Caissie Levy Live At The Hippodrome 26.01.2013

The Hippodrome Casino, in the middle of London, right on Leicester Square – what a venue. I’ve never been to a Casino in my entire life, so I really had no clue what to expect from this one, but I was taken aback when I first stepped foot in its big hall. The many poker tables, the lights, the people, the decoration…it was an amazing view to take in.

We knew that the Concert would be in the Matcham Room, so we soon found our way up to the 2nd floor, where quite a few people were already queueing to get in. I was kind of bouncing off the walls, as I had just got out of seeing “Les Misérables” at the Queens Theatre, and the adrenalin was still rushing through my veins. And the fact that all of a sudden, Oliver Tompsett, and, shortly after him, Paul Ayres passed me and my friend standing at the Top of the Staircase, didn’t make it any better. They both looked so good, and I was so excited to see them on stage that night with Caissie Levy, though I had just seen Oli on stage at the Dominion the night before. It was actually pretty surreal, when I also saw Nathan Amzi crossing our way and entering the Matcham Room; that were so many West End Actors/Singers that I had no chance to actually realize what was happening here. And then that one thing happened that was totally killing me.
As I said, my friend Kim and me were standing at the Top pf the Staircase, and we both took in the scene around us, the people playing Poker and everything, and it was such a stimulus satiation, I can’t begin to explain it. At one moment, I was standing with my back to the Stairs, looking to the Bodyguards standing at the Entrance of the Matcham Room, when my friend suddenly said nothing more than “Stairs, Stairs, Stairs, RIGHT NOW!” I was confused for a second, believing there was someone of HER favourite West End people, but when I turned around, there he was, MY favourite West End person: Simon Lipkin. You have to know: when I was planning that weekend in London, I couldn’t even begin to imagine to be there and not going to see him at “Rock Of Ages”. Sadly, since they’ve moved the Show to The Garrick Theatre, the ticket prices have been increased and there were no day seats available anymore. And as I had already 3 Shows and that Concert in 2 days, I just couldn’t afford an expensive Stalls Ticket for RoA (because, come on: sitting in that Show for me means to sit in the Stalls, period). My heart was honestly bleeding, knowing I was in my favourite city and wouldn’t even get a glimpse of Simon, my favourite RoAdie, as there wasn’t even time to go to the Stage Door for a few minutes. And when it was clear I was going to see the Caissie Levy Concert with Oliver Tompsett & Paul Ayres as Special Guests, my heart was all like “Maybe Simon will be there, too, maybe he will be, who knows?” the entire day, while my rational head was all like “Stop daydreaming and hoping, why on earth would HE be there?!” So when my friend said this Stair thingy (knowing VERY well that he was my favourite, as I couldn’t stop talking about him), and I turned around and saw him coming up the Stairs, just one metre away from us, I was sheer speechless. I hope he didn’t notice it, but I wasn’t able to do anything than just standing there, staring at him passing us…and my mouth was gaping open widely. VERY widely. That had never happen to me before, and when I saw him walking all the way to the end of the queue, it was over for me. That was so surreal, seeing him – who I consider a star at the West End, sue me – just acting like a normal person, and he didn’t show any airs and graces at all, and I couldn’t help but fall even harder for him than I already had three months before. So from the moment me and my friend were taking our seats in The Matcham Room to the beginning of the Concert up to its end, my heart was pounding like crazy. Standing in the queue, I was turning around the entire time, just to get a glimpse of him, and when me and my friend had taken our seats infront of the Stage, my eyes were practically glued to the Entrance, hoping they’d get to see him. Guess I was telling myself that if that would happen, I’d bring up the courage to walk up to him and chat a bit or maybe get another hug and pic with him *lol* Instead, Nathan Amzi came through the entrance just before the show started, and he saw me and my friend looking at the “Les Misérables” Souvenir brochure we brought with us from the Theatre, smiling at us and giving us a thumbs up 🙂
Well, then the Concert started, and what can I say? Everyone was just breathtakingly amazing. EVERYONE. Paul Ayres & Jenny Fitzpatrick sang “Lovebug Lives”, and then, Paul sang alone, “Out Of The Blue”. His voice was perfect in every way, and seeing him on stage so up close was amazing. Everytime he came to the higher notes, my skin was full of goosebumps; he was really, really great.
Sadly, when it was Oliver Tompsett’s turn to sing his solo, I hadn’t switched on my camera, so I don’t even know what his great song was called, only I remember that at first, it was a wonderful ballad, but after a while, turned out to a wonderful uptempo number. And of course, he was absolutely amazing; I totally fell for his voice when I had seen him in “Rock Of Ages” three months before, and he didn’t disappoint me ever since. He has that special thing in his voice that just makes your entire skin turn into massive goosebumps, your heart pounding like wild and your heart just wanting to melt and yourself? Well, it makes you squeak like a little child and feeling the urge to storm onto the Stage and give him massive hugs. He’s absolutely wonderful and the best West End Singer that there is right now.

After that, the main person of that evening stepped onto to the stage, the breathtakingly beautiful Caissie Levy. I already knew her voice inside out from the “Ghost-The Musical” Cast Recording, but still, I was taken aback when I heard her singing live. She was absolutely amazing. Every note was perfect, there was nothing to complain about, and the songs that she presented from her new album were all so wonderful! (though I’m really not a ballad person unless I’m sad and lonely or sth). After a few songs – of which I totally fell with the beautiful “You Are The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me” -, Caissie called Oliver back onto the stage, and they both finally sang their duet together, the song “As Long As You’re Mine” from the Musical “Wicked”, where they had both worked together for quite a while, but somehow never sang together! The first take of that song was already amazing, but when everyone in the audience wanted to hear it a 2nd time, it was even better, as they started off with Oliver running off the Stage and Caissie calling him back up with  compliments, pretending he hadn’t already been there just a few seconds ago, it was hilarious.
After the last song, wich was my absolute highlight – she sang “Without You” from “Ghost” live, it actually brought tears to my eyes because it was so beautiful and I felt like there was no way that anybody could sing that song more perfect and breathtaking, – the Concert already ended, which was really sad, as I had really enjoyed it. I actually wanted to get a picture with Caissie or Oliver or Paul or Simon or Nathan, or to have a chat, but somehow, that didn’t really work out that well, as I just didn’t want to intrude their private space that night (for me, it’s different to wait for them at the Stage Door, sue me). So after half an hour of walking around The Hippodrome, watching the people play Poker, Black Jack, etc., my friend and me finally made our way back to our hostel. And for me, that night was priceless, not only because of the stunning and amazing Concert, but also because my wish came true and I got to see Simon without even being at The Garrick! 🙂

