Live at Wembley '86 • Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl • Return of the Champions
Compilation albums: Greatest Hits • At the Beeb • Greatest Hits II • Classic Queen • Queen Rocks • Greatest Hits III • Stone Cold Classics
Videography
We Will Rock You • The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert • Greatest Video Hits 1 • Queen at Wembley • Greatest Video Hits 2 • We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan • Live at the Bowl • Return of the Champions • Super Live in Japan
Related Articles
Ibex • Larry Lurex • Smile • The Cross • Queen + Paul Rodgers • We Will Rock You (musical) • Deacy Amp • Red Special • The Official International Queen Fan Club
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