We arrive at Gaga High School on an Island in some dystopian future where a Killer Queen and her assistant Khashoggi rule the island, full of obedient, electronically programmed students. But, as in all schools, not all of the students follow the rules…
Galileo, one of the students at the school, escapes with his new best friend Scaramouche, on a quest to find rock music.
It is a cheesy and yet captivating plot, that has you gripped to the stage. A rather basic stage design (sorry stage designer) although I absolutely loved the live band at the top of the stage. We had some eye-catching special effects lighting and images. It works well and with the absolutely phenomenal vocals we heard on the stage this evening, a fancy, over the top staging is not needed. The voices carry themselves.
Most people who have come to the show are here for the songs of Queen and they’re all incredibly happy as we are treated to song after song. A total of 24, I think I counted. Ben Elton does a voice over at the start of the show to ask the audience (in a comedic way) to leave the singing to the people on the stage. A welcome notice that for the majority worked. But for those who couldn’t contain themselves, the music thankfully was played at such a level, that any additional vocals from the audience were drowned out and the audience were encouraged to join in during the encore. A welcome option for the lady next to me who really belted out the songs.
All of the vocals were exceptional this evening. We had an understudy Edward Leigh playing the role of Brit and he was superb. If the cast change hadn’t been announced at the start of the show, I would have presumed he was playing a role he played every night. Superb! Such a vibe on the stage with great vocals and choreography and an infectious smile!
The Star vocals for me came from two people, firstly Jenny O’Leary who played Killer Queen. I was surprised more people didn’t cheer for her at the end, as her vocals were by far the best female vocals of the evening. And secondly Ian McIntosh who played Galileo was phenomenal. An amazing energy on the stage. Wherever he was, your eyes were. Keeping the audience in the palm of his hands. Ian has an abundance of talent and was a perfect choice for this role.
The whole cast and ensemble were incredible and I hope they’ve gone to bed this evening, very proud of themselves.
Showing at Birmingham Hippodrome until 30th July 2022. Hurry and get tickets now, it will rock you and you’ll go GaGa for it.
Disclaimer: We were gifted tickets to the press performance. All thoughts and opinions are entirely our own. Photographs by Johan Persson.
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