Les Misérables (Queens Theatre) 26.01.2013

Alright, after we just had seen “Billy Elliot”, we hurried over to the Queens Theatre to see the last show of “Les Misérables” before the Cast Change, where Liam Tamne (as Enjolras) & Craig Mather (as Marius) would have their farewell show. What a night. I’ve never seen an actor on a stage cry during the very last song, but this night, it happened, and they totally touched me with it. But from the beginning.
As I’d never heard anything about the Musical, I went into it a bit sceptical; therefore, the ticket I had booked had its seat on the “balcony”, on the left to the stage – worst idea EVER. I could barely move my feet, I had to lean over almost the entire time (and still didn’t see everything) and everytime I moved, I touched the guy who sat on the right next to me, so that I thought he might actually start to think I did it on purpose.
When the show started, the first goosebumps found their way up my arms – “Look Down” was playing, and it was amazing! You have to know, I’ve never heard any song that is sung in that Musical, so I went in totally blank. Of course, there were a few songs that I really didn’t like (mostly the slow ones, I call them “Sad Songs”), but a lot that I thought were so amazing that I needed to somehow get them (Like “Do You Hear The People Sing”, “At The End Of The Day”, “Master Of The House”, “I Dreamed A Dream”, “Castle On A Cloud”). And though I honestly have to admit that I was a bit disappointed as I noticed that there is almost NONE word spoken in that show, but that it’s mostly done with singing voices, I also have to be honest to say that the voices themselves took my breath away. I can’t even tell you any specific actors/singers, because they were all just stunning. As my friends both had seen Liam Tamne in his role as Enjolras more than once, I was quite excited to hear him sing, and I really wasn’t disappointed at all. His voice was so perfect that night, and the way he’s in his role is really, really impressive; I know why everyone liked him so much and why it was so hard for most of the people in the audience to see him leave. Who also really found his way into my heart was Jake Poolman, who played the role of Gavroche that night. Such a lovely little boy, loved his voice, and especially his accent, and I was shocked when his death scene came. But as I said, I can’t give you specific names who was the most amazing, because everyone was breathtaking to me.
And just as the last song came on – “Do You Hear The People Sing”, I really didn’t know what was happening to me. The entire Cast was on stage and sang out of their lungs, and Liam & Craig – who enjoyed their last few minutes ever as Enjolras & Marius – were in the middle of them, slowly walking up to the front of the stage. And then it happened: I looked down to the stage, my eyes fixed on Liam, and I saw that he wasn’t even singing. The only thing I could see was that he was constantly swallowing. and that his gaze was fixed on some far away point at the ceiling of the Theatre, while everyone, including Craig, was singing their parts. And even from that high above, I could see that his eyes were wet, that he was having a real hard time to fight back the tears that just didn’t stop welling up in them. By then, it was over for me, and I had to fight back tears, too. It was heartbreaking, really. I’ve never been part of a “Farewell Show” before, so that was totally new to me, and it was so hard to see Liam cry on stage while the show was still running, to see the love he had for the show and his role, that he made me instantly cry, too. I just wanted to storm down there and give him massive consolation hugs! When the song was done, he, Craig and a few others that left that night were standing in the middle of a circle that the rest of the Cast had made for them, taking flowers that were given to him, and there, even Craig started crying. And even I, who wasn’t a fan of the show, as I’d only seen it it this one time, was touched by everything: the songs, the story, the actors, the effort to put up such an epic Musical, and, of course, to be an eyewitness to the atmosphere of a Cast Change.
Sadly, as my friend and I had a “Date” with the Hippodrome Casino just after the Show was over, we didn’t get the chance to go and see the actors at the Stage Door, but maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing, as the pics I would’ve taken with them might’ve come out pretty bad, due to my slightly red and puffy eyes.
All in all, I’m glad I did that show, and I’m honoured that I was allowed to be a part of Liam’s last Show. I hope that he and everyone else who left that night will find a role that they will love as much as they did theirs at the Queens Theatre. Great show, great actors, really worth watching!

Billy Elliot (Victoria Palace) 26.01.2013

There I was at last, after resisting so long to see it. I’ve never seen the movie in my life nor had I ever been interested in watching it; I’m just not a Dance-Movie person, I guess. But as the tickets were so cheap for that day, I decided that nothing could go wrong if I’d give it a shot (moreover, I made my friend Kim really happy when I told her to book our tickets, that I’d join her…I’m such an amazing friend, haha).
First thing I noticed when we arrived at the Victoria Palace: the entire place around is under total construction and it’s not easy to find your way through. Second thing: that theatre hall was crowded, oh my! And among the people, so many children! The “bodyguards” at the door were quite well organized, though; they divided the people that came in into the ones who were collecting tickets and the ones who were only accompanying, which I found kind of good, as the entrance wouldn’t be so stuck with people standing around. When we got to our seats, I realized the stage was even higher than I had expected (we were sitting in the very first row and Kim had told me that the stage was quite high), so I “borrowed” a cushion that a kid got but didn’t use to sit a bit higher. When the show started, first thing on my mind: “Holy crap, they are cursing A LOT in here!” But it was amazing, I had a great laugh, and that was more than once. Our Billy that matinee was Harris Beattie, and not only was he really really cute, but he was also an amazing little actor, singer and dancer. He played his role perfectly, and I instantly liked him, and when I think back to that afternoon, I still think how blown away I was by his amazing dance moves. Joe Massey, who was playing Michael…I just have to say “Wow”. That kid is an exceptionally gifted and absolutely talented young man. What an act he played, I just can’t put it into words. At the end, when he sits on his bike, watching Billy leave, that gave me slight goosebumps. Really, they found a great kid for that role. Actually, everyone of the actors were amazing, and it’s a shame I never got to see the lovely Mr. Michael Peavoy, who I heard was amazing as Billy’s older brother. Though I have to say: Killian Donnelly, who we saw in that role, he was breathtaking, seriously. He played every single scene so really convincing…and it was funny, seeing him only one month later on the cinema screen in the “Les Misérables” movie! I honestly didn’t really like the songs, though, they just weren’t mine at all. The only ones I kinda liked were “Merry Christmas, Maggie Thatcher” and the song at the end, “Once We Were Kings”.
When the show was over, my friend and I were actually in kind of a hurry, but still, we went to the Stage Door to catch someone. The only one we actually caught (mostly because were found it kind of creepy to ask one of the kids for a picture and we couldn’t bring up the courage to ask Sergio Giacomelli for one LOL) was Deka Walmsley, who played Billy’s father in that matinee, and who was perfect and just amazing; I still have to grin when I think about that scene at the Dancing School, with the other father waiting for his son to finish his audition, that was just priceless.

