We Will Rock You Stays Alive in London

We Will Rock You will rock on in London after all. The Queen musical, which interpolates Queen songs into an original story by Ben Elton, had announced a closing of October 7 at the Dominion Theatre, but the producers Phil McIntyre Entertainment, Queen Theatrical Productions and Robert De Niro's Tribeca Theatrical Productions have now announced that they will extend the show's booking period into April 2007.

"The fact is, the show has proved such a continuing draw with both the home market and visitors to London, that it became obvious that a move this year would be premature," said producer McIntyre in a statement. "Besides which, the theatre owners very much wanted us to stay. In the end, they, and the public, made the decision for us."

The theatre owners—Live Nation, formerly Clear Channel Entertainment—were originally negotiating with Kevin Wallace Productions to open a London production of the current Toronto stage version of The Lord of the Rings at the Dominion. But following mixed reviews in Toronto, those plans have now changed. The press agent for The Lord of the Rings says that a London production will still go ahead, but "perhaps in a different venue."

We Will Rock You will mark its fourth anniversary at the Dominion on May 11 with a performance that Queen's Brian May and Roger Taylor and scribe Elton are expected to attend. A new production of the show also opens at Johannesburg's Nelson Mandela Theatre on May 9, and further productions are expected in Zurich in December and a return to Japan in the same month. We Will Rock You will also embark on a UK tour.