Killer Queen musical comes to town

Killer Queen, which is based on the music of the popular 70s rock band, Queen, opens on Thursday evening next week and will run through to June 5.
Queen is a British rock band formed in London in 1971 and is one of the most commercially successful musical acts of all time.
The group originally consisted of Freddie Mercury, (lead vocals), Brian May (lead guitar, vocals), John Deacon (bass guitar) and Roger Taylor (drums and vocals).
Killer Queen is one of the band Queen’s most successful singles released in 1974. The single reached number two in the British charts, and became their first US hit, reaching number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.
And for those who might have missed this single, Queen released yet another hot single, I Want to Break Free in 1984. The single was on the album, The Works, which also included another very successful single Radio Ga Ga, among other works.
Even after the death of the lead vocalist, Freddie Mercury on November 23 1991, Queen remains arguably one of the best rock bands that have left a lasting legacy on the world musical scene.
Mark Robbins, producer and musical director of the musical, told The Financial Gazette that Killer Queen is “a story about the future”.
“The ‘killer queen’ is the one who is, together with her cabinet, known as Global Soft, always trying to suppress everything. It is a story when rock music was banned from Earth and how some kids had to meet underground and try to bring it back,” he said, adding that the show is spiced with some humour as well.
“It’s a musical that features the finest actors, musicians and dancers we have in the country including Samantha Tirivacho, who is the vocal director. There are going to be nine performances in all — and the music will exclusively from the legendary band, Queen.”
“This is going to be a world-class show you have come to expect after the highly successful Mamma Mia Story. You would want to compare it to the West End musical of London. Though it might be different in terms of the set up, this is going to be an absolutely incredible show with a 10-piece band and 31 artists on stage.”
In 2002, a musical based on the songs of Queen, titled We Will Rock You, opened at the Dominion Theatre on London’s West End and continues to run up to this day.
Robbins, a highly experienced producer and director of such musical events, said there is brilliant talent in Zimbabwe never witnessed before the “could probably be bigger” than the Mamma Mia Story.
He also revealed that they have other performances up their sleeves — his production house, Eclipse Productions, is already working on a tribute to the music of the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson in September. They have already started working on it, he said.
Eclipse Productions also authored the Songs Out Of Africa musical, an extravaganza of hits written, recorded and produced by African legends, in December last year. Though the musical got little reception, it was beyond any measure of doubt a world-class performance.
Artists featured in the musical included Miriam Makeba, Johnny Clegg of Juluka, Salif Keita, Oliver Mtukudzi, Brenda Fassie and Mango Groove, among others.
Tickets to the musical are already on sale at the 7 Arts Theatre box office. Admission is US$15 per head which will go up to US$20 when the box opens. The matinees, which will be held on from May 29, will be going for US$10.