1. Introduction
We Will Rock You, presented by Lunchbox Theatrical Productions Limited, is an electrifying musical by Queen and Ben Elton that was staged at the Esplanade Theatres from 28 March 2008 to 27 April 2008. Even in its 6th year on London’s West End, it still continues to play to packed houses and has captivated 6 million theatre-goers from around the world. The musical is an enormous multi-million dollar musical featuring 26 of Queen’s legendary hits, stunning costumes, sets and lighting, which replicates the famously extravagant Queen concerts of the 70s and 80s. The talented cast includes New Zealand’s pop princess Annie Crummer as the ruthless businesswoman, Killer Queen, and “Rock Star INXS” finalist MiG Ayesa who played the lead role, Galileo. They had such powerhouse vocals that rocked the entire theatre. I attended the musical on the 24th April 2008 and I felt as if I was at a Queen live concert. The entire experience awesome, it is no wonder why my former classmate Syahirah watched it twice and I would have done the same thing if only I had the financial capability to do so. To find out more information about the mind-blowing musical or about Queen, click on the pictures below.
We Will Rock You, presented by Lunchbox Theatrical Productions Limited, is an electrifying musical by Queen and Ben Elton that was staged at the Esplanade Theatres from 28 March 2008 to 27 April 2008. Even in its 6th year on London’s West End, it still continues to play to packed houses and has captivated 6 million theatre-goers from around the world. The musical is an enormous multi-million dollar musical featuring 26 of Queen’s legendary hits, stunning costumes, sets and lighting, which replicates the famously extravagant Queen concerts of the 70s and 80s. The talented cast includes New Zealand’s pop princess Annie Crummer as the ruthless businesswoman, Killer Queen, and “Rock Star INXS” finalist MiG Ayesa who played the lead role, Galileo. They had such powerhouse vocals that rocked the entire theatre. I attended the musical on the 24th April 2008 and I felt as if I was at a Queen live concert. The entire experience awesome, it is no wonder why my former classmate Syahirah watched it twice and I would have done the same thing if only I had the financial capability to do so. To find out more information about the mind-blowing musical or about Queen, click on the pictures below.
2. Background of organiser
Originally formed by James Cundall and a group of Hong Kong businessmen in 1992, Lunchbox Theatrical Productions made a name for itself by presenting West End musicals in Hong Kong, and has since established an unrivalled reputation for producing top quality international entertainment in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Europe, South Africa, Canada and the United Kingdom, now with subsidiaries in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore. From 1998 Lunchbox Theatrical Productions expanded its reach to include Singapore, bringing concert tours and boutique shows to a new audience.
Since 1992 James Cundall has produced over 70 live entertainment productions, including major musicals such as Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Miss Saigon, Chicago, Singin’ In The Rain, Cabaret, Oliver, Fame, South Pacific, Barnum, The New Rocky Horror Show, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Saturday Night Fever, The Full Monty, Buddy The Musical, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
James Cundall also established The Imperial Ice Stars with fellow producer Tony Mercer, who is widely regarded as the world’s leading creator of theatre on ice shows. The Imperial Ice Stars feature 24 World, European and National Championship skaters performing Olympic-level skating in the intimacy of the theatre stage. Their productions – The Sleeping Beauty on Ice, Swan Lake on Ice and Cinderella on Ice – continue to garner outstanding reviews across the world.
3. Role of event to the organiser (or attraction/venue)
The rock musical is an attraction that plays both an economic and tourism role to Singapore. The event could have attracted fans from other countries to Singapore to watch the musical. The enjoyable experience might lead to the increase in visitor spending and length of stay here in Singapore. This will increase help bring in more visitors to Singapore, increasing not only the count but also publicity and tourism receipts.
4. Identify stakeholders of event
A stakeholder is defined as any individual or group with an interest in the success of an event. The following are a few of the stakeholders I have identified for this musical. Feel free to click on the logos of the companys, it will link you to their official website.