Nevertheless, I’m actually really glad I went to that show, and I’d definitely go again – only, next time, on a seat where I can see at least the actors feet! 😉

We Will Rock You (Dominion Theatre) 25.01.2013

The little Bohemian inside of me was back once again, and this time, thankfully, I wasn’t fangirling alone, as a friend of mine, Eszter, joined me (mostly because of Olly; she’s supposed to be the biggest Fan when it comes to him). When I had collected my ticket that day, I was already excited about the Cast Board, and I hoped it wouldn’t change when it came to who played Galileo: Oliver Tompsett.

Though at first I was a bit disappointed that my first (and so far, favourite) Scaramouche wasn’t on that day – Emma Hatton, – I wasn’t by the time that Rachael Wooding showed up on stage. She was absolutely amazing (though sometimes I had some difficulties to understand her british accent; sue me, I’m german LOL) and her voice was perfect that night, she made me shiver more than once, especially on her solo of “Somebody To Love”, where I, impatiently sitting on my seat, was waiting for that special part of the song almost at the end, where Scaramouche sings a long tone without breathing. And what can I say? Rachael killed it, and again I was starstrucked by how amazing someone can manage to hold a tone for more than just a few seconds. Very, very sadly, I never got the chance to tell her that myself, as I missed her at the Stage Door later that night, but I hope to do so the next time.
What I love most about the West End Performance of “We Will Rock You”? The fact that the Killer Queen and Commander Kashoggi – that night played by the beautiful and breathtaking Katie Paine and the again amazing Alasdair Harvey, – have that special connection with the audience, especially the ones who sit in the Stalls. A few times, when I saw Alasdair looking at me, I was always thinking that I was just imagining it. I mean: the guy wears sunglasses, and people with sunglasses ALWAYS irritate me LOL. But when at one moment of the show, he actually pointed and waved at me, I knew I wasn’t making anything up!
The other memorable moment: the wonderful and breathtaking Katie Paine. Holy cow, she killed me, sitting in the audience and hearing her voice being one of the best voices I’ve ever heard (and I heard Brenda Edwards in my first WWRY West End Show 3 months before, thinking she was the perfect singer/actress for that role!). And what you could see from the first second she set foot on stage: she loved being up there, she loved her job and everything that comes with it. She interacts with the audience, and I swear to God, she winked at me more than once, and I was like “Me? Do you really mean me or are you cross-eyed?” I was just so overwhelmed, that with everything around, the acting, the light show, the breathtaking singing, she still had time to take in the audience. And something about her made me completely forget about the way Brenda had played the role, just because she was so…perfect. She really was. And I actually really hope that the next time I’m going to be back at the Heartbreak Hotel, she’s going to be my Killer Queen again! 🙂
A very special feeling got me as the Cast started to sing “Bohemian Rhapsody”. Oh. My. God. That was – apart from my 1st “Rock Of Ages” experience – by far the BEST thing I ever had the honour to be part of: THE ENTIRE AUDIENCE SANG ALONG as Oliver Tompsett sang the first verse of that song, and he even stopped singing at one moment, and the entire audience ended the sentence. I was speechless (okay, apart from singing inside like my heart was exploding out of sheer love for this show), and absolutely overwhelmed by this. I’ve never experienced anything like this before, and the whole room suddenly felt like a huge bohemian family. It was amazing. And the fact that Oliver was smiling THE ENTIRE TIME from “We Will Rock You” (when they found the guitar in the rock) to the end of “Bohemian Rhapsody” made this night absolutely perfect for me. He loves his role, there is no doubt about it. Actually, the entire Cast that I had the honour to watch on Stage that night, they all love their roles with all their hearts, and that is what really touched me that night, what touches me until today, almost 2 months later. And I think the Standing Ovations that night are speaking for themselves; they were the longest I’ve ever been part of.
After the show was over (which honestly always happens way too fast!), my friend Eszter and me found the perfect exit to get straight to the Stage Door, and there we waited for the actors. Actually, I wanted to meet all of them, if possible, but I was really sad when I realized I had missed Kevin Kennedy (Pop), Rachel John (Meat – god, what a voice, I always feel like crying and breaking down when she sings “Only The Good Die Young”, it’s so absolutely perfect, every single time!), Rachael Wooding (Scaramouche) and Alasdair Harvey (Kashoggi). It almost seems as if you just can’t have everyone, because when you talk to one, the other leaves if you have the bad luck and the alley behind the theatre is almost empty and no other fans are there to somehow keep them there for a few minutes. Luckily, I had the pleasure and honour to meet Oliver Tompsett, and he was just as I remembered him from the “Rock Of Ages” Stage Door: patient, kind, nice, always smiling and taking all his time to talk to you. My friend then gave him some chocolate from her home country Hungary, and somehow, he must’ve thought it was from me, too, because he thanked both of us and hugged both of us – oh, how I loved that moment, the Tompsett hug was so lovely and something I’ll always remember, because it was absolutely unexpected. If it was possible to love him any more, that was the moment it happened 🙂

The next person I – thank God – caught at the Stage Door was the amazing Katie Paine. I have to admit, without my friend I’d probably missed her, as I’m terrible in recognizing the Cast Members outside without all their Make-Up, which probably is the main reason I always miss almost EVERYONE. But when I saw Katie talking to two other fans, I took all my courage and walked up to her (sorry to the girls, I guess I badly interrupted their conversation…), telling her how absolutely amazing the show was, how I loved it more than any other show, and that her performance was breathtaking. She was – as expected, super nice and lovely, and she then surprised me by telling us “You were the ones in the Stalls, weren’t you?” That was the moment I completely fell for her and became a huge fan of her as a person. I was so overwhelmed that I hadn’t imagined the winking during the show, and that she actually remembered me/us, of all the people in the audience, and especially in the Stalls. We talked for a few minutes (I guess I talk too much when I’m excited), and I told her that I definitely have to come back in July to see the show and her again, and after me and my friend both took our picture with her, she said “Bye, see you in July!”. And after that, there is no way around it, I have to come back in 4 months 🙂 By the way, I absolutely LOVE our pic (I love all the pics of that night), and I normally hate every pic that is taken of me!

