We Will Rock You by Ben Elton. Opening night in
Sydney, Thursday 5th May at the Lyric Theatre. Sponsored by Nuffnang.
Queen is one of my favourite bands. When I was working casually at Target a long way back, I used to take on a lot of nightfill shifts – which meant refilling the footwear department during closing hours. We were allowed to bring in CDs to broadcast on the store sound system and my choice was ‘Queen’s Greatest Hits’. Classic tracks 'We are the Champions' and 'Radio Gaga' gave me the strength to get through those mind numbing shifts.
I listened to 'Bohemian Rapsody' while I spent late nights sewing sequins to my Fashion Design projects. I danced to 'Fat Bottomed Girls' while I would brush my hair and gasped in excitement when I saw the Glee cast perform 'Somebody to Love'. I also can’t forget Paul Rudd’s hilarious Lip Sync performance on the Jimmy Fallon Show.
So of course when I was offered two tickets to the opening night of Ben Elton’s worldwide smash hit ‘We will Rock You’Musical… I was extremely excited. I was going to watch my favourite Queen songs be performed out on stage and join the 16 million viewers in over 28 countries that also have shared the same experience.
The Australian cast included Gareth Keegan (Jersey Boys, Hugh Jackman – Broadway to Oz concerts) as Galileo and Erin Clare (Heathers, Phantom of the Opera) as Scaramouche. Killer Queen was played by the very talented Casey Donovan (The Sapphires, Rent and Australian Idol).
I was so impressed by all the amazing performances especially when Killer Queen (Casey Donovan) approached the stage and she belted out (of course) 'Killer Queen'. She had a powerful voice with a lot of sass and attitude. The last time I really heard from her was from her Australian Idol final performance so I was amazed to see her performing so wonderfully again. When Meat performed the tender 'No-One But You (Only the Good Die Young)' I was in bittersweet tears – it really made me reminiscent of great musicians who were taken away from us - Prince, Michael Jackson and of course Freddie Mercury.
I felt triumphant for Scaramouche and Galileo why they found their ‘axe’ and discovered music again whilst performing 'We Will Rock You'. When the musical finished off with 'Bohemian Rhapsody' I was jumping out of my seat throwing the streamers in the air and singing at the top of my lungs (apologies to my sister who was next to me).
At the end the audience and I were screaming our cheers whilst giving a standing ovation. With over 3600 ovations received in just the UK alone and with 16 million tickets sold worthwhile, it’s no wonder We Will Rock You was crowned UK’s favourite show at the Olivier’s Awards 2011 (British’s answer to the Oscars).
Everyone would love this show even if they don’t think they are Queen fans (yet) and is suitable for audiences 13 years old and above. It certainly cemented and reinforced my love for Queen. I have not been able to get 'Radio Gaga' and 'We are the Champions' out of my head for days.
We Will Rock You is playing NOW in Sydney at The Lyric Theatre. Tickets can be bought through the We Will Rock You website. Hurry, as seats are selling out fast!
