Queen Musical Hits The States

Two of the biggest reasons I love being a DJ on I95 are the Beatles and Queen.  I never get tire of singing along one more time to any song of theirs we play.  I've see every biography special I could catch and now, be still my heart, the Queen musical We Will Rock You which has been a smash hit on the English stage for more than a decade, is coming to the states!

The show, built around 24 of Queen's biggest hits, will launch a national tour in Baltimore in October at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center.  Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor are the show's musical supervisors and have played an active role in casting the actors and musicians for every worldwide production.  They even occasionally have made surprise appearances with the cast.

In a statement, May says of the show, "People definitely come out of the theater feeling that, in a strange way, they now know us, Queen, and our struggle, our journey."

Featured in the musical are Queen classics like "Another One Bites the Dust," "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," "We Are the Champions," "Bohemian Rhapsody" and, of course, "We Will Rock You."   However, the show is not about the band and their history -- it simply uses the songs to drive the plot, which concerns "young kids battling a mighty corporation who wants to suppress their individuality."  The two main characters are a guy named Galileo and a girl called Scaramouche -- both inspired, of course, by "Bohemian Rhapsody."

We Will Rock You was written by British comedian, author and playwright Ben Elton, co-creator of the cult British TV comedy The Young Ones, which aired on MTV in the '80s.

The full set of tour stops and dates for the show have yet to be announced, but you can sign up for updates on the show's website, WeWillRockYou.com.