As my friend already wanted to go, I saw Wayne Robinson (Brit) coming out, preparing his bike to drive home, and before I could think again, I asked him if it was okay if we took a picture. He said “Yeah, of course!” and his smile was so super cute 🙂 The entire man is so cute, I can’t even, and his performance of Brit that night was even more priceless than it had been 3 months before.
And that was it. I still can’t believe I was part of that Show that took my breath away once again. Give me any WWRY show in the West End at any day, and I gladly would come, no matter the price. I can’t imagine that show being gone one day, as it’s such a huge part of my life, especially since I’ve seen it at the beautiful Dominion Theatre.

London, Squirrels & Beautiful Architecture 27.01.2013

There I was again, in my favourite town, and sadly, all on my own, as my friend Kim had already left that morning. But after the entire morning was full of rain that didn’t seem to stop, it finally cleared, and though, out of the sun, it was quite chilly, the day became one of the most beautiful I could hope for. From Hyde Park, I slowly walked down all the way over Oxford Street with “Don’t Stop Believin'” from the “Rock Of Ages” Soundtrack in my ear all the time, blaring through my head like there was no tomorrow. And I’m not gonna lie, I was smiling from one ear to another, and I think I actually hopped over Oxford Street every now and then – the people must’ve thought I was totally insane 😀

When I got to Piccadilly Circus, I thought that it was too nice outside to spent the time inside my hostel room until I had to go to the Cinema in the afternoon, so I decided to walk all the way to St. James Park, over to Buckingham Palace and back to Big Ben and the London Eye. The wind was quite strong, but the thought of the hazelnuts in my handbag made me smile like an idiot, as my plan was to go and feed the squirrels – best idea ever! They were the cutest things, and as soon as I stepped onto the grass and slowly walked up to them, they hopped all the way to me, and as I put a hazelnut on my hand, thye shortly sniffed, then took it and hopped away, crunching at the nut for a moment, then ran off and buried it somewhere in the earth. I also teased one of them, as I showed him/her the hazelnut, and when it came to me, held it high up, so the squirrel would stay longer and I’d get a better shot with my camera. What I didn’t consider was 1. that it had rained the entire morning, and the ground was sticky with mud and 2. that the squirrels don’t let you fool them. That specific one suddenly crawled up onto my right leg, clinged itself to my jeans and reached for the nut, and I finally gave in and gave it to him/her – only then I realized the mess it had done, because my jeans were a total mess, there were tiny mudprints all over my right leg. Still, I loved watching these little things running and hopping and crunching and climbing and could barely tell myself that I couldn’t stay here the entire day.

After I pulled myself away from these cuties, I shortly walked over to Buckingham Palace, taking in all the beautiful plants and everything in St. James Park.

I walked over to Big Ben – which I didn’t know was THAT close from where I stood. I suppose I stood there for about 15 minutes without moving, taking pictures with my IPhone, my Nikon Camera, and posted them to facebook and instagram. It was such an amazing feeling to just stand there, the wind blowing, the sun shining, all these people all around me, and just looking at one of the most beautiful architectural thingy there was, and at that moment I really wished I wasn’t alone but with one of my friends to appreciate it even more. Although it was my 2nd time in London, I still couldn’t believe it was real. Is it always like this as a tourist? I hope so, because it’s a beautiful feeling that always brings tears to my eyes. From Big Ben, it were just a few meters to the Bridge and the London Eye, and again, I bet I stood there about 15 minutes just staring at the wonderful and breathtaking scene. This might all seem pretty random to most people, but for someone who desperately wants out of her normal life in Germany, it means the world.

This day had passed so fast, it was unbelievable, and before I noticed, it was time for me to get to the cinema – not before I paid Tesco’s a visit again, to buy chocolate for the last time, and also, some Yorkshire Tea for a friend of mine. After the cinema, I was pretty determined to find out where the Garrick Theatre was – home of my beloved “Rock Of Ages” Show. I knew it was somewhere behind Leicester Square, and I knew it couldn’t be that far away, and though it was already getting dark, and my last night in London had started, I didn’t want to go back to my hostel without having found it. Luckily, suddenly, I stood right infront of it, placed in a small side street a bit after Leicester Square, but easily reachable by foot, and after I saw what they had made of the Theatre, I knew I would be coming back for another RoA show 🙂

I love you, London ♥

Rock Of Ages 23.09.2012 aka The Umbrella War aka “I Can’t Basically Close The Umbrella!”

Before you think “What a freak, goes to the same show 2 nights in a row?!” No, I didn’t. Although I was actually really tempted to…if it wouldn’t have been impossible to get Tickets for that last night before Cast Change. Huge groups of people had camped the infront of the Box Office the entire night, with the temperature not being higher than 4 degrees or something, all to get a ticket, and news were that the people who got there “just” at 5am in the morning, didn’t even get their ticket!

