My story last week about the rumored production of the musical "We Will Rock You" generated a surprising response -- from no less than Brian May of the famed band Queen.

May co-created the musical, which is based on the music of the British group whose hits include "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Another One Bites the Dust," and "We Will Rock You."

I said that I wasn't sure if the show would work, since its music isn't bubbly like "Mamma Mia!" which is based on ABBA songs. I said that I had the same worries about a production of "Phantom of the Opera," and mentioned "Notre Dame du Paris," the smash hit French musical that flopped in Las Vegas.

A couple of days after the story was published, I received this e-mail from Brian May himself:

Dear Mr. G

Brace yourself Rick -- if you think We Will Rock You is ANYTHING like "Mamma Mia!" or "Phantom," far less "Notre Dame" (!) , you're in for a wonderful shock!!!

Our show has packed London's huge Dominion Theatre (2,100 seats) for two solid years already -- that's a nearly million and half happy kids of all ages from 8 to 88, and there has NEVER been a night without a massive standing ovation at the end. (Plenty of Americans in there, too!)

And don't forget you're looking at ROCK music here, and from a band who toured the USA constantly through the '70s and '80s -- and topped the charts many times along the way. We do not forget, and nor have, I believe, those kids who still rock to "Champions," "Rock You," "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Another One Bites the Dust," "Crazy Little Thing" ... need I say more????

It's no idle promise, folks of beautiful Las Vegas -- We WILL rock you !!!

See my Web site -- www.BrianMay.com -- for details of auditions starting this coming week.

Cheers, Brian May
QUEEN
Feb. 17, 2004"

As someone who has original vinyl 45s of "Another One Bites the Dust" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" -- purchased at a K-mart in Iowa in the early 1980s -- it's a true honor to hear from May. Although being skeptical is part of my job I'm more than happy to reserve judgment until the finished product is up and running on the Vegas stage; I look forward to seeing it!

For the record, "We Will Rock You" is based on the music of Queen and features 25 of the band's hits wrapped up in a story about a group of futuristic rebels who try to rescue music itself from a world where soulless robots write and perform the songs and all instruments are banned. As May indicates in his e-mail, the show has been playing to packed houses in London for more than a year, and new productions have been mounted in Melbourne, Australia, and Madrid, Spain.

While the Vegas production is still not official in terms of a big press release, the fact that they are having auditions for the band seems to indicate it's pretty much a done deal.

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