Fans of the legendary band Queen will enjoy this futuristic jukebox musical that features the band’s top hits throughout the performance. In some variations of the show, several lyrics of other famous pop icons are added to the dialog to make it current and diverse. The show’s title is from one of Queen’s award-winning songs by the same name. This musical was written in London by Ben Elton and the three surviving Queen band members. It opened in 2002 in London’s West End at the Dominion Theater.

The premise of this retro musical actually is set in the future (approximately in the year 2300). By this time, a wave of pessimism and gloom has overcome the Earth (which is now called Planet Mall) and is presided over by a global corporation. Young people lead bland lives and must conform to the same dress code and do the same, monotonous things every day. They are trained to have one opinion and know nothing about music and musical instruments. They are known as the Ga Ga Kids.

Among these boring and brainwashed kids is one called Galileo, the one they call the ‘Dreamer’. He later meets the heroine of the play, another rebel who is a goth girl named Scaramouche. Together, the nonconforming couple face the wrath of Planet Mall’s ruler, Killer Queen, who has them arrested for civil disobedience. This femme fatale is aware of a prophecy that one day a ‘leading star’ would bring freedom and music to Planet Mall’s mindless masses. Galileo and Scaramouche later unite with underground Bohemian rebels who know the secrets to making musical instruments that will play music. Even though the Bohemians are skeptical at first, they hear Galileo singing the Bohemian Rhapsody and are convinced that he is music’s messiah.

In their quest for music and trying to outrun Killer Queen, these rocking rogues meet a old man who confirms the prophecy that was inscribed by three members of a musical group called Queen from over three hundred years ago who were sentenced to death. Then, Galileo and friends find out that the ‘shining star’ of the prediction was a statue of Freddie Mecury, which pointed to the ruins of Wembley Stadium (called the ‘place of the true rock’ in the prophecy). Galileo starts singing ‘We Will Rock You’ and an electric guitar materializes. The gang hacks into Killer Queen’s corporate computer and plays the anthem around the world and free the Ga Ga Kids from the leashes of their evil empress with a rendition of ‘We are the Champions’.

The musical is peppered throughout with many of Queen’s top hits during appropriate scenes, with an encoure of the Bohemian Rhapsody. Even though the show originally received poor reviews from the critics, it quickly become an international success. It represents a reminder that the music still lives long after the lights have faded.