While Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre is more accustomed to hosting repeat visits from tours such as Jersey Boys and The Book of Mormon (both scheduled for this season), on October 15th, Charm City audiences will be the first in the U. S to see the British musical We Will Rock You, the West End phenomenon featuring 24 greatest hits from the British rock group Queen. The North American tour opens at the Hippodrome Theatre Oct 15th for 8 performances, closing October 20th.
We Will Rock You, now in its 11th record-breaking year at the Dominion Theatre in London, and voted audience favorite at the 2011 Olivier awards, features a book by Ben Elton (perhaps you know him as the writer for the TV show “Mr. Bean”), and all music by Queen. The show’s Web site reports that Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor are involved with the musical, acting as musical supervisors, approving all cast members for all productions and making occasional surprise appearances. We have no word that that will be the case in Baltimore.
“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 mighty corporation who wants 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?”
Playing Galileo and Scaramouch will be Brian Justin Crum (Gabe in Next to Normal on Broadway) and Ruby Lewis, (national tours of Jersey Boys, Grease and Gypsy.)
DC area Queen fans will want to book their tickets for the Hippodrome. As of this writing, there is no report that the musical will land here in the Washington area in the next year. Details and tickets.
