Review: WE WILL ROCK YOU

With two dozen Queen songs as its score, a dazzling stage design and a cast that gives some truly kick-ass performances, We Will Rock You is all but done in by an insultingly stupid book by Ben Elton packed with stale jokes and tired clichés.

Ironically, this mindless, manufactured, pre-fab show pretends to be an indictment against mindless, manufactured pre-fab music. The execution is so sloppy and uninspired one wonders whether Elton has ever bothered to study sturdy musical theatre construction. If he had, he might have found ways to weave together the songs in a ways to enrich the story and character development.

Despite the inept script, the evening still manages to pack a good deal of entertainment value thanks to Rick Fox's band and the energetic performers.

Leading the way is Yvan Pedneault as Galileo giving a star-making professional debut that far outshines the material. With his charming French accent, he manages to make even the lamest jokes almost endearing, and creates something of a three-dimensional character. Best of all he displays a remarkable singing voice as amazing for is range as for its power.

Erica Peck as Scaramouche giving a sardonic yet slightly vulnerable characterization matches him. She too has an outstanding voice displayed early in the proceedings with her plaintive ballad "Somebody to Love."

Evan Buliung is properly sinister as Khashoggi, the minion to the Killer Queen played with Aretha Franklin-ish style by Alana Bridgewater. Sterling Jarvis as Britney and Suzie McNeil as Oz provide some tongue-in-cheek humour making it even more regrettable that they virtually disappear after Act One.

Time and again these talented performers are let down by sloppy script construction. It's telling that "Bohemian Rhapsody" despite being arguably Queen's most vividly theatrical number is relegated to a post-curtain call encore. 

By then, thanks to aid from the sensational lighting, set, and sound design and Rick Foxes band the cast has boosted the energy level into the stratosphere. It's feast for the eyes and ears, but ultimately We Will Rock You is a triumph of style over substance.

 

We Will Rock You plays at the Canon Theatre until July 8. Tickets range from $20-$94. A lottery for a 20 rush seats will be held daily two hours prior to show time for 20 seats, available for purchase at $25 each, cash only. This lottery is available in-person at the box office only, with a limit of two tickets per person. ID will be required for those purchasing the tickets.

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