Travel to a far-off future where rock ‘n’ roll doesn’t exist, by coming to the UTEP Dinner Theatre’s newest show, “We Will Rock You.” Opening weekend for the rock and roll musical will be Friday, Feb. 2 to Sunday, Feb.4 and by popular demand, will continue running until Sunday, Feb. 25.
“We Will Rock You,” is a musical written by Ben Elton and features popular songs from the legendary band “Queen.” The musical first appeared in 2002 at the West End at the Dominion Theatre.
It became the longest running show in London’s West End History and is in the top ten running musicals of all time. Since then, the play has been showcased in theatres worldwide and now in El Paso.
The story takes place in a distant future on the I-Planet ruled by the Killer Queen. Everyone in this fictional land thinks, feels and behaves the same. The musical chronicles the tale of a gang of bohemians who fight to bring back rock music, free thought and fashion. The two main characters are revolutionaries trying to save rock ‘n’ roll in a post-apocalyptic world, an especially impactful story in an age where algorithms predict everyone’s preference.
Interim director of the UTEP Dinner Theatre, Jaime Barba says he chose “We Will Rock You” to make the staff happy and to get the staff’s creativity flowing by doing something different.
“One of the reasons why we chose this show is because everybody loves Queen music,” Barba said. “The staff and I got excited to do something that isn’t your usual golden age musical which is what we did last fall.”
Many talented UTEP students are a part of the cast including John Levick as the lead role Galileo, Alyssa Bustillos as Scaramouche, Chloe Curtis as Oz, Peter Fogle as Buddy, Fernando Romero as Kashoggi, Erik Orozco as Brit and Jada Ward as the Killer Queen.
The ensemble is comprised of Ahleah Davis-Wilson, Consuelo Gonzales, Elise Herndon, Eliana Jimenez, Isabella Kelly, Ajith Kumar, Daniel Maciel, Emily Minerva, Emma Leigh Montes, Carlos Nunez, Victor Ortega, Sylvia Quiroz, Angel Rodriguez and Bryant Webb.
“The songs in the play are orchestrated a little differently from what you would usually hear if you turned on the radio and heard a Queen song,” Barba said. “We needed to be sure to have several people who could hit the high notes in a pop rock style. Luckily the right people showed up and they’re doing very well with all of the songs and everyone who comes to the show is in for a treat.”
Dinner performances start at 6:30 p.m., Feb.2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 15 and 17. They also offer a dinner discount performance for certain nights which are Feb.8 and 15. The Matinee dinner performance is at 1:00 p.m., Feb. 4. The no dinner matinee performance at 2:00 p.m. will be Feb. 11 and 18.
For Friday and Saturday dinner performances adult tickets are $53.50. UTEP faculty and staff, Alumni Association members, children, non-UTEP students, and military are $51.50 and UTEP students pay $43.50 for their ticket.
For Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday performances, prices range from $46.50 to $48.50 for the public and $38.50 for UTEP students. Sunday no-dinner matinee performance prices range from $30.50 to $32.50 for the public and $22.50 for UTEP students.
Tickets are available at the UTEP Ticket Center or visit the Ticketmaster website.
For more information or ticket prices for the show visit their website, https://www.utep.edu/liberalarts/udt/ and follow them on Instagram @utepdinnertheatre.
Alyson Rodriguez is a contributor and may be reached at [email protected]; @alyson_rod1127 on X.
