Showbiz411 speculates that We Will Rock You is aiming for a Broadway bow in the summer following the Tony Awards; however, the current tour itinerary for the musical has it booked at Los Angeles' Ahmanson Theatre July 15-Aug. 24, 2014, following a June engagement in Des Moines, IA.
An official announcement of a Broadway run has not been made. We Will Rock You will begin its U.S. tour Oct. 15 in Baltimore, MD.
The move is not unheard of; in recent years the new musical Bring It On also arrived on Broadway during the summer months as the culmination of its national tour. The national tours of Hair and Fela! also returned to Broadway to play limited engagements during the slower summer months.
Featuring a book by Ben Elton, the U.K. jukebox musical that utilizes the songs of the rock band Queen is in its 11th year at London's Dominion Theatre. A new European arena tour, separate from the U.S. touring production, launched in late February.
The U.S. cast will feature Brian Justin Crum (Next to Normal) as Galileo, P.J. Griffith (Giant) as Kashoggi, Jacqueline Arnold (Priscilla Queen of the Desert) as Killer Queen, Jared Zirilli (Lysistrata Jones) as Britney, Ruby Lewis as Scaramouche, Ryan Knowles as Pop and Erica Peck as Oz. The cast will be completed by Danny Balkwill, Samantha Berman, Bentley Black, Jessica Crouch, Saccha Dennis, Sam Digiuseppe, Suzanna Dupree, Daniel Greenberg, Stephen Hernandez, Nathan Keen, William Joseph Lewis, Brooke Morrison, Jennifer Mote, Katie Murphy, Jennifer Noble, Fred Odgaard, Patrick Ortiz, Jason Sermonia, Stephanie Sy and Kasey Walker.
We Will Rock You has book and direction by Ben Elton, music and music supervision by Queen/Roger Taylor and Brian May, musical staging and choreography by Arlene Phillips, design and lights by Mark Fisher and Willie Williams, sound by Bobby Aitken and costumes by Tim Goodchild.
The U.S. tour of the two-and-a-half-hour musical is presented by Queen Theatrical Productions, Tribeca Theatrical Productions, Phil McIntyre Entertainment and NETworks Presentations. Designed for a proscenium stage, it will launch at Baltimore's Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center Oct. 15-20.
The We Will Rock You band includes Rick Hip-Flores (musical director/conductor), Brandon Ethridge, Emily Marshall, Tristan Avakian, Bob Wegner, Mike Cohen, David Stevens and Danny Young.
"This show is all about legend," Elton said in a previous statement. "We take the legend of Queen and create our own fantastical story of young kids battling the mighty corporation who wants to suppress their individuality and their love of music. They need a hero who can help them in their struggle, and we have two – the dreamer Galileo, and the sassy rock chick Scaramouche. Guess who ends up winning?"
Tour cities include Chicago, IL; Pittsburgh, PA; Boston, MA; Nashville, TN; Minneapolis, MN; Thunder Bay, ON; Schenectady, NY; Raleigh, NC; Miami, FL; Fort Meyers, FL; Philadelphia, PA; Houston, TX; Dallas, TX; St. Louis, MO; Detroit, MI; Providence, RI; Morgantown, WV; New Haven, CT; Toronto, ON; Tampa, FL; Charlotte, NC; Des Moines, IA; Kansas City, MO; Seattle, WA; and Los Angeles, CA.
Here's how it's billed: "We Will Rock You takes place in a future age on a planet once called Earth that is now controlled by a mighty corporation. Globalization is complete. Individuality is taboo. Everyone watches the same movies, wears the same clothes and thinks the same thoughts. Music is generated by the corporation's computers, rock music is unheard and all musical instruments are banned. The hope of breaking free rests with an unlikely resistance – an alliance of rebel Bohemians, waiting for a hero to lead the battle to bring the power of rock back to the people."
