The neon hum of Las Vegas usually swallows up the ambitions of lesser performers, but for a kid from the 519, the desert heat is just another backdrop for the rehearsal grind. I’m sitting in a dimly lit rehearsal space, the kind where the air smells of stale coffee and floor wax, watching Sean Sennett navigate the frantic choreography of one of the biggest rock musicals to hit the road in years. It’s loud. It’s Queen. And it’s exactly where the Windsor-Essex native belongs.
Sennett is currently embedded in the North American tour of *We Will Rock You*, a production that treats the discography of Freddie Mercury and company with the kind of reverence usually reserved for religious texts. But the reality of the road is brutal. The show only swings west of Toronto a handful of times—twice at Caesars Windsor on Nov. 29 and 30 and a single stop at FirstOntario Concert Hall in Hamilton on Feb. 1. If you miss the local dates, you’re chasing the bus across the border.
Getting the gig wasn’t some overnight fluke. It was the result of the weird, interconnected web of the Toronto theatre scene where everyone knows your resume before you even walk through the door. Sennett’s path to the iPlanet started with a tip from a peer and a sudden pivot in casting.
“Well that’s very sweet,” Sennett says when I mention the local pride back home. “I was doing a show in Toronto right after I graduated called Pregnancy Pact, and this wonderful colleague of mine, Katie Miller, she let me know that one of her friends was in a show that needed another person. So I was like, ‘Okay, let’s swap peerage.’ She sent over submission material. I’m like, ‘It’s an actual tour. Okay? We Will Rock You. What is this?’ And then I had to get other material for a certain role. I just contacted Ann Rand about three days later. I submitted the tape for it, and then about four days after that, I was auditioning in Toronto for Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
The industry has a funny way of folding in on itself. While Sennett was busy trying to land a role in the cult classic *Rocky Horror*, the people across the table were already measuring him for Queen’s spandex and leather.
“It’s funny because my dance captain for We Will Rock You was the person auditioning me for that show in Toronto,” Sennett says. “And so, after I was done with that audition, apparently, they had placed me in that show. They agreed to give me a role in it. And a couple of days later, Amelia, who turned out to be the dance captain, she noticed that I was on the mailing list for We Will Rock You and she was like, ‘All right, guys, that’s a lot.’ They’re like, ‘Yeah, I don’t think you’re going to be taking it this year. I think you’re going to be doing this tour.’ And so, yeah, I found out that I had a tour later that day in Toronto for that audition.”
But the news didn’t hit him in a boardroom or a fancy office. It hit him in the middle of a dinner rush at one of the busiest transit hubs in the country. There is something profoundly human about receiving life-altering news while surrounded by the smell of commuters and fast food.
“I was in Toronto,” Sennett says. “I was at Union Station. I was outside. There’s like this little sort of patio setup that they had set up. They had a bunch of different catering venues, little shops. Just having dinner with my girlfriend and my best friend came out with me, actually. Because they weren’t doing anything. So they’re like, ‘Yeah, yeah, we’ll come along.’ And so my girlfriend went to the bathroom. My buddy was searching his phone and I just happened to check my email. Just freaked out in Union Square... or Union Station. People were looking at me like ‘What the hell’s going on?’”
He laughs at the memory now, but the weight of the moment hasn't dissipated. For a Canadian actor, a touring contract is the gold standard. It’s the validation that the years of vocal coaches and unpaid fringe gigs were worth the headache.
“This is a dream come true, for sure,” he says. “And I’d been talking about it as if it was a huge dream. I’m like, ‘Oh, if I get this, I’ll be on tour on my birthday.’ But, who knows. You never know what’s going to happen. Sure enough.”
The show itself is a strange beast. Written by Ben Elton, *We Will Rock You* isn’t a biopic. It’s a dystopian fever dream that uses Queen’s hits to anchor a story about rebellion in a world where live music is a crime. It’s high-concept, occasionally ridiculous, and visually staggering.
I’m part of the ensemble. I play Paul McCartney. The group of Bohemians, these are rebels, band together and find these posters of old, old rock and roll stars and they take their names from those. ... I’m also understudying one of the leads, Buddy, who’s full name is Buddy Holly and the Crickets, which is definitely a lot of work and it was a little stressful to start learning my track and also his.
“Okay,” Sennett says, leaning in to break down the plot. “It’s a jukebox musical that uses Queen’s biggest hits. There are 25 songs in there. And it sort of follows this group of Bohemians as they try to find this secret ax that’s buried in order to get back their freedom on this iPlanet that the Killer Queen sort of rules over. It follows their journey to getting this ax. The people in high school become these Yuppies along the way who follow the Killer Queen. And so it’s like sort of George Orwell-esque in the sense that you have Big Brother, this Killer Queen watching over everything and anything to make sure that this weapon of freedom, this ax doesn’t fall into the hands of the Bohemians, because she ultimately will fail because of that.”
Sennett’s place in this digital dystopia is twofold. He’s an ensemble member with a name that carries heavy historical baggage, and he’s the safety net for one of the show’s central figures. The nomenclature of the show is a nod to the lost history of rock and roll.
“I’m part of the ensemble,” Sennett says. “I play Paul McCartney. The Bohemians, they don’t really get names at birth. You get sort of like... well, I guess everybody on the iPlanet get sort of like a webpage... It sounds very weird. But, you get sort of a webpage as your name and that’s how people contact you and stuff. The group of Bohemians, these are like rebels, band together and find these posters of old, old rock and roll stars and they take their names from those. So, I’m playing Paul McCartney. I’m also understudying one of the leads, Buddy, whose full name is Buddy Holly and the Crickets. That’s what I’m doing, which is definitely a lot of work and it was a little stressful to start learning my track and also his. But you get used to it and it’s turned out fine so far.”
