Photo by Jill Ritter Lindberg courtesy of New Line Theatre
When a small theater company views a limited budget not as a constraint, but as a license for creativity… It’s a kind of magic.
New Line Theatre specializes in goofy musical comedies delivered with a distinct DIY charm. Operating out of the Marcelle Theater (3310 Samuel Shepard Dr. in Midtown), the company will surely appeal to fans of Stray Dog Theatre and their most madcap, high-concept shows, such as Ruthless! Their production of the Queen-centric musical We Will Rock You features vocal virtuosity and flamboyant creativity that would make Freddie Mercury proud. The question is: are you ready for this? Are you hanging on the edge of your seat?
Written by comedian and playwright Ben Elton in 2002, the jukebox musical We Will Rock You was born from a development process involving Queen’s manager Jim Beach; surviving band members Brian May and Roger Taylor; and Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Productions. Instead of a boring biography, the creative team wrote a dystopian sci-fi comedy thematically tied together by nonstop music references (but MAINLY to Queen). For a piece written in the early 2000s, it has a surprisingly 2020s “metaverse” kind of feel.
The centerpiece of the musical is “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which serves as a blend of high and low culture. The set design leans into a consumerist junk culture aesthetic, recreating an abandoned strip mall filled with plastic containers and crates overflowing with old records, cassette tapes, and VHS tapes. The heroes of the deliciously cheesy, delirious story, the ‘Rebel Rebel’ resistance fighters, receive backup from a four-piece band featuring guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards.
The narrative is set in the year 2326 on “iPlanet”–formerly known as Earth—a consumerist hellscape ruled by tech companies. Musical instruments were banned over two centuries ago, and “rock” is little more than a myth. The program provides a historical timeline to get audiences up to speed: in 2028, an AI-created cyber star topped the charts (totally plausible). In 2029, ugly people were banned from music (also plausible). In this lame future, rebellious teens have been reduced to “Gaga Kids” who consume AI-generated gaga, googoo, and blahblah. Controlling their minds is the Killer Queen, a sexy psychopath with dangerous curves who was spawned by a pornographic video game.
In a world where citizens use social media handles for names, a misfit who experiences dreams of an ancient art called “rock” christens himself Galileo Figaro (Braidy Kirkegaard). He crosses paths with a sharp-tongued cynic whom he renames Scaramouche (Chelsea Johnston). Together they escape the clutches of the Killer Queen (De-Rance Blaylock) and her second-in-command, Khashoggi (Evan Bronkema), to find an underground resistance headquartered at the Heartbreak Hotel. Their journey takes them across the Seven Seas of Rhye to the ruins of Wemberly Stadium, where they unearth a legendary “axe” that will slay the rock-hating robot overlords.
The ensemble is rounded out by the residents of the Heartbreak Hotel, who have also chosen heroic names from the ancient days of rock n’ roll. There’s the gender-flipped, karate kicking “Britney Spears/Brit” (Ronmal Mottley) and his lover, “Ozzy Osbourne/Oz” (Adrienne Span). The spiritual leader of the group is the stoner Buddy (Jeff Loeffler), a reliable source of cringe-comedy.
While the original script dates back over twenty years, the New Line players cleverly ad-lib and update the text to keep the humor fresh, relying on a surreal slurry of pop culture callouts. Galileo experiences prophetic visions consisting of random lyric fragments. When pressed for the truth by his captors, he blurts out, “I like big butts and I cannot lie,” and he stays up late at night, wondering, “What’s love got to do with it?” He later convinces a skeptical Scaramouche to help him fulfill the prophecy and become “Destiny’s Child.”
Kirkegaard, a 2026 graduate from Webster University, plays Galileo with endearing goofiness and earnestness. Of course he’s got the vocal chops to back it up, and it’s satisfying to watch his adorably awkward character discover rock star swagger and confidence. Johnston, a New Line veteran who has worked on at least five different productions as both an actor and choreographer (including Rent, The Rocky Horror Show, and Bat Boy), struts through the surreal affair with grace and passion. Her performance of “Somebody to Love”—one of Queen’s best ballads—is a highlight of the show.
The villains provide reliable comic beats. De-Rance Blaylock plays the Killer Queen with appropriate camp, turning “Fat Bottomed Girls” into a celebration of voluptuous tyranny that could work as a villain song for an R-rated Disney movie. When her henchman Khashoggi disappoints her, the Queen says “off with his head” and belts out a lethal rendition of “Another One Bites the Dust.”
The absurd narrative takes detours to other timeless Queen tracks, including “Radio Ga Ga,” “I Want to Break Free,” “Under Pressure,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” and “Don’t Stop Me Now.” By the time the heroes save the day and become “Champions,” the entire cast takes the stage for a triumphant encore sing-along that Bill and Ted would find most excellent. It is a campy, delightful night of musical theater that never takes itself too seriously.
We Will Rock You runs at the Marcelle theater until June 27, and tickets cost $35 each—a price that even a poor boy from a poor family can afford. Parking can be limited in Grand Center, but a small lot directly across from the theater is open to patrons. Audiences are encouraged to arrive early, eat at one of Locust Street’s fine restaurants, take a warm summer stroll over to the Marcelle and get ready to rock. | Rob Von Nordheim
