Brenda Edwards and Lee Mead are cast in We Will Rock You at the London Coliseum
Brenda Edwards and Lee Mead will lead the cast of hit show We Will Rock You when it returns to the West End this summer for a strictly limited residency at the London Coliseum.
Edwards (Sister Act The Musical, Chicago) will return to the role of Killer Queen after playing the part on both the UK tour and during the record breaking Dominion Theatre run while Mead (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Wicked) will play Khashoggi.
Featuring 24 of Queen’s greatest hits and a script by comedian and writer Elton, the musical will take to the same stage where Freddie Mercury famously danced with the Royal Ballet in a special charity performance in 1979, for 12 weeks from 2 June until 27 August.
Commenting on the first piece of casting news, Elton said: “I’m thrilled that the wildly talented Brenda Edwards and Lee Mead are starring in We Will Rock You. They’re guaranteed to blow your mind and after that they’ll blow the roof off!”
Edwards said: “I’m delighted to be stepping back into the shoes of the legendary Killer Queen and this time at the iconic London Coliseum! I can’t wait to work with Ben again, the hugely talented Lee Mead and the rest of the amazing company.”
Mead commented: “I’m so excited to be joining the cast of We Will Rock and can’t wait to bring Queen’s legendary songs back to the London stage. We start rehearsing in April – bring it on!”
Following critical acclaim for their performances in the UK tour, Olivier Award-nominated actor Ian McIntosh (Beautiful – The Carole King Musical) and Elena Skye (Kinky Boots) will reprise their roles as Galileo Figaro and Scaramouche. Further casting is to be announced.
Announcing the London season late last year, Elton, who will return as director after taking charge of the most recent UK tour, and various international productions including the original Australian production in 2004, said: “I hope somebody’s squared this with English Heritage because the fabulous London Coliseum is a Grade II listed theatre and We Will Rock You is gonna blow the roof off.”
Choreographed by Arlene Phillips, the jukebox rock musical debuted at the Dominion Theatre in 2002. An instant fan favourite, the show became the longest-running musical at the Dominion in 2012. The London production closed in 2014 after 4,600 performances with a spectacular final performance featuring both Brian May and Roger Taylor. Globally, the musical has been seen by an audience of 20 million.
Angela Thomas
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