As of January, I was still undecided about the whole We Will Rock You musical concept. I was pretty sure it was stupid, but I needed more information. A few days later I got a very thorough email from one of the Queen Teens. This particular reader I think of as The Admonisher, because she has no patience with me when I say anything that is less than highly complimentary about Queen. She had many things to place in the pro column, including love for the script, cast, and special effects. Oh yes, and the music. These are the main arguments from her email:
Ok, so you may not approve of this musical venture yet, but (trust me on this) it is one of the best things ever to happen on this planet. This musical venture, although not supported by some Queen fans, has certainly made people finally realise the majesty of Queen. The way that they tell a story, despite being alarmingly ridiculous, portrays what Freddie and Queen were all about. They have simply expanded their music to reach theatregoers and also gives Queen fans something else to do to praise their favourite band.
If you still remain unconvinced, write an article on it and see if it makes any difference!
The Admonisher
Okay, making people realize the majesty of Queen is good. But doing so in the form of a musical? I'm not sure about that. I always think that I don't like musicals because when I think of musicals I think of Oklahoma! or My Fair Lady or any other musical performed by high school drama clubs. Those are musicals that do not interest me. Then I remember that since many of my favorite movies contain rock bands that are playing music, they are technically musicals. A Hard Day's Night? Musical, although I myself would file it under Comedy Genius.
And then there is that part where I love both The King and I soundtrack and The Yul Brynner Cookbook. That suggests that I am pro-musical. And don't even get me started on how much I love Kris Kristofferson in A Star Is Born. (Settle down, I think Barbra is good too). As it turns out, I don't dislike musicals as a genre. This is good because if I claim that I dislike all musicals, then I am a generalizing jackass. A generalizing rule breaking jackass.
So now it just comes down to whether or not I like this musical. Miss Megala sent a link to a page where I can read the script online. It cracks her up on a regular basis but I'm afraid to look. I've had the link for a good month or two but still haven't been able to bring myself to check it out. I'm worried that it will suck beyond my wildest dreams. And I already suspect that it sucks. Secret Agent A has assured me that it sucks. She wrote to talk about fifty percent of Queen not being Queen but then digressed into a bitter rant about We Will Rock You. Let's go to the email, already in progress.
...a horrible musical (Queen save music. Actually save music. As in all music, everywhere, ever. Have you heard much about "We Will Rock You"? Because it's horrible.)
Well now! I had heard something similar to that description and it sounds wretched. I wrote Secret Agent A to tell her this would be a perfect compliment to the email I had gotten from The Admonisher because I wanted to provide two sides to a story I know very little about. Three sides if you want to include my own doubts about the wisdom of this venture.
I would be absolutely delighted to contribute to any discussion on how crap this musical is.
I've been told that, for a huge Queen fan, it's more about the music and the story doesn't matter. But I totally disagree. I like Queen's music. Who doesn't? But it needs to have a story that doesn't make me want to vomit. And it needs to make sense! "Galileo" and "Scaramouche" go to find the "Bohemians", who are searching for the "Rhapsody" - and "Bohemian Rhapsody" ISN'T EVEN IN THE MUSICAL!! It's the freaking ENCORE! Please people. Work with me here. After the first act, I was all "oh, it's not as bad as people are saying", but in act two it all when downhill. I'm getting upset just thinking about it.
Secret Agent A
Oh, and Ben Elton (who wrote WWRY) has just written a musical of Rod Stewart's music called Tonight's The Night. Equally horrible? Possibly. I won't be finding out.
I might actually be interested in that musical. Maybe Tonight's The Night means that tonight is finally the night that Rod gets a decent haircut. Tonight's The Night that Carmine Appice and I write Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? Tonight's The Night I marry another model. Tonight's The Night I apologize for the Hot Legs video. The possibilities are endless. He just can't save music, that has already been done.
Or maybe Rod can try to do a better job of saving music and then Ben Elton's next musical can combine Queen and Rod Stewart. There Can Be Only One will be Queen versus Rod Stewart in a series of West Side Story-type rumbles. I would go see that show.