We Will Rock You – Dominion Theatre 05.10.2013 (Cast Change)

There it was, Cast Change day. The day I would sadly have to say Goodbye to the 4 most inspirational theatre people that I ever had the pleasure and honour to meet: Rachel John, Wayne Robinson, Emma Hatton & of course my first and one and only Galileo – Scott Monello.

And boy, would that night be a special one. A very special one.

On twitter, there had been that rumour spread that the legend himself, Brian May, would be at the Dominion that night, as he usually always is when there’s a Cast Change, or Freddie Mercury’s birthday, or the Dominion’s birthday – on special occasions. Somehow, I knew this wasn’t a hoax at all – I bet the theatre would’ve gotten a lot of nasty letters if that would’ve been just a campaign to sell more tickets!

And for God’s sake, what an emotional show it was. Right at the beginning, when “Radio GaGa” came on, mine and my friend’s Alison’s view went straight over to the right side of the stage (after I was looking for Scott in the GaGa boys, I admit that) – to Emma Hatton. They weren’t even more than 30 seconds into that song, and we both saw that Emma was already crying, trying to pull herself together. In her eyes, at the same time, there was so much pride and sadness that it was absolutely heartbreaking – no surprise I already had started crying and sobbing myself, same as Alison. There are no words of how emotional, breathtaking and amazing that show was – no words. I will not lie to anybody – through the entirety of the show, no matter who was on stage at that moment, my eyes kept being glued to Scott Monello, with sometimes switching to Emma. I just felt like I needed to take every last possibility to have a look at that one man who had been my 1st Galileo one year ago, who had me fallen in love with this cast in the first place, and who I desperately wished would be staying forever.
I don’t think that throughout that show, I stopped crying or holding back my tears for even an instant – but when it was Rachel John’s turn to sing “(No-One But You) Only The Good Die Young”, it was absolutely over for me. Even seconds before she started singing, I was a complete mess, sobbing away. And there are no words of how goddamn beautiful that last time of Rachel was – NONE. She was on fire, she was on her best, she killed the song in ways I had never heard anyone singing it, she touched me deep down in my heart, in places I thought had already died in the past – and simply EVERYONE in that audience felt the same – the minutelong applause she got after the song was over was proof enough of that. Rachel was standing with her back to the audience, her shoulders rocking back and forth, Wayne comforting her, hugging her, standing with her in the back of the Heartbreak Hotel as she wasn’t able to keep it together anymore. It was the most heartbreaking thing, and it seriously topped everything I had expected for that moment to be like.
Of course, Oliver Tompsett as Galileo and Rachael Wooding as Scaramouche were at their absolute best again, and the mindblowing “Day-Oh’s” Olly gave us at the end of “We Are The Champions” was priceless, amazing and one thing I’ll definitely never forget.
And then, the big moment came. Just before that well-known guitar solo of “Bohemian Rhapsody” started, that automatic hole/elevator in the middle of the stage was opened, and very slowly, BRIAN MAY got lifted up onto the stage, doing the most amazing and best guitar solo of that song that I have ever heard in my entire life – and I don’t even have to tell you that the entire audience went completely mental. I have never heard an entire room screaming SO loud, and singing along to that song SO loud that you could barely hear the actors on stage singing! And of course, Brian ended that unbelievable night with a personal speech on  everyone of the actors leaving that day, while me and everyone around me and Alison either recorded the whole thing or took pictures of the stage – it was nuts and the best thing I had experienced in a long time.

At the Stage Door after, it was insane, it was so crowded because everyone wanted to see Brian May, while my actual and most important goal was to see Scott Monello, Rachel John & Emma Hatton to give them their farewell gifts I brought them, and Oliver Tompsett to have him doing me a huge favour for Simon Lipkin. With Alison sadly being on crutches, it was even more difficult, and don’t ask me why, but we managed to have an amazing time there! 30 minutes passed and everytime, Brian’s bodyguard (Mr. Sontaran, what Ali and I called him the entire time *lol*) came out, telling us all to stay calm, etc. Thankfully, I caught everyone I wanted to – Scott came out, and when I told him again that he had been my very first Galileo at the Dominion and gave him my present, he was so touched and pleased and thanked me over and over for my support, hugged me tight, and even after I took my pics with him, before he left, he repeated how thankful he was for all my support. No surprise I really really really didn’t want to let him go 😦 Wonderful, beautiful man.

Then it was time to talk to Rachel John, to give her my gift and say Goodbye. While Alison and I were waiting at the Door for Brian May to come out, we decided to give Ali’s mum our tickets to be signed, as we doubted anyways that we would get a picture with him. Rachel was so lovely, I can’t say it any other way. And she was so absolutely lovely and touched by my gift, gave me a hug and thanked me over and over again. It’s truly more than a shame I will never get to see her as Mimi in “RENT”, because I just know she will be absolutely kickass.

