Review: We Will Rock You in Toronto 15/3 (preview)

[MissElphie]

Posted: 3/16/07 at 1:53pm

I went into this show with very little knowledge of it. I had read the short synopsis in the newspaper and of course knew many of the Queen songs that were in the show. But I still really wasn’t sure what to expect. Also, it being only the 2nd day of previews, I figured I’d witness a lot of kinks that would still need to be ironed out and a fair amount of performers that still needed to connect with their characters. I was pleasantly surprised with everything.
Technically, there were no major glitches that I could see. If it didn’t work. It was not obvious. Now, I do say this from the point of view of someone who has never seen the show, but if there were mistakes, they were pulled off with great ease.

As for the performers…I cannot boast about this cast enough. I was a little wary of Yvan Pedneualt as Gilileo. He has quite the thick French-Canadian accent, and I do think this hindered his acting performance a bit. Some of the jokes got lost in the delivery. Some of the lines were difficult to understand. But this was made up for a million times over when he opened his mouth to sing. He has one of those voices that just makes your jaw drop to hear it. And boy does he have range. He killed the super-high notes in “Under Pressure” and wowed me with pretty much everything else he sang.

Erica Peck (who is only 20 and is making her professional theatre debut) was a superb Scaramouche. She has terrific comedic timing. She nailed every little joke and nuance. And she had the voice to match. I loved her the moment she hit the stage. Brilliant performance.

The biggest surprise for me was Suzie McNeil from Rock star: INXS fame as Rocker Bohemian Oz. I knew she could sing, but was unconvinced she would be able to pull off such a big show. I am happy to say I was wrong, wrong wrong. Her voice is stellar, her dancing was great. She brought down the house when she sang, “No One But You”. I had goose bumps. Just beyond impressive.

Her love interest, Britney, played by the charming Sterling Jarvis was another “wow performance” for me. He has one of those pure, great voices you just love to sit and hear echo back to you in a theatre setting. He also provided a great amount of laughs.

The Killer Queen is played by Alana Bridgewater, who can also sing with the best of them. Though I did detect a bit of nervousness in her performance. I think she needs just a few more shows to get settled and she will blow everyone away.

The final two performers worth noting are Jack Langedijk as the loveable rock historian/librarian Pop and Even Buliung as the evil Khashoggi, who reminded me of that creepy Pepsi guy with the white hair from those commercials in the late 80s. Both did a great job with their characters, and like the rest of the cast, both can sing very well.

I will say the show is strange. I mean, it takes place 300 years in the future. It contains a million pop-culture references today and has characters named Madonna, Avril Lavigne and Aretha Franklin. I loved that they made a point of inserting various Canadian references in the show, though by the end it was a few too many. It began to get slightly annoying.

But when it all comes down to it, I laughed, I clapped, I cheered, I sang along, and I had a darn good time for a couple of hours. And really, isn’t that what the theatre is all about? And judging by the rest of the audience's reaction, I think they felt the same way. They were on their feet with an ovation before the curtain even had a chance to go down.I will definitely be going back to see this show again. I mean, I have to. I already have tickets.




Updated On: 3/16/07 at 01:53 PM

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 3/16/07 at 1:57pm

I feel guilty for being sort of actually excited for this show. I'll try lottery one of these days after school.

Akiva

[MissElphie]

Posted: 3/16/07 at 2:08pm

I saw it through winning the lottery. You can't beat $20 for a box seat. Though, I will say I was a little mad since the website says the tickets are for front row. But when we got there, they told us that has been changed now. The seats are various random seats throughout the theatre.

[MissElphie]

Posted: 3/25/07 at 10:48am

So...how surprised was I this morning when I opened my Toronto Sun to the ad for We Will Rock You and see the following:

"Beyond Impressive.
I laughed, I clapped,
I cheered,
I sang along.
I will definitely be going back
- I alreay have tickets"
Posted by M. Elphie on broadwayworld.com chat board

I'm like, "That's Me! That's my review!" I just thought that was pretty cool.

Updated On: 3/25/07 at 10:48 AM

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 3/25/07 at 11:01am

Yeah, that is pretty cool. Suprised they didn't ask first, but I guss that doesn't matter with internet. How were the sets? Was there a show curtain?

[MissElphie]

Posted: 3/25/07 at 11:14am

The seats were fine for $20. I could see pretty much everything. Very little took place at the back of the stage, and anything that did only lasted a few moments. No big curtain except at the beginning and the end, but it does nto stay on the entire time.

[vontusslegirl87]

Posted: 3/28/07 at 12:11pm

Heyy!
Ok I live in Toronto and am considering going to see WWRY... my mom said we will have to do the lotto since I made her take me to WICKED so many times lol... but how easy is the lotto to win? Is the show really amazing and worth it to see? I am debating between it and Phantom... my mom said I have to pick...
Thanks!

[erinrebecca]

Posted: 3/28/07 at 12:24pm

Save your money and go see Rocky Horror at CanStage instead.