The Show That Just Won’t Quit!

The Toronto production of We Will Rock You has been extended again (for the 17th time)

On March 14, We Will Rock You – Toronto’s most resilient, longest-running, immensely popular, all-Canadian, Dora Award-winning Best Musical production – was extended through to June 28th at the Panasonic Theatre, celebrating 2 years on stage!

In celebration, We Will Rock You is offering tickets for all performances for only $28, the best entertainment value in town!  (Except for Tuesday evenings, which are only $20)

This is what $28 gets you at We Will Rock You:

• 17 multi-talented actors
• 8 world-class musicians
• 3 resourceful and unflappable stage managers
• 17 super skilled stage crew
• 24 ultra-friendly ushers
• 31 Queen hits
• 178 lighting instruments
• 140 minutes of songs, laughs and thrills
• 2 standing ovations at each & every performance

This is what $28 buys you elsewhere:

• 1-1/2 large beers at a large sporting arena
• 1/2 a burger at an upscale restaurant
• 1/2 way up Blue Mountain
• 1/2 a heel of a pair of designer shoes
• 2 minutes of a Muskoka timeshare (annually)
• 2 holes of an 18-hole gold course
• 1/2 bikini wax
• 1/2 way to the airport in a cab
• Almost a full oil change at (standard oil only)

We Will Rock You – the musical based on the songs of Queen, now in its umpteenth sensational week at the Panasonic Theatre, moved there after playing 61 weeks at the Canon Theatre.

The all-Canadian cast features Yvan Pedneault as Galileo, Breanne Arrigo as Scaramouche , Alana Bridgewater (Menopause Out Loud!) as the Killer Queen, Camilla Scott (Mamma Mia!, Crazy For You) as Khashoggi, Jack Langedijk (Kiss of The Spiderwoman, A Streetcar Named Desire) as Pop, Sterling Jarvis (Disney’s The Lion King) as Duff and Valerie Stanois as Oz.

Dora Award-winner for Best Musical, the Canadian production of We Will Rock You has been an audience favourite, receiving standing ovations at each and every performance. Originally scheduled to play seven weeks, the show was quickly extended again and again. We Will Rock You played 61 weeks at the Canon Theatre, was seen by more than 700,000 people, generated an estimated economic spin-off to the city of $180 million and provided employment to more than 300 Canadian artists, technicians and theatre support staff.

Performance Schedule:

Tuesday- Saturday 8:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday 2:00 PM, selected Wednesday Matinees at 2:00 PM

To book tickets online visit We Will Rock You Toronto Tickets it in the UK or visit www.mirvish.com if in Canada.

Ever wanted to see We Will Rock but London is too far to travel?

We Will Rock You is now set to rock the UK with a massive 43-week regional tour in 2009

Having proved its enormous rapport with the public by achieving the distinction of becoming the longest running musical ever staged at the West End’s Dominion theatre where it is currently playing its seventh year, We Will Rock You will rock across the UK from March 2009 while continuing to play in London. The Dominion production is presently booking until October 2009.

Announcing the tour, Queen’s Brian May said: “We are excited to be able, finally, to send a brand new top class WWRY company out on tour around the UK. We are completely hands on, and will be visiting! The Mother Ship, in the Dominion Theatre, London, will be rockin’ on all the while, keeping the home fires burning, until further notice!”

Actor and musician Jonathan Wilkes and former Coronation Street star Kevin Kennedy will star alongside X Factor finalist Brenda Edwards, star of ITV1’s Britannia High Georgina Hagen and I’d Do Anything’s Nancy contestant Ashley Russell.

Jonathan Wilkes will perform the role of ‘Khashoggi’, the Chief of the Secret Police who answers to Killer Queen’s every command.

Speaking about the tour, Jonathan Wilkes comments, “I am chuffed to be part of this show and very excited to be working with such a fantastic company”

Manchester soap star Kevin Kennedy will assume the role of ‘Pop’, a librarian who is stuck in his ‘hippie’ past and is searching to find answers to the end of rock music.

Clearly enthusiastic, Kevin Kennedy says “I am over the moon at the prospect of appearing in We Will Rock You. Queen have always been my idols and I have seen the show every time I have been down to London never dreaming that one day I would play Pop. Opening in Manchester is such a bonus, I hope all my Corrie mates will come to the first night!”

Brenda Edwards will play the domineering role of ‘Killer Queen’, Head of Globalsoft, the corporation responsible for the banning of all instruments and musical originality.

Brenda is looking forward to performaing some Queen classics saying, “I am really excited to be a part of this huge rock musical tour and am looking forward to working with some rock and comedy legends as well as singing some Killer Queen songs!!”

TV star Georgina Hagen will star in the production as ‘Meat’, the main female of the Bohemians.

“I am honoured to be part of the company” says Georgina Hagen, “I can’t wait until performances start in March”.

Ashley Russell will play the role of the ‘Teacher’, who befriends students whilst actually working as a spy for Globalsoft’s Secret Police.

Ashley Russell comments, “I am completely ecstatic to be part of the We Will Rock You production. I can’t wait to get started on stage”

The touring production reaches local UK theatres carrying with it an impressive legacy: when it first became news that one of Britain’s most phenomenally successful comedy writers Ben Elton was teaming up with legends of rock, Queen, for a musical there was much speculation on what such a unique collaboration would turn out.

With the London production alone having been seen by close on 4 million people, played over 2300 performances, and grossed more than £100 million at the box office, We Will Rock You is well on the way to becoming one of the most successful rock musicals ever.

Says producer Phil McIntyre: “We are bursting with excitement; at last provincial audiences will get a true rock extravaganza. We can’t wait to see the first night reactions throughout the country. We Will Rock You will rock the UK; it is the biggest and best rock theatrical!”

