God Save Queen

One of the primary reasons behind my trip to London was to see We Will Rock You, the musical based on the songs of Queen, at the Dominion Theatre. I've recently become a rather huge Queen fan, but I'm about fifteen years late to see the late Freddie Mercury perform. Hoping to catch the next best thing, I saw the Queen + Paul Rodgers concert back in March, which was disappointing, so I decided the musical was my best shot.

Two complaints up front: The choreography was sloppy at times and the self-referential nature of the musical, while deliberately tongue-in-cheek, did get silly at times. Everything else about it was amazing! The plot, in a nutshell (not that it matters): 300 years in the future, a global conglomerate run by a woman known as the Killer Queen has taken over the music industry and has brainwashed the population into listening to and enjoying its overcommercialized prefabricated mass-market music. A group of holdouts, called the Bohemians, discover their prophesized leader in a man named Galileo Figaro, who, with a love interest named Scaramouche, leads the fight to reclaim rock and roll.

The most wonderful thing about the musical is that it reclaims the bombastic and unashamed performance style that was the hallmark of Queen back in the day. While there never can be another Freddie Mercury (certain songs had to be rearranged to fit the vocal range of real people), the actors appropriately paid tribute to the musical legend while simultaneously imparting their own interpretation of the songs. It was especially refreshing to hear renditions by female vocalists (the reprise to "I Want To Break Free" was a most pleasant surprise). The momentum just continued to build as the show went on, culminating in an absolutely thrilling final three numbers. The last final song (you know what I mean if you've seen the show) just captures the essence of Queen in five minutes that you never want to end.

The centerpiece of the set is eight video-screens, each almost eight feet square, that can move in three dimensions. While it initially appears that the set is minimalist beyond these screens and a few moving platforms and trapdoors, many surprises literally emerge from the stage starting near the conclusion of the first act. All in all, it was rather well-conceived and well-delivered from an artistic standpoint.

It was such an adrenaline rush to see the songs of Queen performed in an energized, concert-like setting. Knowing that Freddie Mercury is long gone, I am confident I have seen the next best thing. In fact, I would have purchased another ticket right then and there for every show during the subsequent week, since I could sit through that musical again and again without it getting old. Alas, other obligations prevailed at the time, but a return trip to London, in the not-too-distant-future, might ensue, simply to watch the show another time.