The Queen musical We Will Rock You is to end its run at the Dominion Theatre in London.
Written by Ben Elton with songs by Queen, the show will end on 31 May 2014 after 4,600 performances at the Dominion Theatre.
The rock musical has played for 12 years in the West End, and is the longest-running rock musical in London theatre history and the longest runner at the Dominion Theatre by nine years.
The show opened 14 May 2002 and has become the 10th longest running West End musical ever.
The co-creators of the show, Ben Elton, Brian May and Roger Taylor, issued a joint statement saying: “We want to thank every one of the many hundreds of incredible musical theatre artists, musicians and crew with whom we’ve had the privilege of working at the Dominion since 2002. And of course the incredible audiences who have rewarded them with over four and a half thousand standing ovations.”
The show has rocked over 6 and a half million people in its 12 years in London and been performed in 28 countries worldwide to over 16 million people.
General Manager of the Dominion Theatre, David Pearson, said: “It has been a privilege to have hosted We Will Rock You for the past 12 years. To have the show rocking the Dominion and seeing a standing ovation night after night has been quite amazing. We wish the show every success for the future, as we now prepare to accelerate our restoration and refurbishment programme ready to welcome an exciting new production in 2015.”
The cast of We Will Rock You on opening night in 2002
BOOK
SPECIAL OFFER: Book tickets to We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre
DATA
The West End’s longest-running shows
1. Les Misérables
2. The Phantom of the Opera
3. Blood Brothers
4. Cats
5. Starlight Express
6. Chicago
7. Mamma Mia!
8. Disney’s The Lion King
9. Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story
10. We Will Rock You
11. Miss Saigon
12. Billy Elliot The Musical
13. Jesus Christ Superstar
14. Me and My Girl
15. Wicked
16. Evita
17. Oliver!
18. Grease!
19. The Sound Of Music
20. My Fair Lady
Source: Society of London Theatre
OPENING NIGHT OF WE WILL ROCK YOU LONDON
We Will Rock you opened at the Dominion Theatre on 14 May 2002. It’s fair to say that the critics were not kind to the show – with pretty much everyone but Dominic Mohan in the Sun damning it.
Reviews round-up by The Telegraph (16 May 2002)
“It’s a pathetic, adolescent piece of work . . . What’s startling here, beyond the cliche-ridden dialogue and the embarrassing, feebleness of Elton’s jokes, is the sheer incompetence of the staging . . . the sheer laziness of Elton’s script is downright insulting.” Charles Spencer, The Daily Telegraph
“PANTOMIME has arrived a little early in the West End in the shape of this shallow, stupid and totally vacuous new musical . . . As an excuse for a musical, this is a disastrous runner-up to Mamma Mia!” Michael Coveney, Daily Mail
“FREDDIE would have bunked off halfway through to the Adelphi theatre, where the 40-year-old Chicago manages twice the balls and wit.” Caitlin Moran, The Times
“THE show is so awful, it’s almost entertaining . . . Elton’s unfunny dialogue and song cues rapidly mash you into a cow-like trance. Hardcore fans at the front rocked to it. The rest of you will need ear muffs and a good book.” Robert Gore-Langton, the Daily Express
“BEN Elton, the brains behind the book, claims to be a rock fan, but he has done Queen a disservice with such a trite and tacky storyline.” Fiona Sturges, The Independent
“THE much-trumpeted Queen musical has arrived, and it would be hard to imagine a less appropriate vehicle for the band’s music . . . You will find nothing bohemian, and precious little that’s rhapsodic here.” Brian Logan, The Guardian
“BEN Elton should be shot for his risible story. Best moment of the evening was the fabulous rendition of It’s a Kind of Magic by Clarke and Hanson . . . But as for most of the rest: it was a kind of tragic.” Kevin O’Sullivan, Mirror
“Queen’s musical is kind of magic . . . what an evening – magnifico.” Dominic Mohan, the Sun
Source: Telegraph
Photos of the First Night
http://storify.com/westendtheatre/we-will-rock-you-photos-opening-night-14-may-2002