The show brings together a production and design team behind some of the biggest international theatre productions and rock tours.

Production designers Mark Fisher and Willie Williams have created set designs for Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson, and the acclaimed multi-media shows for U2.

Costume Designer Tim Goodchild has already achieved three Olivier Awards for his work in the West End. Choreographer Arlene Phillips has shown her distinctive style in some of the biggest stage musicals of the past two decades, including Starlight Express, Grease and Saturday Night Fever. Bobby Aitken (Grease and Mamma Mia!) is Sound Designer.

And with Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor as music supervisors, and behind the cast “a band without parallel in the theatre, reflecting the true power of the mighty Queen” you’d be right to expect We Will Rock You to rock as fiercely as the best of Queen’s concerts.

Writer Ben Elton has fashioned a hilarious futurist comedy around more than 24 of Queen’s biggest hit songs delivered in a show that boasts the scale and spectacle that marked Queen’s live performances.

“This show is all about legend,” says Ben Elton. “We take the legend of Queen and create our own fantastical story of young kids battling the might corporations who want to suppress their individuality and their love of music. They need a hero who can help them in their struggle, and we have two – the dreamer Galileo and the sassy rock chick Scaramouche. Guess who ends up winning?”

Says Brian May: “The amazing bonus is that Ben’s script subtly works as a metaphor too. People definitely come out of the theatre feeling that in a strange way they now know us, Queen, and our struggle, our journey.”

And Roger Taylor: “Creating the show with Ben was very much a three way thing. Which was great, because Ben has such a great active mind and has been a great pleasure to work with. He has a great fertile mind that never ever stops churning out ideas. He’s written a fantastic idea for the sequel. I counted 23 more hits he can put in it. Let’s see if people like this one first!”

The We Will Rock You tour is playing the following dates -

MANCHESTER PALACE THEATRE

Saturday 21 March – Saturday 6 June 2009

Performances:

Mon-Sat 7.30pm, Wed & Sat 2.30pm & 7.30pm

SUNDERLAND EMPIRE

Wednesday 10 – Saturday 27 June 2009

Performances:

Mon-Sat 7.30pm, Wed & Sat 2.30pm & 7.30pm

BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME

Wednesday 1 July 2009 – Saturday 5 September 2009

BRISTOL HIPPODROME

Wednesday 16th September 2009 – Saturday 31st October 2009

EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE

Wednesday 4th November 2009 – Saturday 9th January 2010

To book tickets for the tour see We Will Rock You tour tickets

To book tickets for the London production see We Will Rock You London Tickets

What is We Will Rock You all about?

We Will Rock You is a musical based on the songs of Queen and named after their hit single, written by Brian May, of the same name. The musical was written by Ben Elton the comedian and author in collaboration with Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor. The musical was produced by David and Ed Mirvish and The Kimsa Group, in association with Queen Theatrical Productions, Phil McIntyre Entertainment and Tribeca Theatrical Productions, with Christopher Renshaw as director, Mark Fisher as the production designer, Willie Williams as the lighting designer, Tim Goodchild as the costume designer, Arlene Phillips as choreographer and Bobby Aitken as sound designer.

How did it come about?

According to Brian May, Queen’s manager Jim Beach had talked with the band on the idea of creating a jukebox musical with Queen’s songs since the mid-90s. Initially, the intent was to create a biographical story of Freddie Mercury. About this time, Robert DeNiro’s production company Tribeca voiced interest in a Queen musical, but found the original idea difficult to work with.

In the year 2000, Ben Elton was approached to start talks with May and Queen dummer Roger Taylor on the project. Elton suggested taking the musical down a different path than initially imagined, creating an original story that would still be able to “capture the spirit of much of [their] music”. He worked closely with May and Taylor to incorporate Queen’s songs into the story. Ben has also stated that he was in part inspired by the computer-controlled dystopia of the science-fiction film The Matrix. The We Will Rock You script was eventually completed midway through 2001.

When did it first open?

The original London production of the musical began previews on the 26th April 2002 and opened on the 14th May 2002 at the Dominion Theatre, with Tony Vincent, Hannah Jane Fox, Sharon D. Clarke and Kerry Ellis in principal roles. London’s critics were almost uniformly hostile in criticising the concept and direction. The Guardian described the premise as “really is as sixth form as it sounds”, the production as “ruthlessly packaged and manufactured” and the libretto as “sometimes funny” and existing mainly to “devise more unlikely ways to wring out another Queen song”.

However We Will Rock You was an audience favourite and on the 17th August 2005 it became the longest-running musical at the Dominion Theatre surpassing the previous record-holder Grease. This is particularly notable because the Dominion Theatre is one of the largest theatrical venues in West End, with a seating a capacity of 2,000 people. The production was scheduled to close on 7th October 2006, but it has been extended to 4th October 2008. The longest-serving principal cast member of the London production is Mazz Murray, who took over the role of Killer Queen in April 2004, and will continue until the show closes in October 2008.

What next?

A number of international productions have followed the original, and We Will Rock You has been seen in Australia, Las Vegas, Moscow, Spain, Japan, South Africa, Zurich, New Zealand and South Korea. As of March 2008, productions are still active in Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Canada and Vienna.

In early 2007 Queen Theatrical granted the rights for a non-equity production of We Will Rock You at the Jedlicka Performing Art Centre in Chicago making it the first North American production since the Las Vegas show closed.

International productions of the musical feature changes in the story and song line-up in order to better reach target audiences. All the main characters retain their general personalities across productions, but the names vary depending on the production.

We Will Rock You is now set to rock the UK with a massive 43-week regional tour starting on the 21st March at Manchester Palace Theatre and ending at Edinburgh’s Playhouse Theatre on 9th January 2010.

To book tickets for London click the following link – We Will Rock You Theatre Tickets