While the Dominion Theatre has been mooted as a possible home for Legally Blonde in London (See Today’s Other Goss), gamblers betting on a Queen closure to make it happen could be taking a big risk. Other musicals sizing up the 2,000-seater in recent years – including The Lord of the Rings – have had to resort to alternative accommodations.
We Will Rock You premiered to famously damning reviews in April 2002 but defied the critics to become a sell-out success, going on to win five of that year’s Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers’ Choice Awards including Best Musical. In August 2005, it became the longest-running show in the history of the Dominion Theatre. When a venue vacancy was guaranteed in October 2006, a surge in bookings prompted producers to cancel the show’s announced closure. If We Will Rock You has indeed runs its course, Queen may still be heard in the West End. The show’s long-mooted sequel, again written by Ben Elton, is apparently nearing completion (See The Goss, 16 Oct 2002). Queen guitarist Brian May told the Independent newspaper this week: “We have been talking about it for a long time, now Ben has supplied us with a fabulous script the train is rolling! Watch out!” Meanwhile, We Will Rock You is currently booking through to October 2008.