The success of the musical would prove that the organizers are competent and capable of producing quality musicals.
The musical was held at the Esplanade Theatres at Marina Bay. It is responsible for providing audiences with a comfortable environment that will greatly contribute to the pleasure of watching the musical in their theatres. Therefore the services provided by the staff of the Esplanade Theatres would be crucial to leave consumers with a good impression of the venue, so that, should the Esplanade play host to other musicals in future, people will not hesitate to be there.
The musical is a form of attraction to lure visitors from overseas to our country, a stepping-stone to meet one of the goals of the STB, which is to increase visitor arrivals to 17 million by 2015. The success of the event would also help to market a better image of our country and increasing its prestige.5. Identify target market
The profile of the audiences that attended the musical that day ranged from youths like me to working adults and parents. Based on my observations, the musical was targeted to gather all fans of Queen’s music to relive the nostalgic memories of Queen’s live concerts, and musical enthusiasts like myself. However, the event was also targeted at students interested in theatrical productions. Educational notes and project sheets for teachers and students can be downloaded from the We Will Rock You page at the Lunchbox Theatrical Productions website.
6. Marketing strategies employed by the organiser
The main idea was to make a show that resembled a live concert and I feel that they have achieved that goal perfectly. Therefore, I felt that it was worth paying for every single cent of the tickets even though it would be considered to be a little pricey. There were also special price packages such as the Student ticket price ($50) and the Family Package price ($380) Therefore I feel that the price packaging was extremely reasonable. There was a booth selling We Will Rock You merchanise during the intermission and after the musical. The following pictures are some of the items that can be bought there.
Getting to the Esplanade was not a problem because it is central, easily accessible via both private and public transport. In the Esplanade itself, there were signboards providing me with clear directions towards the particular theatre. Everything at the venue was set to look like a rock concert. From the costumes to the lightings to the stage set, it brought back the flamboyant extravagance that Queen was famous for.
The hospitality that I received on the day of the event was one that was forthcoming and friendly, which made my experience an enjoyable one. There was a good mixture of printed collaterals such as brochures that were available at all Sistic counters, and banners that were put up at the Esplanade and on street lamps in the Marina Bay area.
The banner outside the Esplanade. Also, there were broadcast advertisements made on television and over the radio. Some of the major partners that helped in the success of the events were like their official logistics partner Agility Fair & Events Logistics Pte Ltd, official TV station MediaCorp TV Channel 5, official radio station MediaCorp Radio Gold 90.5FM and supported by the STB. Having prominent partners would add to the intangible value of the musical.
7. Organisation of the event
On the overall, I thought that the entire event, from the ticketing until the end of the show, was very well organised. It was easy to purchase tickets, as Sistic booths are conveniently located island wide and they could also be purchased from the Sistic website and their hotline. On the day of the musical, the flow of the event went very smoothly. Everything started and ended on time. There was no human congestion from the beginning to the end of the musical. Therefore, I feel that the partners that Lunchbox Theatrical Productions Limited has chosen helped in the smooth facilitation of the musical and that was crucial in the success of the entire event.
8. Potential of the event to meet tourist demand
The Esplanade itself is a tourist attraction in Singapore, somewhat like the Sydney Opera House. Therefore by hosting a major musical like We Will Rock You, tourism agencies could package it as one of the items in the itinerary for our tourist, adding to the variety of exciting things that tourists can do here.
9. Value of the event meeting the tourism mission of Singapore
One of the visions of the Events and Entertainment team from the STB is to establish Singapore as the "Events & Entertainment Capital of Asia”. The musical is another item added to fill Singapore’s calendar of events. The success of this event could gain the attention of other event and entertainment organisers and have them consider choosing Singapore as a preferred location to organise their events. Thus, with more international blockbuster musicals such as We Will Rock You, the STB would be a step closer to achieving their goal of "attracting iconic or mega events that will highlight Singapore as a premier destination for Leisure, Business and Services customer segments"
