We Will Rock You

Celebrating the Queen musical’s 20^th anniversary, the creative team behind the production of ‘We Will Rock You’ at the Empire Theatre in Toowoomba have a sure-fire hit on their hands that I’m sure its creators would be proud of! That’s if the opening night crowd are anything to judge by – a standing ovation from the capacity crowd, much cheering and singing along, with enthusiastic clapping to the non-stop stream of classic hits from Queen’s gold-standard jukebox.

First of all, the musical direction by Craig Renshaw (also playing keyboards in the band) was first rate, and when we finally saw the band (there is a plot-driven reason for the delayed reveal) the energy in the theatre soared even higher. This was a great collection of musicians who kept pace with Queen’s often-difficult repertoire with absolutely no qualms at all, achieving a sound that die-hard fans will be very happy with. On the guitars, Dale Robbins and Mark Chalmers gave a powerful performance with authentic guitar solos channelling that all-important Brian May tone; Andrew Will on bass; Kosta Theodosis, impressive on the drums; Melissa Buchholz on keys and Christina Marangelli on percussion. This band really rock!

The cast and ensemble were obviously enjoying the challenge of performing a selection of more than 25 superb songs and their enthusiasm brightened the show. Ben Elton may have shoehorned in a few songs to fit his dystopian futuristic setting, but the cast made them fit and got the best from all his jokes too ­– and I think the honorary Aussie writer would have definitely approved of some of the ad libs and localised gags that the cast had obviously injected into the show. The leads were outstanding: Bryn Jenke as Galileo had the right touch of rock charisma and energy, matched to the tee by Kate Hudson-James as a streetwise Scaramouche, with standout duets on ‘Under Pressure’, ‘You’re My Best Friend’ and ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’. Bryn has been performing as Frankie Valli in ‘Jersey Boys’ and Kate’s CV includes 23 musical theatre shows packed into the past 6 years. The vocal experience has paid off, because I imagine this is just the sort of practise required to prepare to match Freddie Mercury’s vocal range.

Hamming it up to the hilt are Georgia Spark as Killer Queen and Justin Tamblyn as Commander Khashoggi, with some wonderful comic moments around the songs ‘Flash’, ‘Seven Seas of Rhye’ and ‘Killer Queen’.

The supporting cast were equally strong, resulting in fan-favourite performances of ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ and ‘I Want it All’ by Lauren Baryla as Oz and Jacob Krog as Brit.

Special mention must go to Tristan James as Buddy for his effortless comic timing and crowd-pleasing local in-jokes. He also managed to raise a tear or two in an emotional ‘These Are the Days of Our Lives’. Audiences will love deciphering his rock malapropisms and catching all the trivia and name-dropping in the script. The sound mix will no doubt improve after opening night to allow the audience a clearer picture of these hard-working vocalists.

The cast includes more than 25 local talents as Bohemian back-up singers and dancers to round out the live music experience with excellent harmonies and energetic dancing.

I’m not sure if ‘Fat-Bottomed Girls’ is PC these days, but the dancers certainly added cheeky sex appeal. With such a level of professionalism on show, it’s hard to believe that some of this cast are students and music teachers and not full-time professionals. They do, of course, have some power at the helm with husband-and-wife team Wayne Scott Kermond directing and Katie Kermond choreographing. All their hard work in rehearsals since casting the show late last year is certainly evident on stage. Elton’s script does not require much character development, but it does demand constant energy, good comic duo schtick to drive the story, and of course confident rock singing chops! This production ticks all the boxes. To top it off, the futuristic setting is brought to life with stunning projections by Craig Wilkinson (from Optikal Bloc, responsible for last year’s wonderful videographic sets for the hit production of ‘Boy Swallows Universe’) with construction by Rob Darvall, brilliant lighting design by Ben Hunt, great sound design by Steve Alexander and nifty costume design by Debra Nairn (cleverly combining several rock references with thrift-shop chic). There are myriad other supporting personnel, vocal coaches and understudies all contributing to the success of this production, ensuring it lives up to its name. ‘We Will Rock You’ is rocking audiences at the Empire Theatre for one week only – so don’t miss out on an uplifting night out for music fans of all ages.

Beth Keehn

Photographer: Lucy RC Photography

Find out more: https://www.empiretheatre.com.au