By Shobha Rao Smilemaker
Sep 2: Some years ago, I had enjoyed a musical tribute to Freddie Mercury in Mumbai, so inspite of my hectic schedule in Bangalore I was really looking forward to another musical performance featuring hits of my favourite band - Queen.
The experience of 'We will rock you' directed by Leila Alvares, was absolutely worth it. What I got was much more than just a evening of music - a thought provoking fantasy story with a message!
Imagine living in the future year of 2304, where all you hear is commercialized music by Globalsoft run by its power hungry Killer Queen and her ruthless Khashoggi. Along with his secret police, they imprison or exile or suppress people with creative musical thoughts. Imagine the whole new generation aptly named as gaga kids or teen queens living in a non creative world of downloadable music.
Throughout the evening we craved to hear the bits of live soulful iconic Queen hits, as espoused by misfits Galileo and Scaramouche and the rebel Bohemians (with names of musical heroes of the past). They dared to defy the system to bring back the soulful rock and roll music. The role of Buddy as the hippy librarian added to the humour that was subtly present throughout every performance.
The fast paced adventurous chase among the good versus bad guys with a recreation of the Queen related music and dialogues at frequent intervals , is what made it all, an absolutely delightful experience!
But the highlight happened at the end of the show, when we finally got what we were truly waiting for - a true recreation of 20 iconic hits of our favourite band - the Queen. As the audience joined the enthusiasm of the stage performers in the final moments, I remained ever grateful for the wonderful musical legacy left by Freddie Mercury and his iconic band the Queen.
Thank you Leila Alvares and her talented team for giving the audience a memorable experience with the musical - ' We will rock you'. Mangalore can look forward to her show at Town Hall on 20th September 2025.
Shobha Rao Smilemaker has a vision of living in a world where people use their ability to find and make smiles in any situation. She is a lawyer by qualification, a soft skills trainer by passion, a motivational speaker, a freelance journalist, a bestselling author, an avid traveler and founder of 'Smilemakers Trainings'. She can be contacted at www.shobhasmilemaker.com.