We Will Rock You (often abbreviated as WWRY) is a jukebox musical based on the songs of British rock band Queen with a book by Ben Elton. The musical tells the story of a renegade group known as the Bohemians who struggle to restore the free exchange of thought and culture in a vaguely Orwellian society.
Directed by Christopher Renshaw and choreographed by Arlene Phillips, the original West End production opened in 2002. Although the musical was at first panned by critics, it has become an audience favourite, becoming the longest-running musical at the Dominion Theatre, celebrating its tenth anniversary on 14 May 2012.Photos: Robert De Niro rocks up to WWRY's tenth birthday Whatsonstage Retrieved 15 May 2012
The original production closed on 31 May 2014, at that time the eleventh longest-running musical in West End history.A final song, "The show must go on", was performed to mark the occasion. This was the same song the cast performed in the 2014 Westend Eurovision. WE WILL ROCK YOU to Close at the Dominion, 31 May, Broadwayworld, Retrieved 11 March 2014 Numerous international and touring productions have followed, and We Will Rock You has been seen in six of the world's continents. By December 2022 the musical had been seen by 20 million people across 28 countries.
From 2 June to 27 August 2023, We Will Rock You returned to the West End for a 12-week run at the London Coliseum.
Development According to Brian May, Queen's manager Jim Beach had spoken with the band about creating a jukebox musical with Queen's songs since the mid-1990s. Initially, the intent was to create a biographical story of Freddie Mercury. About this time, Robert De Niro's production company Tribeca Productions expressed interest in a Queen musical, but it found the original idea difficult to work with.
In 2000, Ben Elton was approached to start talks with May and Taylor on the project. He suggested taking the musical down a different path than initially imagined, creating an original story that would capture the spirit of much of their music. He worked closely with May and Taylor to incorporate Queen's songs into the story. Elton has also stated that he was in part inspired by the computer-controlled dystopia of the 1999 science-fiction film The Matrix. The script was eventually completed midway through 2001.We Will Rock You The Musical by Queen and Ben Elton: The Official Book. pp. 10–27
Productions West End and UK tours We Will Rock You opened in the West End at the Dominion Theatre on 14 May 2002, following previews from 26 April. It was directed by Christopher Renshaw and choreographed by Arlene Phillips, with musical supervision and vocal arrangements by Mike Dixon. The production featured a nine-piece live band. The cast included Tony Vincent as Galileo, Hannah Jane Fox as Scaramouche, Sharon D. Clarke as Killer Queen, Nigel Planer as Pop, Nigel Clauzel as Brit and Kerry Ellis as Meat. For her performance, Clarke was nominated for "Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical or Entertainment" at the 2003 Olivier Awards. Notable cast replacements included Mig Ayesa, Alex Gaumond, Ricardo Alfonso and Peter MurphyCast: We Will Rock You UK tour, 9 February 2009 – WhatonStage.com as Galileo, Mazz Murray and Brenda Edwards as Killer Queen, and Rachel Tucker as Meat. In 2005 We Will Rock You became the longest-running musical at the Dominion Theatre, surpassing the previous record-holder Grease. The production closed on 31 May 2014, shortly after its 12th anniversary, and after 4,600 performances at the Dominion Theatre."We Will Rock You to close after an astonishing 12 years", Bestoftheatre.co.uk
A UK tour was launched in 2009 at the Palace Theatre, Manchester. – We Will Rock You tour, Official website The cast included Gaumond as Galileo, Sarah French-Ellis as Scaramouche, Edwards as Killer Queen, Georgina Hagen as Meat, Jonathan Wilkes as Khashoggi and Kevin Kennedy as Pop. A second UK tour launched in December 2010, also at the Palace Theatre in Manchester.We Will Rock You UK Tour | Venues – Where to see We Will Rock You, 13 March 2011 – WWRY Tour Page The show embarked on a further UK and Ireland tour, beginning at the Bromley Churchill Theatre, on 16 September 2019. After a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tour resumed performances on 7 February 2022 at the Kings Theatre in Portsmouth,"Ben Elton will direct 20th anniversary We Will Rock You UK tour" broadwayworld.com, 19 November 2021 closing on 10 September 2022 at the Palace Theatre in Manchester.Palace Theatre Manchester is rocking it gaamagazine.com, 4 September 2022
Following the UK tour, the show returned to the West End in 2023, opening at the London Coliseum on 2 June for a limited 12-week run directed by Ben Elton, Casting Director Anne Vosser, and choreographed by Jacob Fearey. Ian McIntosh and Elena Skye resumed the roles of Galileo and Scaramouche respectively from the touring production, and Brenda Edwards continued as Killer Queen. Also joining the cast were Lee Mead as Khashoggi, Christine Allado as Meat, and Adrian Hansel as Brit. Ben Elton made his stage debut as the Rebel Leader (previously known as Pop).
