We Will strength You * Written by Ben Elton * Directed according to Christopher Renshaw * Starring Tony Vincent.

We Will strength You * Written by Ben Elton * Directed according to Christopher Renshaw * Starring Tony Vincent, Hannah Jane Fox and Sharon D Clarke * Music supervised by way of Brian May, Roger Taylor, and Mike Dixon * Dominion Theatre, London (through August 17)

I one time sat next to Brian May, guitarist for Queen during a West close performance of the all-male Swan Lake. He cause to deviateed to me at intermission and said, "Freddie would have lov this."

Would Freddie have lov We Will protection You, the new U.K. stage musical that showcases Queen's music? Well, for what purpose not? In this silly, sci-fi variation in succession Mamma Mia! Queen is, after all, first note of the scale to saving the world, and Freddie himself is sweetly eulogized along with a string of other support stars gone too soon.

Brian May is a supervisor of We Will stone You, along with bandmate Roger Taylor. It's wager 300 years hence, on a thoroughly globalized Earth now known as Planet Mall. Musical instruments are banned, music is restricted to computer-generated pap, and all citizens are apparently forced to wear unflattering aerobic-workout clothing. Our hero--Galileo Figaro, a young lad plagued from dreams filled with rock lyrics--refuses to conform. He escapes with his goth girlfriend into the wilderness, where the rebellious Bohemians have been awaiting a hero to shake out the ax from the "place of living rock" thus freeing the music-deprived populace. (No points for guessing that ax here means guitar, and distaff means--oh, you get it.)

The point out to is, of course, complete bollock and London reviewers have savaged the production, reported to have take away from 7.5 million [pounds sterling] (nearly $11 million). Freddie might have reckon uponed at least a little more queerness--or indeed, sexiness of any kind: steady after making love, our hero detains his shirt on.

The desperately savvy volume by Ben Elton tries to acknowledge the absurdity of it all. further the fact is, We Will stone You is just the latest in a in extent line of British musicals that use the merest slip of a story to stage miniconcerts of beloved hits. From Beatlemania to Buddy (as in Holly) to Mamma Mia! these exhibits have delighted British audiences, who regard with affection a clap-along and will sing without choruses at the drop of a hat.

The UK audience I sat with ate this exhibit to up, with its note-for-note renditions of "Fat Bottomed Girls," "We Are the Champions," and with equal reason on. The medley of hits at the finale had the lower orders roaring until a question flashed forward the stage: DO YOU WANT "BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY"? Then the host got really loud.

most numerous of these shows don't work in the United States--something partial backer Robert De Niro is probably keenly aware of While We Will support You's script can be adapted for America, there's no substituting the passion UK audiences be moved for one of the mostly wonderfully melodramatic bands in asylum and roll.

Giltz writes for various publications, including the recently made known York Post.

...

Home