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WE WILL ROCK YOU to Play Benedum Center, 10/29-11/3

By: Sep. 16, 2013
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The worldwide smash hit 'rock theatrical', Queen and Ben Elton's We Will Rock You, built around 24 of Queen's biggest hits, opens at the Benedum Center on October 29, and runs through November 3, 2013. We Will Rock You is produced by Queen Theatrical Productions, Tribeca Theatrical Productions, Phil Mcintyre Entertainment and NETworks Presentations.

The performance schedule is Tuesday-Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 2:00 and 8:00 p.m.; Sunday at 1:00 and 6:30 p.m. Tickets begin at $20 and are available at the Box Office at Theater Square, 655 Penn Avenue, by visiting www.TrustArts.org, or by calling (412) 456-4800. We Will Rock You is part of the PNC Broadway Across America-Pittsburgh series, presented by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Broadway Across America and Pittsburgh Symphony.

Queen's Brian May and Roger Taylor are musical supervisors to the show, taking an active role in casting the singer/actors and musicians for every production worldwide. The cast features Brian Justin Crum as Galileo, Ruby Lewis as Scaramouche, Jacqueline Arnold as Killer Queen, P.J. Griffith as Khashoggi, Ryan Knowles as Pop, Erica Peck as Oz and Jared Zirilli as Britney.

Rounding out the ensemble are Danny Balkwill, Samantha Berman, Bentley Black, Jessica Crouch, Saccha Dennis, Sam DiGiuseppe, Suzanna Dupree, Daniel Greenberg,Stephen Hernandez, Nathan Keen, William Joseph Lewis, Brooke Morrison, Jennifer Mote, Katie Murphy, Jennifer Noble, Fred Odgaard, Patrick Ortiz, Jason Sermonia, Stephanie Sy and Kasey Walker.

The We Will Rock You band includes Rick Hip-Flores (Musical Director/Conductor), Brandon Ethridge (Assistant Conductor/Keyboards), Emily Marshall (Keyboards),Tristan Avakian (Guitar), Bob Wegner (Guitar), Mike Cohen (Bass), David Stevens (Percussion) and Danny Young (Drums).

This hilarious, multi-award-winning and record-breaking phenomenon is created by celebrated British comedian and writer Ben Elton (TV's "MR. Bean" and "The Young Ones"), and boasts a fantastic score of Queen's biggest songs including "Another One Bites The Dust", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", "We Are The Champions," "Bohemian Rhapsody" and, of course, "We Will Rock You."

The show is in its 12th year at The Dominion in London's West End, one of London Theatreland's biggest theatres, making it the venue's longest-running production ever. We Will Rock You is now officially the 9th longest running show in the West End and was crowned the UK's favorite show at the 2011 Olivier Awards, the UK equivalent of the Tony Awards, in a category voted entirely by members of the public.

Outside of the UK, the show has now been seen in local productions in 17 countries, playing to an audience of over 15 million people.

We Will Rock You takes place in a future age on a planet once called Earth that is now controlled by a mighty corporation. Globalization is complete. Individuality is taboo. Everyone watches the same movies, wears the same clothes and thinks the same thoughts. Music is generated by the corporation's computers, rock music is unheard and all musical instruments are banned. The hope of breaking free rests with an unlikely resistance - an alliance of rebel Bohemians, waiting for a hero to lead the battle to bring the power of rock back to the people.

"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?"

"Creating the show with Ben was very much a three-way thing," says Roger Taylor. "It was great because he was a pleasure to work with and because he has such a fertile mind. He never stops churning out ideas."

Elton updates his book regularly, keeping the satirical edge of his script totally relevant to the time and location of the production.

Brian May adds, "The amazing bonus is that Ben's script subtly works as a metaphor too. People definitely come out of the theatre feeling that in a strange way they now know us, Queen, and our struggle, our journey."



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