So there was no way I was going to see the show for a 2nd time…which did NOT stop me and my friend to go to the Stage Door at 10:45pm anyways to see the Original Cast one last time…which, with enough time lying between then and now, wasn’t the cleverest idea we’ve ever had.
The entire day, it was raining cats and dogs – literally. It was just the weather you think of when you think of England. And it was definitely NOT a weather to stand guard at any Stage Door at night, when it’s wet, dark and cold. But after my friend and I stayed at our hostel almost the entire afternoon and night, it was very clear to us that there was no way around it, that we just HAD to go to the Shaftesbury that one last time, because we wouldn’t just be able to sleep or rest our minds at all. So at 10:35pm, we stood at the Main Entrance of the Theatre, watched the last bits of the show from afar on a small screen and listened to the music that was blasting through the hall, and when the last big applause came on, we went straight to the Stage Door, both with our Umbrellas held high above our heads. I was quite surprised when a girl stormed past us, thinking that she was just running to get out of the pouring rain. But when we got to the back of the Shaftesbury, I had to see that this exact girl was already standing right at the front of the door, together with two or three others, and I slowly started to wonder if this had really been such a good idea. Anyways, about 15 minutes later, when enough time had passed for the actors to get their make-up off and get ready to go home…that small alley was CROWDED. It was like a Justin Bieber concert, with screaming and shoving girls (no, I’ve never been to a Justin Bieber concert, but I’ve seen enough on TV to know that I’m right about this). At first, I was standing quite in front, but as the minutes passed, a lot of girls thought it was VERY nice to push me back or aside (yes, this was Irony speaking), and I was already starting to freak out and curse, as I get annoyed, pissed off and aggressive VERY fast. My friend was standing a bit behind me, and found it quite amusing that, because of the huge crowd of girls holding their umbrellas, her own umbrella was magically hanging above her head without any need to hold it. Me, on the other hand, got so annoyed that I myself started harshly pushing away the girls that tried to push me to the far end of the crowd. Out of my mouth came the worst english curses and insults, and my friend slowly got worried I’d get into trouble (she kept telling me that I should PLEASE at least curse in german so nobody wold actually understand what I was saying), but I didn’t care and kept shouting “that some people here obviously never heard anything about good manners or education” and the one or other “bitches” may have slipped out of my mouth. During all this, Rohan Tickell stepped out at first, completely overwhelmed by the crowd, but there was no way to get to him. 
After him, Justin Lee Collins came out, and I really, desperately wanted to get a 2nd picture with him, as the first one the night before turned out to be total crap, but again: no chance for me. This all got me mad even more. Then, Sandy Moffat was the next actor to come out, and there my friend and me got lucky. We both pushed forward, and after he took a picture with two twins, he stood right infront of us. We both smiled at him and told him that we were from Germany, and that my friend was from Hamburg (remember that bit in the show where Sandy aka Franz talks about the Confectionary Store in Hamburg?), but that we both weren’t mad at him for this “Gay” reference to germans in the show. He laughed and we could both take a quick picture with him. Mine turned out to be actually absolutely crappy, considering my face, but Sandy was so cute and nice I can see past that 🙂

After that, things somehow went completely out of hand. It was the moment that Shayne Ward opened the door and the screaming REALLY began. Girls with masks of Shayne’s face were waving their hands (and the stupid umbrellas; sometimes I thought one of them would actually trump my eye!) and shoving even more.
At one point, which was the most memorable of that entire night, I noticed a small woman right behind me, and I mean: she was really tiny, she could barely look over my shoulder (sue me, but I didn’t give a shit at that moment). She kept complaining about a girl right at the Stage Door, who had her umbrella so absolutely stupidly in her hand that it completely prevented the people behind her – including me, my friend and the tiny woman behind us, – to see ANYTHING except that blue thing. I kept shouting that she should put her umbrella down, I actually said “Put that goddamn umbrella down!!!” a couple of times, that I must’ve scared my friend I’d going to explode. But would you believe it?! That girl didn’t even care at all! She ignored all my shouting, and when the entire group behind me – literally everyone there – screamed “Put the umbrella down!!!”, she shouted back (and that, my friends, was the memorable moment): “I CAN’T BASICALLY CLOSE THE UMBRELLA!” Trust me, I haven’t been that furious in my entire life, because all I wanted was to see Shayne, to get forward, get a pic with him and leave. And a few minutes later, oh what a magic, that girl somehow managed to close the umbrella she “couldn’t basically close”…and the crowd cheered and clapped their hands.
A couple of minutes of later, I don’t even know anymore how I did it, I had fought my way through to the front and was the next person to get a picture with Shayne, and my heart was pounding so hard, though I was cool as an iceberg (with everything around, my mind wasn’t even capable of understanding anything that was going on). Shayne looked SO good, oh my. I’ve barely seen men who have this special kind of natural beauty, who don’t need a lot of hair gel or special clothes, but Shayne was one of them. You could already see he was shocked by the crowd that had mostly come for him (as he was one of the people who had their last show that night), and that he just wanted to get out of there somehow, but he was nice and polite anyways, and as I asked him to take a pic (feeling creepier than ever), he said “Of course” and I somehow placed myself right beside him, waved my friend forwards and let her take my picture. I don’t like that one, either, but Shayne looks perfect, and that’s all that matters!

The next person that came out was actually the main reason I had to go back again: Simon Lipkin. Only this time, I could read in his face that he was thinking: “What the actual hell is THIS?!” He was so annoyed and stressed (and maybe tired), but still took his time to take a pic with some of the fans, took their gifts and smiled, he even talked a few words with some, and I really give him a high credit for that. I don’t know if I’d reacted like that in that horrible situation, thinking you could actually be in danger to be suffocated or crushed (nothing else could describe it better). I was actually pretty anxious to ask for a pic, as I already had taken an amazing one the night before, and I’d taken several pics taken of him while he was shuffling around the crowd, but the wish to stand right beside him a 2nd time, to be close to my fave, got the better of me, and when I stood infront of him, I asked him for a pic, and he said “Sure”. I took one, but my friend suddenly said it wasn’t a good one, so I “had” to stay a bit longer beside him in his arm (it wasn’t that bad, though LOL), and after it, I thanked him again, but I could see that his mind was somewhere else, that he was so stressed he just wanted to get out, so I gave way to him and got to the back of the crowd.

After the biggest issue for me was solved, me and my friend stepped a bit away from the crowd (who had already cleared itself big time; there weer barely people out there, and I was wondering where they had vanished all of a sudden?) and saw Oliver Tompsett and Dylan Turner standing around, talking with some friends, and just as both of them already wanted to leave, we shouted their names and asked for another pic (I’m not sure, but I think I said something like “Can’t wait to see you in WWRY” to Oliver).

