Review: WE WILL ROCK YOU at Roma Musical Theater

If you want to see an ultra production with lasers, fireworks, and a wow effect you are in the right place! Roma Musical Theater invites you for an evening that will stir your bones and your soul; a well-directed performance designed for you to beg “Encore!”. The set design (by Mariusz Napierala) is made to impress with all the modern touches, screens, moving objects, and stairs (my personal favorite in a major musical production), it's all there! From the first second, the characters are well placed, from the dancers with stunning plastic hair to the individuals in the bohemian/anarchy groups.

I must admit that I kept my distance when I heard it would be a show with Polish songs from Queens. I love the British band so much that it was hard to imagine the Polish language in their perfect musical compositions. We have a lot of shs, dges, zhs, and other weird sounds that are a nightmare for translators and singers. I was afraid this show would be a pineapple pizza, impossible to swallow. Luckily for us, it wasn't that bad and I mean that as a huge compliment. It also made me wonder what the purpose of musicals in general is, what we want to say through music and song performance, and if you take this as an opportunity to rewrite history, you would have a blast. This is a major goal of jukebox musicals (filled with well-known hits), to look at what we love from a different perspective. I know how tough it is to translate songs, to keep the rhythm, the sounds, the melody of the words but also the grammar and a hidden message between the lines - I would say the perfect song translations are a Holly Grail. An impressive job was done here by translation of Michal Wojnarowski even if not all the songs were easy to swallow (I also realized how ridiculous the lyrics to Fat Bottomed Girls were). Of course, you'd find yourself comparing these pieces to one and only Freddy, and well, no one stands a chance in that race but this show paradoxically allows us to appreciate Queen even more - by admiring their music in a global and universal sense. It can work well with Polish lyrics and it's mind-blowing.

Now let's talk about other pluses, and there are tons! Superb group choreographies (by Agnieszka Branska), like a unified robotic world in Radio Gaga; I loved all the characters in anarchy group, every single one of them is unique and they are incredible; plus set design, large scale, lights, music, BIG atmosphere but respect for the lyrical pieces; super funny references to the local history, society, and songs. My favorite moment? The travel scene on the motorcycle! It’s obvious that the director, Wojciech Kepczynski, used his imagination and had a flair at so many different levels.

Last but not least: the casting. Scaramouche (Weronika Stawska) has beautiful energy and a delightful voice like a gentle rain, listening to her is like opening presents and you never know what’s inside. She makes singing as easy as breathing and even if her character is rather tough she adds a feathery delicacy of the wind. Then there is Galileo (Wojciech Kurcjusz), a character that makes vulnerability strong and sexy. I'm so into it! The duo has the great chemistry of two naive and inexperienced people with a goal that can make a difference. Another charismatic duo is Oz (Natalia Krakowiak) and Brit (Kamil Franczak) –  looking at them you experience a kind of appealing rawness and you might be afraid of them but you'd love to accept their invitation to a barbecue. Buddy (Tomasz Steciuk) is a rock/hippie individual full of energy, Khashoggi (Lukasz Mazurek) is also powerful but in a mean way and that makes him so balanced. And there is a Killer Queen (Malgorzata Chrusciel). What a character and what a voice, lo and behold. She's like fireworks on a clear night, but better. Unstoppable and full of color.

This show is big and I'm not just talking about the scale. Everything is in the right place. The music sells itself but other elements are up to par. It's fast and energetic, what's also amazing is that the actors can transform the energy of the audience so that they are ready to engage, sing, and have even more fun. This is the power of life music and a well-designed and performed show – pure entertainment and a strong desire to start playing guitar afterward.

Go see it and keep the rock alive.

Photo: K. Bielinski

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