Queen Comes to Carlsbad: Good Songs, Good-Looking!

 By Lonnie Burstein Hewitt. PHOTO CREDITS: JEDZANT Photography.

Scaramouche & Galileo with the Bohemians 

 If, like me, you were a major Queen fan in the 1980s and beyond, you’ll want to check out the musical now playing at New Village Arts, which has been Carlsbad’s theater hub for the past quarter-century.

We Will Rock You features two hours of songs made famous by the late, great Freddie Mercury and his one-of-a-kind band brought to you in a futuristic setting  by a cast of nine totally committed young  performers who seem to be having a very good time doing what they do. 

There’s a story surrounding the music:  it’s a world where conformism reigns and individualism is severely punished but a young dreamer starts accessing ideas and sounds from the days that used to be.  His name is Galileo, (played by Cooper Orio) and he connects with Scaramouche, a young woman who’s not quite sure what she’s looking for but knows it’s not what she’s seeing. (She’s played by Sarah Ledesma, whose singing voice seriously rocks.)

If these characters’ names seem familiar to you, it’s because you’ve heard them in “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Queen’s  best-known and most out-there song…which happens to be the one that closes the show.  Along the way, we get to meet a group of young bohemians who have managed to assemble  relics of old rock-and-roll times that they cherish but don’t quite understand. We also meet some of the nasties who rule…. like the Killer Queen (played by Sami Berman )…and watch them try to continue to do their worst.

Killer Queen

Until I read the Director’s Notes in the program, I didn’t know that the show actually premiered in London in 2002.  But this is a new whole production, directed by Sheldon Gomabon, who prides himself on creating pieces that encourage community. 

“I would like the audience to walk out feeling joy,” he said in an online interview. “Not just the sense of elation that comes from the music, but the idea that things will work out if we all work together.”

We really enjoyed the projections  by Scenic & Projections Designer Jesus Hurtado that added lots of color and zip to the show.  And we happily clapped, stomped and sang along  with the songs when   invited—which was often— and we joined in the standing ovation at the end.

Another thing we enjoy at New Village Arts is the constantly changing art in their Lobby.  We’ve included two of our current favorites here.

Gumball Wizard by Phyllis Swanson.  (photo: Maurice Hewitt)

On Fire by Phyllis Swanson. (photo by Maurice Hewitt)

And every show inspires related cocktails: Maurice definitely liked his Killer Queen drink. 

We Will Rock You
(Music & Lyrics by Queen, Story & Script by Ben Elton)
On view until September 20, with matinees and evening shows Thursdays-Sundays.
New Village Arts 
2787 State Street, Carlsbad, CA 92008
760.433.3245

Lonnie Burstein Hewitt is an award-winning author/lyricist/playwright who has been writing about arts and lifestyles in San Di5.ego County for over a dozen years. You can reach her at hew2@sbcglobal.net