It's been an incredible journey in Toronto for WE WILL ROCK YOU, the musical by Queen and Ben Elton. What began as a limited seven-week engagement turned into an almost unstoppable juggernaut of entertainment that will have played 788 performances in two different theatres and been seen by an audience of one million by its final performance on June 28, 2009.
On June 28, the kick-ass band will rock its guitars and roll its drums one last time; the costume department will comb out the Killer Queen's extravagant wig for the final time; Scaramouche (played by
Erica Peck) will hit her high notes in "Somebody To Love" and Galileo (played by
Yvan Pedneault) will belt out "Bohemian Rhapsody" for the last time before the brilliant, mega-watt lights are turned off. With its legions of fans waving glow sticks in the air, WE WILL ROCK YOU will play its final performance ... and a thrilling chapter in Toronto theatre will come to an end.
"What a joy and surprise this show has been," says producer
David Mirvish. "It has energized the Toronto theatre scene for more than two years with its unbridled, irrepressible, totally authentic rock spirit. When we launched it here back in the early heady days of 2007 - before there was talk of stock markets roller coasting, before there were fears of banks collapsing, when the world was less complicated (at least it seems so now in retrospect) - we were happy to be bringing this work by Queen and
Ben Elton to Toronto audiences for a limited run. And we were delighted to be producing it with an all-Canadian cast of both newly discovered talent and acclaimed stage veterans.
"Hundreds of performances - including a major move from one landmark venue to another - and a million audience members later, when our initial ambition was to play to a fraction of that, that "limited run" has proven one of Toronto's longest.
"We hope the many, many fans of the show will come out and see it one more time, and we hope that those who have resisted it for so long will finally succumb to its power and catch a performance before it ends its historic run.
"I know that even as we announce the end of the Toronto production, an Italian production of WE WILL ROCK YOU is being prepared for a debut in Milan. The musical is now in its seventh sensational year in London, with many other productions around the globe. So while WE WILL ROCK YOU ends here, it will continue to delight audiences worldwide.
"We are grateful for the support and hands-on involvement of
Brian May and
Roger Taylor of Queen. And of course this production would not have been possible without the unflappable, multi-talented
Ben Elton, who not only wrote the book, but also directed the show, returning again and again to Toronto to tailor WWRY's various incarnations in the course of its long run. And we are forever thankful to our co-producers Kevin Kimsa, Queen Theatrical Productions,
Phil Mcintyre Entertainment and
Tribeca Theatrical Productions"
Set 300 years in the future, in a time when live music is banned on earth, WE WILL ROCK YOU is about the rebellious kids, fighting against the all-powerful Globalsoft Corporation that controls their lives and feeds them a diet of synthesized pop. Could the young Galileo and Scaramouche be the heroes needed who will help them "break free" of their chains to rediscover themselves and live music?
The all-Canadian cast features
Yvan Pedneault as Galileo,
Breanne Arrigo as Scaramouche (
Erica Peck returns to the role on May 29),
Alana Bridgewater (Menopause Outloud) as the Killer Queen,
Camilla Scott (Mamma Mia!, Crazy For You) as Khashoggi, Jack Langedijk (Kiss of The Spiderwoman, A Streetcar Named Desire) as Pop, Sterling Jarvis (Disney's The Lion King) as Duff and
Valerie Stanois as Oz.
With
Brian May and
Roger Taylor as Music Supervisors, WE WILL ROCK YOU is written and directed by
Ben Elton (The Young Ones, Blackadder, The Boys in the Photograph and Popcorn) and features 32 of Queen's greatest hits.
Mark Fisher, Production Designer, and
Willie Williams, Lighting Designer, have created set designs for Pink Floyd,
Janet Jackson, The Rolling Stones and U2.
Tim Goodchild is Costume Designer and
Arlene Phillips (Starlight Express, Grease and Saturday Night Fever) is Choreographer.
Bobby Aitken (The Boyfriend, The Fix, Return to the Forbidden Planet, Grease and Mamma Mia!) is Sound Designer.
Produced by
David Mirvish and The Kimsa Group, in association with Queen Theatrical Productions,
Phil Mcintyre Entertainment and
Tribeca Theatrical Productions, WE WILL ROCK YOU reflects the scale and spectacle that marked Queen's live performances and earned the band its pinnacle position in rock history. The Toronto production won the 2007 Dora
Mavor Moore Award for Best Musical.
Fin
Al Weeks WE WILL ROCK YOU in Toronto
Only until June 28, 2009
The Panasonic Theatre - 651 Yonge Street
Performance Schedule:
Tuesday - Saturday 8:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday 2:00 PM, and selected Wednesday Matinees at 2:00 PM
Tickets $20 - $85
Tuesdays - All Seats $20
Same-Day Lottery Seats - $20 (two hours before showtime)
Theatre, Dinner & Hotel Packages with Sheraton Centre, King Edward or Westin Harbour Castle - $129 per person, based on double-occupancy, plus taxes
Theatre & Dinner Packages with local restaurants - $69 per person
Tickets on Sale Now
Call TicketKing at: 416-872-1212 or 1-800-461-3333
Online Sales: www.mirvish.com
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