I have never seen The English Patient. A friend once told me that the movie is okay, but that it is very long. Being the world’s foremost reality television expert, I think it is easy to assume that I do not have a long attention span. It’s hard for me to even sit still in the dentist’s chair as dangerous as that sounds. So sitting down to watch The English Patient. Impossible!
The reason that I bring this up is because last night, I was invited to check out the new ‘We Will Rock You’ musical in Toronto. The stage play is a tribute to the music of Queen and features the legendary Brian May and Roger Taylor. While I was initially skeptical about checking out the show… (let’s just say that sitting down for three hours straight for Les Miserables was Les Miserables), I am glad that I went.
‘We Will Rock You’ is an entertaining show that is basically a tribute to the music of one of the most influential bands of all-time.
The story takes place 300 years in the future. The name of Earth has been changed to Planet Mall and this is just the latest in global conformity. People wear the same clothes, listen to the same computer-generated music and generally maintain the same opinions. Rock music and instruments are banned by the Globalsoft Corporation headed by the evil Killer Queen (Alana Bridgewater) and her henchman Khashoggi (Evan Buliung).
The protagonists of the story are a small group of ‘Bohemians’ who name themselves after musical figures of the past including Britney Spears, Madonna and Avril Lavigne. Oz as in Ozzy Osborne is played by Suzie McNeil (of Rock Star INXS fame). The Bohemians are led by the social outcast Galileo (Yvan Pedneault) and his love interest Scaramouche (Erica Peck) who attempt to find the only instruments that are hidden in the City of Champions (Wembley Stadium) as they proceed to sing classic rock songs that the audience can sing along with while still fighting the figurative establishment that rock music always claims to.
It was an enjoyable experience and moreso because after the obligatory first encore of “Bohemian Rhapsody”, the Top 7 Canadian Idol finalists took to the stage along with Brian May and Roger Taylor and the rest of the cast. They all sang “The Show Must Go On.” It was especially amusing to see Matt Rapley, Jaydee Bixby and Tara Oram on stage as they clearly were out of their element. Dwight D’Eon definitely seemed to be the most at ease.
Other points of interest?
I was amused that there were so many Idol pokes during the show. Right off the top, the character of Pop (Jack Langedijk) made a joke about how singing competitions are what killed rock and roll. Later in the show, one of the Bohemians was named ‘Clay Aiken’ and Pop said that we wouldn’t have to worry about him because “he wouldn’t be around for too long.”
I found this interesting, especially when I knew that the Idols would be taking the stage later. I think that this was eloquently addressed by Brian May himself right before he called the Idols out on stage.
He said that they were “wonderful artists” and that they gave him a “different feeling about Idol.” He said that the show was now evolving into more of “singing/songwriting thing.”
I think that truer words have never been spoken. As I have written about before, Canadian Idol has been revolutionary this season in the way that it has actually picked musicians instead of just singers. I believe that this has eliminated the cheese factor from the competition and that is why I think it has been the best season to date. I think that the fact that there were American Idol jokes in ‘We Will Rock You’ and they still appreciated and invited the Idols enough to have them come and perform is indicative of the Idol change.
Another interesting point to note is how surreal it was to see Suzie McNeil and Carly Rae Jepsen standing beside each other. I mean everyone knows how small the reality TV circle is, but this was a pairing that I never thought I would see.
Great show and good times.
I never thought I would see Queen and Greg Neufeld on the same stage. This is clearly not your grandfather’s Canadian Idol.
I will be back on Monday for more Idol.
Tickets for ‘We Will Rock You’ are on sale until September 30. For more info, please go to WeWillRockYou.ca
