Queen and I have shared a love/hate relationship since I was a wee lass. One of the first record albums I owned (yes, it was on vinyl and everything) was The Game, featuring the 80's hit Another One Bites The Dust. Of course, I tended to prefer Weird Al's Another One Rides the Bus, but you couldn't admit stuff like that in public and still be invited to all the cool parties.

Hang on, I don't think I was ever invited to those ones anyway. ;)

Fast-forward a few years, and any Queen I heard was from my roommate's headphones. In the next room. At 3:00 in the morning.

He thought because I knew which album he was listening to that I must have been an ultimate fan. Not really, I could recognize the guitar riffs because they were too loud from 12 feet away.

And we'll just pretend that Body Language didn't happen.

When it was announced that We Will Rock You, a musical celebrating all things Queen, was coming to Toronto, I wasn't sure of what to expect.

Would they take themselves too seriously? Would Ben Elton (the playwright) be able to present us with an experience that allows the audience to re-discover their love of the music, kind of like the whole Mamma Mia/ABBA experience?

Oh yeah. Totally.

Wild characters. Fabulous villains. A storyline that proves once again how freedom of thought is something that should be celebrated. That it was served up with a liberal helping of humour had me in stitches, the "inside" rock and roll jokes were definitely appreciated by the crowd. Oh, and the songs were brought out to play with such passion and energy that dear Freddie Mercury would be proud.

And, as a major Canadian bonus, our very own Suzie McNeil from RockStar: INXS fame took to the stage as Oz, the rock and roll rebel babe.

You could even buy WWRU glowsticks for waving around during your favourite songs.

All in all, I give it two lighters up. Any way the wind blows...