Jaimoe Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 The Canon Theatre (formally Pantages) just off the revamped yet extremely sterile and ugly Dundas Square area of Toronto is a beautiful theatre built in 1920. I've never been in the building before last night because there was never a reason to see a show; see The Phantom of the Opera. I was given two free tickets to last night's capacity performance from a friend who works in wardrobe department (she dresses the Killer Queen, an obvious update of Tommy's Acid Queen). For those not familiar with the production, We Will Rock You is a musical based on the "hits" of Queen written by Queen (obviously) and Ben Elton (The Young Ones, Blackadder), awkwardly linked to a story about the death and rise of rock & roll in the distant future. It's a little bit of Road Warrior, a little bit Blade Runner and a lot 1984. The story is more or less used as an excuse to celebrate rock & roll and generally rock out via the musical format; it's also a tribute to artists that died prematurely - I loved seeing Keith Moon and Brother Duane on the video montage screen during a cool segment of the show. One other interesting element is that they hand out glow-sticks while you file into your seats, which I believe are supposed to sub for lighters since Queen pre-date that abhorrent fan concert device. We Will Rock You plays to an obvious Queen-centric audience, but the performances are all good, as long as you can adjust to the noticeable Québécois accent on the lead male performer, Galileo, who is meant to be the embodiment of Freddy Mercury as rock & roll's messiah. The live band is excellent with three guitarists all able to ape Brian May thanks in part to them using copies of his "Red Special" guitar. The countless references to 20th and 21st century pop culture is occasionally cringe-worthy: the burly black male leader of the rebel "Bohemians" is called Britney Spears and a transgender rebel is named Madonna. If you can get past the corn and the lack of a proper resolution with the evil Killer Queen, then you should have a good time at the show. By the way, all the performers have impressive singing chops, especially The Killer Queen, however none can match Freddie Mercury's range and power. Best songs of the night were "We Will Rock You", "Radio Ga Ga", "Fat Bottomed Girls", sung appropriately by the Killer Queen, and the encore, "Bohemian Rhapsody". All in all, a decent night for non-Queen fans (me) and a fun night for Queen lovers and all fans that like watching live rock & roll. NOTE: YOU CAN BRING YOUR DRINKS TO YOUR SEATS before and during the show, and domestic beer is only $5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hux Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 (edited) Sweet blog. Anyone see that TV show "Tribute Bands"? They profile the good/bad/ugly Tribute Bands, I saw the Queen episode and couldn't believe how this one British guy could do Freddy - if you closed your eyes you'd swear it was him. Here's they are, check out these audio clips - crazy... Edited January 31, 2008 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted January 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 Another good thing about the music performances was that they weren't softened of their rock edge, kind of in line with Tommy: The Musical. Queen was pretty loud and imaginative in their day, and the We Will Rock You band was up to the task, as were the actors. The guitar solos in particular were authentic to Queen and Brian May's legacy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AD Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 (edited) Killer Queen, an obvious update of Tommy's Acid Queeni'll have to dig out Tommy later on, but are the songs really that similar, or are you talking about the characters? I can't picture the Who writing anything that sounds like Killer Queen.edit - note that I know nothing about the plot of the show or anything.... obviously Edited January 31, 2008 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AD Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 ps thanks for the review! i've been itching to see this but haven't had the occasion to yet. how long is it playing for? anyone know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted January 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 (edited) Killer Queen' date=' an obvious update of Tommy's Acid Queen[/quote']i'll have to dig out Tommy later on, but are the songs really that similar, or are you talking about the characters? I can't picture the Who writing anything that sounds like Killer Queen.edit - note that I know nothing about the plot of the show or anything.... obviouslyKiller Queen was played by a rubenesque black woman with wild spiked hair almost in a colourful mohawk. She reminded me of the theatrical version Tommy's Acid Queen and behaved as crazy as Tina Turner in the film version.I think the show is open-ended, so you have time to see it and it was a Tuesday night performance that looked to be sold-out. Edited January 31, 2008 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AD Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 so the Killer Queen is a character then.... I wasn't sure if it was a character or a performance of the song "Killer Queen" you were talking about. I think I'll have to go see the show to make sense of it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted January 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 so the Killer Queen is a character then.... I wasn't sure if it was a character or a performance of the song "Killer Queen" you were talking about.I think I'll have to go see the show to make sense of it all. Killer Queen is one of the two villains. Scaramouche is the female lead and Galileo Figaro is the male lead character's name. The obvious name-play leads to hilarity throughout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phishtaper Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 rubenesque i love this word! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bokonon Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 rubenesque i love this word! Me too! (But I love it more when it's spelled properly ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForbinHood Posted February 1, 2008 Report Share Posted February 1, 2008 I had a great time seeing the show a few months back... a search and that thread might be found there Jaimoe... glad you had fun... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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