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.