(Above: CharliRae Edmunds, Tyler Holden and Chad Lowe play  Oz, Buddy and Galileo in the rock musical, We Will Rock You, at Actors Cabaret of Eugene; photos by Jim Roberts)

By Randi Bjornstad

Three centuries from now, when everyone dresses, looks, and acts alike, music is verboten, and Earth itself has been renamed iPlanet and is managed by the Globalsoft Corporation led by the evil Killer Queen, a bunch of rebels who call themselves Bohemians decides to fight back.

They’ve gotten wind that somewhere on iPlanet there’s a hidden stash of musical instruments, and they are determined to find them and restore Earth and the freedoms it once knew.

All this is happening in a musical onstage at Actors Cabaret of Eugene, called We Will Rock You, with songs titled appropriately, Another One Bites the Dust, Bohemian Rhapsody, Killer Queen, and of course the title song, We Will Rock You, originally presented by the supergroup, Queen, which wrote the music and lyrics, with story by Ben Elton.

It takes a cast of 19 to do the show, which is directed by Anthony Krall, who also designed the sets, with costumes by Mary Jensen, vocal direction by Lisa Mattiello, and lighting by Joe Zingo.

Every musical has to have a villain, right? In “We Will Rock You,” it’s the Killer Queen, played by Adria Malcom, seen here with Tyler Blaser as Khashoggi

The cast includes Chad Lowe, Lexy Neale, Adria Malcolm, Tyler Blaser, CharliRae Edmunds, Donovan Seitzinger, Tyler Holden, Delaine Burns, Kieren-Vincent Coleman, Desirey Cruz, Colin Gray, Laura Holden, Chelsea King, Gina Masiak, Lisa Mattiello, Hailey Mead, Joshua Sayre, Jessy Webster, and Katelynn Williams.

Here’s a note from director Anthony Krall:

What was once called Earth is now called iPlanet.  Individuality, once revered, is now anathema.  Human connection and interaction exist primarily via social media. Life is lived online.  Love is a myth and music is a legend.

“We Will Rock You premiered on London’s West End in 2002, before Facebook, before YouTube, and before the iPhone. I am left to wonder if Ben Elton could imagine, when he wrote the book, how closely his created world would parallel that in which we now live. We get our news online, we shop online, we connect and interact with friends and loved ones online, hand written letters have become emails, phone calls have become texts, and who among us doesn’t feel panic when we can’t find our cellphones?

“We are quickly forgetting the way the world used to work, maybe that’s a good thing and maybe it’s not, but we have not forgotten how it sounded. We still idolize the rock and roll “gods,” Elvis, Aretha, Janis and Freddie. The sounds of classic rock still fill the airwaves. Generations of people can come together through their love of the sounds and the feel and the vibe of Rock. Parents, children, grandparents and even strangers can sing together. The music connects them.

“So … if, as a society, we succumb to our dependence on technology, if the world becomes some version of iPlanet … will the “vibes” of Rock, the sounds of great music, be our only hope?”

We Will Rock You runs through July 28. As usual, audiences have the choice of show-only tickets or show-plus-meal tickets.

We Will Rock You

When: 8 p.m. on June 29-30 and July 6-7, 13-14, 20-21, and 27-28; and 2 p.m. on July 8 and 22

Where: Actors Cabaret of Eugene, 996 Willamette St. in downtown Eugene

Tickets: Show only, $16 to $27; show and dinner, $44.95 to $49.95; show and brunch, $40.95 to $42.95, available at the box office, 541-683-4368, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, or online at actorscabaret.org

Actors Cabaret of Eugene’s production of “We Will Rock You” features Tyler Holder as Buddy Holly and Chad Lowe as Galileo