I grew up on classic rock….Bruce Springsteen, The Who, Tom Petty, Queen. My dad made sure I had an appreciation for the music, quizzing me about band members as we drove down the road, turning up the songs on the radio as loud as was acceptable.

I also grew up a theater junkie with a huge love of musicals. I’m not a strong singer but one of my favorite classes in school was always choir.

I try to instill a love of both the classics and musicals in my kids, purchasing several soundtracks for an upcoming road trip and planning to listen to them way more than the Kidz Bop albums.

This week I got the chance to take my dad to the opening night of We Will Rock You at Starlight Theatre, the second in their summer Broadway Series.

I sang along (in my head) with all of the songs (of course) and teared up (because that’s what I do when I’m moved by the music). The production was a spectacle, as they are at Starlight, the singing amazing. And who doesn’t love the megahits from Queen? (If you don’t don’t tell me because we won’t be friends anymore)

And it was really awesome to share the experience with my dad, who “taught” me how to love the music in the first place.

The actors all have incredible singing voices (especially the two leads, Scaramouche and Galileo. Oh my goodness). The “orchestra” is basically a rock band hidden up above the stage that the audience gets a couple of glimpses of throughout the show, and they’re fantastic and fun to watch when you do get to see them.

The show itself is a modern story of a corporation that has taken over the world (and teenage souls) through social media, and have taken rock music away from them so it’s only a collection of facts gathered by a group of rebels called “bohemians.” Their mission is to find the “dreamer” who can help them recover the last glimmer of the music and the vibe. And the background and anchor of the story is Queen’s timeless album, We WIll Rock You. It’s delightfully campy, full of pop culture and musical references, both old and very recent (there’s even a twerking reference), hilarious and highly entertaining. 

A little bit about the show from Starlight: The iconic sounds of British rock band Queen – with a theatrical twist – will take center stage June 17-22 when Starlight Theatre welcomes the first North American tour of We Will Rock You. Billed as a “rock theatrical,” this hit musical by Queen and Ben Elton has enjoyed a 12-year run in London’s West End, played in 28 countries and entertained more than 16 million people worldwide. 

“This show is all about legend,” book writer Elton explained. “We take the legend of Queen and create our own fantastical story of young kids battling the mighty corporation that wants to suppress their individuality and their love of music. They need a hero who can help them in their struggle, and we have two – the dreamer Galileo and the sassy rock chick Scaramouche. Guess who ends up winning?”

Ruby Lewis in the national tour of We Will Rock You. Photo by Paul Kolnik

Go see the show. Seriously. I loved it and I LOVE spending an evening at Starlight.

Get tickets for the show, We Will Rock You at Starlight Theatre, which runs through Sunday, June 22, for $10 to $95. Tickets are available online at www.kcstarlight.com, by calling 816.363.STAR (7827) or at the Starlight box office at 4600 Starlight Road, Kansas City, MO 64132.  All performances begin at 8:30 p.m.

I received two tickets to the show in exchange for my review, but all opinions are 100% my own.