Then we were absolutely done, we started breathing out normally again, and slowly made our way back to our hostel again, and we still couldn’t believe what had just happened at the Shaftesbury. It was all too surreal, and we were both shocked at how ruthless some of the girls were (I wasn’t better, with cursing at all, but I wouldn’t have shoved or pushed anybody as long as they wouldn’t have done it!). As soon as we were back at the hostel, we both looked at our pictures taken, talked about the night, and for the first time, started laughing about it, because in retrospect, it was just too funny how crazy something like that could make people. Just a show with music and acting, a Cast Change, and it felt like the entirety of the Londoner West End got completely insane.
As I said at the beginning, going to the the Stage Door that night wasn’t really our/my cleverest idea, but I don’t regret it anyway, because somehow, I think, you have to make an experience like that if you’re a real Theatre Lover 🙂

Rock Of Ages (Shaftesbury Theatre) 22.09.2012

Three little words: OH. MY. GOD.

That night was the weirdest and also best night I had in my life so far (I know I use to say it very often, sue me) and made me fall in love with Rock Music, Musicals & London forever. But from the beginning.

That weekend was supposed to be the Cast change at the show, with most of the Main Cast leaving. As for me and my friend, we hadn’t ever heard of that Show before, though it was almost running for a year now, but we both decided to try it out, and after I listened to some songs on the RoA website, it was very clear to me that I would even go alone if I had to. And god, what a decision that was. As we knew it would be kind of a fight to get tickets, (which were supposed to be Day Seat Tickets, limited) we got up on Saturday super early to queue for them (the Box Office was supposed to open at 10am, so we were there at about 8:45am I think – after only a bit more than 3 hours of sleep!). When we got there, there was already a bunch of people waiting in line, and also a friend of Kim was standing there, Eszter, who told us that some of the girls had camped infront of the Shaftesbury to be the first in line and I thought “What the hell?” As there were already standing about 20 people infront of us, we slightly started to worry if we would get our Day Seat Tickets (okay, inside, I started actually PANICKING); plus, it was freaking could outside, I could either feel my feet nor my hands after an hour not moving an inch, I was tired and hungry. Then, when the Box Office finally opened, my panic reached a new high (and it really wasn’t helping that my friend kept saying “Forget it, we won’t get a ticket, we just won’t, look at the people infront of us”), when we got to the clerk at the Office and told her what we wanted. And as if God was on our side that day, she said “Right at the front?” and we replied “As far in the front as possible, yes” and it was like music in my ears when she smiled widely and said “You’re lucky, I have two last seats left in row BB, Seats 24 and 25.” I started smiling like a fool and was actually afraid the clerk could hear the lump that fell down in my stomach 🙂

After we spent the entire day sightseeing around London with the most beautiful sunshine, we finally got to the Shaftesbury at 7pm, one hour before the show, and it was actually weird, sitting right at the front and seeing the steps that led down the stage, and I started to think if something would happen to the people in the first row during the show (my “Tarzan” experience with the Gorillas stealing my shoe proved me that things like that did actually happen).

Then the show started with VERY loud Rock Music blaring out of the speakers, which made us a bit uncomfortable at first, as we sat directly infront of them. But when Simon Lipkin made his first appearance as Lonny on stage, it was over for me. That guy was too hilarious, and I can’t remember a single second of the show where I was NOT laughing my ass off. When he came to that moment in the show where he says: “You, my dressing room, 2 minutes!” and points at a girl (usually in the middle of the first row), I was actually already jealous and thought: “Damn, we got the wrong seats!” 😀 So it’s really not easy for me to tell you the exact moment I completely fell for that weird piece of work. What I can tell you is this: Oliver Tompsett. OH MY GOD. That moment he showed up on stage and opened his mouth to sing that certain line that goes “…then law then put me awaaaaahaay!” I was done. That was the best thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life, and I sat there and thought, if I didn’t start breathing again soon, I’d fall out of my seat, drop dead. His voice was killing me, and not only at that scene, but during the entire show! I fell in love with his voice right there and then, and I could completely understand why my friend Eszter adores him so much. The entire Cast was just flawless: Natalie Andreou as Sherrie, Justin Lee Collins as Dennis Dupree, Shayne Ward as Stacee Jaxx (oh my God, what a man, what a role, let me stop drooling!), Jodie Jacobs as Regina, Sandy Moffat as Franz (I think me and my friend Kim where the only ones who actually understood the german line “Immer verdirbst du mir den Spaß!”, which made us giggle for a couple of minutes)…Nathan Amzi as the Mayor…I could go on and on, but fact is: that night at “Rock Of Ages” was the best night of my entire life! And I don’t think I actually have laughed so much and hard in my entire life, and since then, there was nothing that could make me smile more than thinking back to that moment of the show where Lonny (Simon Lipkin) talks with Drew (Oliver Tompsett) about the RoA programme and then, suddenly this happened:
Lonny: “Actually, I…I…I heard this vicious rumour that you…are leaving the show after tomorrow night, to..to…to go and be in “We Will Rock You”…(booing through the entire audience) “…you…you..you BASTARD! You SON OF A BITCH! How can you do this to me?!” (imitating Oli/Drew) “I’m so pretty, I’m gonna be in every Rock Show in the West End!” We’ve been doing this for one year now, and you’re leaving me for FUCKING FREDDY MERCURY!!!”
In that exact moment, it was over for me. I fell head over heels for Simon, the Show and the entirety of London and the West End. That will forever be the most memorable and best moment when it comes to Musicals for me. Priceless, just damn priceless. (And yes, I know that line by heart, every single word, pause and breath of Simon/Lonny.)

When the show ended and I could barely keep myself from hopping up and down, we went straight to the Stage Door, but what I didn’t expect at all were the masses that were already waiting there. I’d never seen something like that, and for a moment I got really worried if I’d even get a chance for a pic at all, and I realized the only way was to fight my way through to the front (I can tell you, considering what happened at the Stage Door the next night, my first “fight” for the front was NOTHING compared to the Umbrella war on sunday, which was the Cast Change Day).

The first person to come out was Justin Lee Collins, and since me and my friend always had to think of Robert Downey Jr. during the show (come on, you can’t deny how much they resemble each other, they’re like twins!), I needed a picture with him, to tell everyone I actually met Robert Downey Jr. *lol* Sadly, my friend was too far behind to take picture, so I made the mistake and gave some girl my camera to take on…which came out as totally blurry -.- But I couldn’t re-do it, as Justin was sadly already on his way home.