Australasia and the Asian Pacific The first international production premiered at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne, Australia, on 7 August 2003.We Will Rock You Australia – Queen Press Release The cast included Michael Falzon as Galileo, Kate Hoolihan as Scaramouche, Annie Crummer as Killer Queen, and Amanda Harrison as Oz. The production closed on 4 March 2004 before touring to Perth, Brisbane and Sydney.Stage Credits, including We Will Rock You Australia tour – Robert Grubb website It then made a stop at the Shinjuku Koma Theater in Tokyo, Japan, where it ran from 27 May to 24 August 2005 with Peter Murphy as Galileo and Pippa Grandison as Scaramouche.We Will Rock You, by Dave Grunebaum – Metropolis.co.jpWe Will Rock You Tokyo – Arts Australia Japan A second tour launched in 2006, performing in Tokyo and Osaka.We Will Rock You returns to Japan – Arts Australia JapanNovember 2006 archive – Official Queen news websiteWWRY JAPAN MOVES TO OSAKA IN JANUARY, entry 2 December 2006 – Official Queen news website
An Australasian tour was launched at the end of 2007 in New Zealand; the cast included Ayesa as Galileo and Crummer as Killer Queen.Ayesa will rock you, by Faridal Anwar Farinordin, dated 2 March 2008 – New Straits Times The tour performed in Auckland at The Civic, The Edge (26 October to 2 December 2007), in Seoul, South Korea, at the Seongnam Arts Centre (2 to 24 February 2008),Concerts to Watch for in 2008, 31 December 2007 – The Korea TimesWe Will Rock You to Hit Stage in Korean, by Chung Ah-young, 13 January 2008 – The Korea Times in Singapore at the Esplanade Theatre (28 March to 27 April 2008),We Will Rock You tour – Lunchbox Productions in Hong Kong at The Lyric Theatre of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (16 May to 22 June 2008)WWRY WITH ANNIE CRUMMER/MiG AYESA – AUCKLAND/SINGAPORE/HONG KONG, entry 18 April 2007 – Official Queen News website and in Bangkok, Thailand, at the Muangthai Ratchadalai Theatre (12 to 27 July 2008).We Will Rock You tickets – ThaiTicketMajor official website (Thailand)
A new tour of Australia commenced in Sydney on 30 April 2016, before touring to Brisbane and Melbourne. Another production was scheduled for 2023-2024. It was supposed to have over 500 cast members including Courtney Act as Killer Queen and Peter Rowsthorn as Buddy. In October 2022 it was announced that the tour was cancelled because of legal reasons.
Spain A Spanish-language production ran from 1 October 2003 (opening officially on 3 November) to 30 May 2004 at Teatro Calderón, Madrid, with Momo Cortés and Miquel Fernández as Galileo. – Brian May's blog The songs "We Will Rock You", "We Are the Champions" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" retained their English lyrics. After closing at Teatro Calderón, the show toured around Spain. In 2007 the production returned to Teatro Calderón with previews from 23 January and an official opening on 12 February. Daniel Diges and Julián Fontalvo shared the role of Galileo. The production closed on 6 January 2008.We Will Rock You Madrid – Official website
A new production began previews on 9 October 2021 at the Gran Teatro Príncipe Pío in Madrid, and officially opened on 24 November.We Will Rock You: Música y rock'n'roll cinemagavia.es, 17 November 2021
Las Vegas and North American tours A resident production at the Paris Las Vegas hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, began previews on 4 August 2004, with an official opening on 8 September. Tony Vincent, who originated the role of Galileo in London, reprised the role, which he alternated with Jason Wooten. Aspen Miller and Kacie Sheik shared the role of Scaramouche, Patti Russo was Killer Queen, and Ty Taylor was Brit.We Will Rock You Las Vegas cast – Official Queen website The Las Vegas production "trimmed" down the book into a single act show.We Will Rock You Las Vegas press releases – Official Queen website The production closed on 27 November 2005.We Will Rock You to Close on 27 November in Las Vegas – Broadway.com
On 15 October 2013, a North American tour began at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland, directed by Elton.Queen Musical We Will Rock You, Starring Brian Justin Crum, P.J. Griffith, Launches U.S. Tour 15 Oct. playbill, retrieved 11 March 2014 The cast included Brian Justin Crum as Galileo, Ruby Lewis as Scaramouche, PJ Griffith as Khashoggi, Jacqueline Arnold as Killer Queen, Jared Zirilli as Britney, Ryan Knowles as Buddy and Erica Peck as Oz.Brian Justin Crum, P.J. Griffith, Jacqueline Arnold to Lead We Will Rock You U.S. Tour retrieved 11 March 2014 The tour covered nearly the whole of the US, and two stops in Ontario, Canada; in all, the tour included 298 performances in 29 cities."We Will Rock You", IBDB. Retrieved 16 December 2023
A second North American tour launched on 3 September 2019 at the Centennial Concert Hall in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and included a stop at the Madison Square Garden in New York City from 14 to 17 November 2019.Fresh off Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen musical We Will Rock You tours North America – Forbes.com
Russia, Germany, Switzerland and Austria A Russian production opened in the Estrada Theatre, Moscow on 17 October 2004. The production's dialogue and all songs but three were translated into Russian, by Evgeny Margulis of Mashina Vremeni.Unhappy Ending, by Anna Malpas 4 March 2005 – The Moscow Times This production closed only four months after its opening due to disagreements between the show's producers, despite fan protests to keep the show going.
A German production opened in the Musical Dome, Cologne, on 12 December 2004. The spoken dialogue was in German, but the musical numbers consisted of a mix of German and English lyrics. According to Brian May, Ben Elton intended German to represent the show's "present day", and English represented the distant past."First Anniversary WWRY Cologne!", 11 December 2005, Brian May's blog The production closed in Cologne on 30 September 2008."WWRY December in Stuttgart" , 8 March 2008], Official Queen news website It next opened at the Apollo Theatre in Stuttgart on 13 November 2008 after previews from 7 November 2008."WWRY Stuttgart Opening" , 30 July 2008, Official Queen news websiteWe Will Rock You, Stuttgart tickets – Official ticket vendor website. Retrieved 1 August 2008 The production opened in Berlin on 21 October 2010 and closed for good on 21 October 2011.