Understudying is a thankless, high-stress discipline. You have to be as good as the lead but remain invisible until disaster strikes. In a production with only 15 cast members, there is no room for error. Everyone is doing double duty, and the mental gymnastics required to keep two different versions of the show in your head is immense.
“So anything that he’s in that I’m not in, I have to learn,” Sennett says. “It’s kind of interesting because all the leads have taken on double roles as well because we only have a cast of 15. So, any of his ensemble roles, any of the dances that he’s in that I’m also in, I just do my own ensemble track, because it doesn’t make sense doing the exact same thing as different positions, because you lose me as well. So you just make it more even. So I do that. But anything that I’m in that he’s in as the lead role that he dances and I don’t dance, then I have to learn that as well. But, you know, I guess, luckily I have few lines as an ensemble member. So, it’s mostly just dancing and all the blocking that I have to get used to first, and then I was learning all of Buddy’s lines along the way.”
The sheer volume of material is enough to make a veteran sweat. Buddy isn’t just a cameo; he’s a heavy lifter in the narrative.
“And he has about 165 lines or something like that,” Sennett says. “So, he definitely has like... you know... a hefty portion of the lines. But... It was definitely stressful at the start. You get used to it along the way and then you get more clear as you go on and on with the rehearsals. I mean, it’s also difficult when you have walking changes, until the day you open. It’s really not set down at all, I just follow along and take note of what’s changed and what hasn’t changed.”
And despite the ego that usually plagues theatre types, Sennett isn't rooting for the lead to trip and fall. The camaraderie on a tour this size is more akin to a military unit than a social club. You don't want the man next to you to fail because the whole machine depends on him.
“No, I don’t want anything at all to happen,” he says. “I think that would be awful. We were supposed to have the week in Winnipeg... the understudy to go on, but unfortunately there were sound issues. They had to keep the leads in just to do their stuff.”
But the road presents its own physical challenges that have nothing to do with soundboards or missed cues. Altitude is the silent killer for vocalists. When the oxygen thins out, those high notes Mercury was famous for become a lot harder to hit.
“But there’s been a couple of other cases where I did step in,” Sennett says. “Altitude definitely takes a toll on people. We performed a couple nights ago at, I think, 5,300 feet above sea level. So the air is very thin; it’s super, super hard to keep going and trying to get my breath. But, yeah, there’s been a couple times of ‘Oh God, I may not go on at all.’ You just sort of prepare for those moments. But I haven’t had to yet. Thank God.”
The music of Queen is the backbone of the entire operation, and for Sennett, it’s a soundtrack that predates his professional aspirations. It’s the sound of Southwestern Ontario car rides and family outings. It's the texture of his childhood.
“Oh, yeah,” he says. “Growing up I think I started listening when I was about seven. My dad was really into classic rock. He loved Chicago, Rolling Stones, Beatles, usually liked everything and anything. And so I’d hop in his car and he’d put on A Night At The Opera and we’d be on our way to go golfing or something. Just rocking out to Bohemian Rhapsody... in his Thunderbird, just like a very vivid memory. I’ve loved Queen ever since I was a kid and I’ve got to say, at my first concert I get to see Paul McCartney, which Queen attributes basically everything to the Beatles and what they did. That’s pretty special having that.”
When you ask an actor about their favourite song in a show they’ve performed 100 times, you usually get a rehearsed answer. Sennett is more honest. The songs aren't just cues; they are markers of his own history.
“Let’s see,” he says. “Reminiscing wise, it would be Bohemian Rhapsody. I can’t tell anybody when that song is going to be though. That’s a secret. But, you’ll have to see the show to find out. They all have a special place. I love... Hammer To Fall, it’s a very good song. Yeah. That’s a hard question. That’s a really hard question. They all resonate with me somewhat. They all tell a different story, in that they all have... a lot have a different place in my own life.”
The transition from a hockey-obsessed kid in Southwestern Ontario to a touring professional is a uniquely Canadian arc. In Ontario, the theatre isn't just a hobby; it’s an industry, anchored by the massive shadow of Stratford.
“Being in Ontario is a very special thing for any theatre people because we have Stratford,” Sennett says. “We have a lot of great theatre, you know, like Shaw. We have Drayton, as well. But Stratford is like the pinnacle theatre-going place for people all around the globe. So I was lucky enough when I was in Grade 8, Grade 9... I have an aunt who is a teacher and we got to see Romeo and Juliet in Grade 9, and my aunt decided it was a good time to take me to see West Side Story in Stratford. So I went there with her and my grandma. And I remember sitting there and I saw Tony running and jumping up on a balcony, and he grabbed it and pulled himself up. I’m thinking, I want to do this. I want to do this for the rest of my life.”
The performance that sealed the deal was Paul Nolan’s Tony. It was a moment of clarity that forced a choice between the rink and the stage. In Windsor, that’s a heavy decision.
“And his voice is amazing and Paul Nolan who played Tony,” Sennett says. “It was incredible. So from that moment, I was like I want to sing, act. Let’s get this going. So I went home. My mom found a vocal coach and called her up, started lessons. And I had to make the decision a couple years later to stop playing hockey and pursue theatre. I joined Hairspray. Was my first theatre live show in Windsor. Did that. And then that lead me to play Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar which was a delight. It was another role that Paul Nolan played in Stratford. It seems I’m following his footsteps, when it comes to that. But, yeah, that’s how it all began.”
And now, the footsteps lead back home. Watching Sennett in Vegas, it’s clear he’s ready for the Caesars Windsor stage. He’s got the chops, the discipline, and the local grit that only comes from the 519. Don't miss him.