The next person to come out simply took my breath away. I mean…Simon Lipkin had already easily entered my heart with his weird Lonny outfit, the Vokuhila, the creepy T-Shirts and his crazy behaviour, but when he stood there, just himself, with this short black hair, the moustache (normally I HATE guys with moustaches!), the black, open jacket and the pink shirt that revealed part of his breast tattoo (and breast), I was so done with this world. I couldn’t stop staring, and I bet that someone must’ve have felt the urge to close my mouth that was gaping open, or, at least, put a bucket under my chin to stop my drooling. Seriously, that man got to me like no other actor/singer ever before. I thought it back then and I still think it: that man is pure beauty. Pure, plain beauty, and everything about him seems perfect (I will not start about his breathtaking british accent, or I might die right here on my couch). I don’t even know anymore how I took the courage to fight myself up to him (trust me, I would’ve killed that night to get to him) and stutter something like “Amazing show! Can we take a picture?” But yes, I did, and this time, thank God, I had a great photographer guy (if he read this: you’ve saved my life that night!) who took my picture so perfectly that today, that pic hangs right beside my bedside.

After that, the only two people we got to catch where Dylan Turner, who played the role of Joey Primo that night, and, of course, Oliver Tompsett. Dylan was just there for a few seconds, it seemed, so we took a quick picture and gone he was.
Oliver was there for a while longer, as almost everyone wanted to take a picture with him, and talk to him and everything – which is completely understandable, considering it was his last but one night at the Shaftesbury before he left for “We Will Rock You” at the Dominion. Thankfully, he was so lovely and nice, kind and patient, and as I walked up to him and asked to take a picture, he said “Yeah, sure” and posed…just why is it he doesn’t ever smile on a pic with me? You’ll see later what I mean. But still, it was a great honour to meet him and all the others that night, amazing actors and singers.

Ghost (Piccadilly Theatre) 21.09.2012

Ghost – a movie I’ve never seen before, just because I hate everything love-movie related. And then my friend comes along, totally starstruck about the musical, I keep seeing her talking about it on facebook, posting videos and songs, and as closer as we got to our London trip together, I decided to give it a shot. As I was almost sure I wouldn’t like it that much, I bought a cheap ticket – which turned out to be one of the worst ideas I’ve ever had. Not only did I get one of the last seats in the entire theatre, it was also the last row, far back up of the Piccadilly Theatre, and I actually have to use these tiny binoculars to see more than…well, almost nothing. Moreover, two giants were sitting right infront of me, shifting in their seats every now and then – woohoo.

Well, during the interval, I already regretted buying such a cheap ticket, because the voices were amazing – I had the luck to get Main Cast Molly & Sam, Siobhan Dillon & Mark Evans, and Carl was played by the great Paul Ayres, – and the actors were in general simply mindblowing. And I have to admit, at the end, the one or other tear left my eyes (yes, even such a cold-hearted, love-movie-hating person like me can cry). You can say what you want, but they made a great show out of that movie, and it’s really a shame that they shut it down after only one year. And with 6 months behind me since I’ve seen it, I have to admit, I regret that I only saw it one single time, because I learned to appreciate every single song and the entire show, and some of the songs have become one of my favourites (I can even recite “Suspend My Disbelief” from the Original London Cast Soundtrack by heart, word by word, and I LOVE it!).

Anyways, after the show, my friend and me went halfway round the back of the Piccadilly Theatre to get to the Stage Door, but we had to see that they had to shut it down, and for a moment I already panicked inside, because since my experience at the “Tarzan” Stage Door here in Germany, I couldn’t imagine seeing a Show without getting to a Stage Door afterwards. But then we went left around the Theatre, and we saw Sam Edwards, who played the understudy of Sam in the show, leaving through a big gate, and we knew that’s the place to wait for the Cast. A few minutes later, Paul Ayres came out, smaller than I thought, but absolutely nice and lovely. We spoke a few words, then got our pictures and he left (mine’s actually a but blurry, sadly, but not too bad).

And then, completely unexpected, Mark Evans already came out, and for a moment neither me nor my friend knew what to say, but we both knew we couldn’t just let him walk (I already hated myself for not seeing Sam Edwards earlier and got a picture with him). We walked up to him, and he was super cute and super nice, and when he asked us if we enjoyed the show, my friend of course said she loved it and that she can’t believe the show would be closing forever the next month. I told him that I saw the show for the first time, and that normally I hate love movies and everything love related, but that I really liked the show and especially the voices. And you could see and feel that Mark was really touched by our words, that he appreciated every little bit of them. We asked him for a picture, then thanked him, he thanked us for seeing the show, and then he was already gone (sadly, because I could’ve easily talked to him the entire night).

Then, Sharon D. Clarke came out, which was a totally funny situation, as with her bags she looked like someone who just came from grocery shopping 🙂 She, too, was totally nice, we took a quick picture and she left – that all didn’t last longer than two minutes. Later, when I was back home, I found out that once she was part of the Original Cast of “We Will Rock You”, and I thought about how perfect the role of the Killer Queen must have been for her.

Last but not least, we finally caught Siobhan Dillon. What can I say? WHAT A WOMAN! She’s so damn beautiful on stage, and in real life, she’s even more beautiful. Having the honour to sit in the audience, her voice simply blew me away, and since then, I still have the opinion that I’ve never heard a better voice in my life, and how perfect the Theatre is for her and her voice. She was super sweet and nice, and of course, we took a picture with her, too (after taking off our jackets, as we thought we couldn’t just look like shit in them, right beside such a beautiful person, haha 😀 ).

All in all, I have to say, I’m really glad I spent my money to watch that show, because now I understand the beauty of it, now I understand why my friend Kim loves it so much. And Mark & Siobhan were just mindblowing, they were perfect together, their voices were amazing and harmonized so great like not many I’ve heard, and I hope to have the honour to see them on stage again one day.

We Will Rock You (Dominion Theatre) 20.09.2012

So here I was. In London for the first time in my life, with a friend who badly wanted to see “Matilda”, leaving me thinking “What to do?” Of course, the only thing I could think of was going to see “We Will Rock You” at the Dominion. It had been over five and a half years since I’d seen the german version of it here, and I badly missed it, the songs and all. I was lucky, because I was at the Box Office at 10am on thursday, and left with a wide grin on my face with a seat in Row C, Seat 29 – just almost right at the front! And the best thing was, I only had to pay 31 pounds, as it was a special Day Seat offer – happy Tanja!

