For Theatre Under the Stars' We Will Rock You, performers and fans alike prepare to belt out Queen classics
Director Saccha Dennis blends rock concert and jukebox musical in stage production at Malkin Bowl
Photo by Emily Cooper
Theatre Under the Stars presents We Will Rock You, alternating with Something Rotten, at Malkin Bowl from July 3 to August 27
WE WILL ROCK YOU is that rare musical where the audience enthusiastically belts out the words to almost every song along with the performers. How can anyone resist, when the soundtrack is packed with Queen’s rock classics, from the titular track to the epic “Bohemian Rhapsody”?
But Saccha Dennis, who’s helming the production here for Theatre Under the Stars, has never seen the audience sing quite so loudly, or go quite so wild, as she did on one New York State stop when she was a young performer in the first national U.S. tour of We Will Rock You. Queen guitar legend Brian May stepped on stage to accompany the production’s climactic number—“Bohemian Rhapsody”, of course.
“They don’t make it public–it only happens when he’s in town,” she recalls. “And when they see him come out and they're singing, they stop, and then they scream, and then there’s tears, and then they sing even louder.
“But always, it’s so great to hear an audience that just loves rock music and Queen.”
And so, wherever it’s travelled since Ben Elton wrote the Queen tribute in 2002, We Will Rock You seems to have lived up to its name. It’s unique–something Ontario-based Dennis, who’s starred in everything from Come From Away to Sister Act and Avenue Q, can really appreciate.
That difference extends to the fact that the show often feels more like a rock concert than a musical. And yet, though technically it’s a “jukebox musical” that draws on well-known songs, it has an elaborate, albeit tongue-in-cheek, narrative concocted from Queen lyrics and set 300 years into the technologically advanced but musically limited future.
The plot finds a group of young Bohemians struggling to restore free creative expression at a time when the sinister Killer Queen has banned all non-computer-generated music. Everything in this future world is commercialized and corporatized, and everyone dresses, thinks, and acts the same; Planet Earth has even been renamed Planet Mall and is controlled by the Globalsoft Corporation. Now if only the rock rebels can find their Holy Grail—May's legendary guitar, an artifact from long ago.
“It allows us to really think about where we’ll be 300 years from now and how we’ll be remembered and how we want to be able to use music as a form of expression,” Dennis says. “What's so great about the script is there is room to play with how it looks, so I’ve had a great time thinking about what we want the fashion to look like. I kind of focused on gender expression and gender fluidity a lot and looks that could feel androgynous.”
Dennis is struck by how much the piece, even though it never takes itself too seriously, speaks to today’s screen-obsessed culture—particularly during the “Radio Gaga” number.
“When that song was released, Queen was talking about how no one was listening to radio anymore and moving into TV,” she reflects. “I just find that really interesting now, having this generation who’s really into social media and Tik Tok.”
Saccha Dennis
Dennis is working with a crack team to build that futuristic world, including lighting and set designer Robert Sondergaard and costume designer Brian Ball. An added bonus is that powerhouse, street- and martial-arts-influenced Vancouver choreographer Shay Kuebler is building the dance numbers.
Dennis reveals the script allows for updated topical references and jokes to be inserted, and her inside connections from performing in the show for so long have meant she’s been able to talk through her ideas with writer Elton himself over the past six months. “We've had a great rapport,” she explains.”I just wanted to make sure that Ben Elton was still part of the conversation.”
Preparing to perform the mega-show outdoors, at Malkin Bowl in the heart of Stanley Park, has been a new experience for the Montreal-born Torontonian. But, then again, it kind of feels like an outdoor rock venue too. As she puts it: “This show is built for a stage like this.”
As for coaching her cast on performing Queen’s rock anthems, Dennis says it’s all about finding a balance between the classic sound the audience wants to hear and the personal twist from each performer. Singing through it—Dennis’s favourite numbers include “Fat Bottomed Girls”—requires the endurance of a marathon runner.
“Every singer is different; Steffanie Davis, who plays Killer Queen, seems made out of steel—she sings loud every single time,” Dennis marvels. “It is a show that is high-octane and it's a lot in 2.5 hours. It’s about pacing yourself; you want to gradually build the vocals toward the end.”
And the Queen fans who plan to sing every word should probably take heed of that advice, too.
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