Broadway returns to Bengaluru – The Hindu

It was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, the sung-through musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, that inspired Leila Alvares to create musicals herself, more than three decades ago. “I was studying abroad at that time and told myself that when I go back to India, I would do Joseph,” says the founder and president of the CAUSE Foundation (Co-operation of the Arts for the Underprivileged in Society and Environment), a non-profit organisation that promotes local talent and donates profits from musical productions to charities.

Not only did she indeed do Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat multiple times in Bengaluru, but since 1997, the CAUSE Foundation has been staging a musical every year. These include classics like The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady, Grease, The Addams Family, Something Rotten and Monty Python’s Spamalot. Now, more than 28 years later, the foundation is all geared up for their next one: We Will Rock You, a futuristic, jukebox musical, written by Ben Elton and set to the legendary music of Queen.

The musical, set in a bleak, dystopian world, “a very Orwellian kind of thing,” tells the story of two people who join the Bohemians, a bunch of rock rebels, and their battle to restore freedom and individuality in this totalitarian world. “I grew up with Queen, and while I’m not saying it was my favourite band ― I preferred ABBA and Boney M, there were certain songs, like We are the Champions and We will Rock You, that I loved,” says Leila.

The play is also a nod to the age of social media algorithms, where technology constantly risks eroding individuality. “This musical was written in 2002 and was slightly ahead of its time,” she says, admitting that while the play is entertaining, it does have an important message.

“The underlying thing is that these people want to bring back individuality, people making their own decisions and thinking for themselves rather than have other people or even AI thinking for you.”

Leila Alvares
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Special Arrangement

The cast of We Will Rock You includes Rahael Thomas, Samiksha Chawla, Deepa Jacob, Kieren Alvares Lynn, Arvind Kasthuri, Aakarsh Paul, Trisha Purohit, Shyju Varkey and Prem Koshy. As with every musical by the CAUSE Foundation, profits will be donated to good causes in Bengaluru as well as in the other cities the play goes to. “We make sure that we donate to an animal charity, because that is very close to my heart, and a human charity, too,” she says.

We Will Rock You will be held at Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Bengaluru, on August 30 and 31, at 7:15 pm (both days) & 11:15 am (only on August 31). A show will also be held at the MLR Convention Centre, Whitefield, on September 6 at 7:15 pm. Tickets, priced at ₹ 1000, ₹ 800, ₹ 499, and ₹ 300, are available on BookMyShow or by calling Kavitha (98844169903).