The entire day, it was really hard for me not to dance all through London because I was so excited for the show in the evening, especially after I’ve seen the Dominion from the outside AND the inside, which is just beautiful.

Then finally, it was 7:30pm and I was sitting in my seat. And what can I say: from the first second, when “Innuendo” started blaring through the speakers, my goosebumps didn’t stop until the end of the show. In my heart, I was singing as loud as the actors on stage, and my heart jumped at every single scene that I saw on stage. My Galileo & Scaramouche that night were both understudies: Scott Monello & Emma Hatton, but that didn’t make me sad at all, of course, mostly because I’d never seen the Main Cast, Noel Sullivan & Lauren Samuels. But as I experienced with “Tarzan” before, I’ve learned that the first Cast you see in a show will leave the biggest impression on you, an impression no one that you see on stage of that show after it will take away (though Oliver Tompsett did it, but that’s coming later). Scott & Emma were just amazing, gorgeous, wonderful! They harmonized so perfectly, and Emma’s voice was something I’d never forget in my life. Never before had someone left such a strong impression with me by “just singing”. And Scott gave a perfect Galileo. Too bad the chance to see both of them are so small, but I really, REALLY hope to one day get the chance to see both of them again – especially at the Stage Door (I didn’t have ANY idea where it was when I was at the Dominion the 1st time, which I regret until today). So Emma, Scott, if you read this: I really wish and hope to meet you at least once! 🙂
The entire Cast blew me away, actually, Kevin Kennedy as Pop is priceless, couldn’t find anyone doing that role better, Rachel John as Meat left me speechless, and Brenda Edwards as Killer Queen – amazing!

London 19.-24.09.2012

London…what a city.

I have to say: when it comes to planes and flying, I am the biggest fraidy-cat on this planet, which I probably will never get over with. So I never thought there was a chance I’d ever come to London in my entire life. But lucky for me, my friend Kim told me that there was a train connection from my hometown over Brussels to St. Pancras, London, which was quite cheap if I booked early enough. Well, said and done, and last September it was finally there, the day I’d get out of Germany for the first time on my own (with 26 years, you have to know!). When I stepped foot on the St. Pancras Platform, it was like a dream coming true. I’ve never been one to say she loved London that much, as I never really like the british accent as much as I do the american one, but that moment changed everything. At that moment I knew that London and I – that was a huge love for a lifetime!

Mostly, my few days there were for sightseeing, as I wanted to see just everything that was to see there (I also saw 3 Musicals, but I’ll make a separate post for that). And apart from St. Paul’s Cathedral, which we couldn’t manage to see, I really saw everything I had put on the agenda in my mind – London Eye, Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, St. James Park, Buckingham Palace…and I just HAVE to say it: Big Ben and the Tower Bridge are honestly the two most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my entire life, I can’t even beging to describe these 2 beauties. I feel like I spent an entire SD Card on pictures of both of them, and an entire day just staring at them. I only hope the people living in London know how lucky they are with having something like that in their town.

For these few days, me and my friend stayed at a hostel, the “Piccadilly Backpackers”, which is directly at Piccadilly Circus; you can’t seriously get any other hostel or hotel closer to the action. It’s…well, let’s just say, standard is something different. Of course, if you can’t afford much and you know you can’t expect a lot with less money, you can’t complain. Though I have to admit, after everything I read about it on the internet, after being quite scared about the hygiene there and everything, I was positively surprised. It was nicer and cleaner than I expected, and I’m not really one for needing any luxury. Moreover, instead of the booked 8-bed room, we got a 6-bed room…of course, we didn’t complain 🙂 The showers could need some softening agents because the pressure is almost not existing, but I would always choose the Piccadilly Backpackers again, if I can’t afford anything more expensive and want to stay as close at all the action in London as possible.
London in general is just breathtaking, especially the people…okay, mostly the guys. I’ve never seen so many good-looking, and especially good-smelling guys in my entire life! It makes you want to run after each and every one, without even feeling guilty or like a stalker 😀 Also, London has to offer just the best Chocolate I’ve ever tasted in my entire life, “Cadbury Caramel”. Who does not like this, seriously has a problem. It’s quite expensive (I wouldn’t normally pay almost 3 pounds for 230g of chocolate!), but I would always choose it before every other chocolate. Also, almost the entire money I took with me for the few day landed in the cashiers of “Cool Britannia”. And no, I don’t regret any penny 🙂

I was so stunned with everything I saw…it was actually pretty nice and funny as I stepped onto the street, and when I looked down, there was this tiny information that said “Look Left” or “Look Right”, which honestly can be pretty helpful when you’re from Germany and confused as into which direction to look in order to not get run over by a car 🙂 (though my friend and me soon took over the british way of behaving: just a quick look in any direction, and straightly cross the street, though the redlight is still on…my sentence for the few days was always “We’re british!”) Then there was Oxford Street, which I only heard of, but never seen anything of it in my life, and I was sheer overwhelmed how long and huge it was; my friend and me drove into it in one of these popular red buses, and I loved sitting at the top, front, watching the street pass by, and the bus drivers driving as there was no tomorrow (the kind of driving they did would seriously get you killed here in Germany!)
Oh, and of course…! The SQUIRRELS IN ST. JAMES PARK!!!! Oh my god, how positively shocked I was when I realized they were like little house pets, straightly coming to you, sniffing at you to see if you got anything edible to offer! I was literally squeaking when I saw these cute little things running and hopping all around me, and I think I needed about one and a half hour for the short walk between the start of the park and Buckingham Palace, because I just had to stop every two meters to reach down to get one of the squirrels to come to me. And then there was the weirdest thing of the entire park: an old man, sitting on a simple bench, with his shopping bags right beside him. And right next to him, standing ON the bench, looking at him: A PELICAN! A real life, huge pelican, with his enormous, long beak pointing right into the old man’s face! And the man actually had the nerves to smile and wink at us! You don’t believe it? Here’s the proof:

It actually feels like I walked through entire London, shopped so much chocolate like I’ve never done before, spent way too much money on merchandise and souvenirs…and I loved every little bit of it!!!
So, after my first stay in London, it was quite hard to drive back to my hometown in Germany, and I suffered from a real Post-London-Depression for about 2 months, hating everything and everyone here, and wanting just out. But it was clear to me that I needed to come back as soon as possible.