While Alison and I were still talking to Rachel, suddenly her mum called us over, asking if we wanted a picture with Brian May – we hadn’t even noticed he was already out! We shoved ourselves through to him – or at least tried to, which was too difficult for Alison, being on her crutches. So without even thinking twice, I shouted “Let the disabled girl through!” and everyone turned around to us, making space for us – that way Alison and I got my picture, and I think I made her pretty happy that night, according to the happy tears she shed after finally meeting her idol (I look awful on my pic, but the man is a legend, so I’m proud of it anyways).

The excitement around fell apart after he had left – thank God – but we sticked around a bit more, especially as finally Oliver Tompsett came out. He greeted us with a big smile, asked us how we were, and instantly, I grabbed him and asked him to do me a huge favour for his buddy Simon Lipkin – which he did, then somehow thanked me for letting him doing it, hugged me, and it was a real surprise that after that, I didn’t start crying out of sheer relieve (I will not tell on here what he did, because I think a lot of people know what Simon means to me and I don’t want anybody to kind of steal my idea for his last day at “Rock Of Ages” – call me childish, but sorry)! We chatted away with him, took our pictures and told him with laughter that we expected to get a birthday cake with our faces on our birthdays next year, too (inside joke between some WWRY/RoA Fans), plus a shirt with our names on it, and he laughed and said “Alright, will do that!” – that man is a piece of gold, even if it was all just a joke…and he finally smiled on my pic *lol*

After that, it all went so fast….Emma Hatton, Katie Paine & Rachael Wooding all came out together, and I was not only desperate to give Emma her gift, but also finally get a pic and chat with Katie and Rachael…and man, these three were/are the most lovely girls you can imagine. I have barely seen actors or people in general having such an amazing time with their Castmates and fans, I have never seen them so happy and grinning the entire time like little kids on christmas. They are honestly the most amazing ladies you will ever have the honour to meet in your entire life.

The last persons we caught were Jeremy Taylor (Understudy Galileo, who left that day, too), Harriet Bunton & Wayne Robinson (he also left that day). All were absolutely lovely, but Wayne…oh God. Not only did he smell like heaven – I love men who smell nice, can’t help it – but no, when we stood at the corner to get a picture together, I felt his grab around my shoulder, and it took all my composure to not turn around to him and say “What the hell are you doing, Mister?!” Seriously, his grab was so firm and tight like I have never been grabbed before, he pulled me SO close to him…and no, I won’t complain about it, because I admit it, I loved it, and I love the pic even more 😀

This night was so absolutely breathtaking and surreal that I still have problems to properly process it. It was heartbreaking to see so many lovely faces and talents leave, but I’m more than sure I will soon see them again!

From Here To Eternity – Shaftesbury Theatre 04.10.2013

I don’t think I can put into words how excited I was to finally see that show! Since the first tweets and announcements came through, and since I had been reading the description of the book the show is based on on Wikipedia, my excitement had reached new highs. You have to know, I absolutely adore “Pearl Harbour”, it will always be one of my absolute favourite movies, and to have this show play at the same time in 1941, with the background story of the Army, World War II (which I am more than interested in), with a gorgeous cast…I was practically jumping up and down every seat I had been sitting in since I had bought my ticket a few weeks earlier.

When I came to the theatre with Ann & Mandy, who were joining me, at first it was pretty weird to see the Shaftesbury Theatre lit up with the entire show’s decoration and not getting to see the “Rock Of Ages” decoration all over the place anymore – somehow, it felt wrong but so right at the same time. And I have to say, what they have done with the theatre is amazing! I loved the logo of the show from the get go, and I love the exterior of the place SO much! Instead of having an aisle in the middle of the room, they now had rows going from one side to the other, and the orchestra is set right infront of the stage and the middle of the first row, together with stairs on the right hand of the stage, which the actors used all the time, to come up in their scenes or to leave when their scenes are over – different, but I liked it. And the design on stage was absolutely lovely!

The first moment the show started, the lights went down, the music started…I was absolutely in the right place. Then Ryan Sampson (who played Private Angelo Maggio) climbed the stairs up the stage, stood at the top and played around with a little Ukulele, testing his playing skills, all the time smiling like a little school boy when he hit a note that sounded good – safe to say he was already my highlight and I loved him, without even having seen his entire acting skills.
The show itself…was different. I wasn’t used anymore to a show with original songs, songs that no one had ever heard before, songs that had been written especially for a show. And I have to admit – though I knew what I had to expect, as it was a lovestory – that the love songs not really were mine, and probably will never be. Not because they were bad or anything – no way, they were excellent written and sung, I’m just usually not the love story type at all. Rebecca Thornhill as the Captain’s wife, Karen Holmes, was an absolute pleasure to watch on that stage. Her voice is wonderful, and her acting skills…wowza. I loved the absolute sarcastic personality that Karen has, the little puns against First Sergeant Milt Warden, her love affair, the cheeky innuendos, the shameless getting rid of her clothes on that table – wonderfully refreshing and an absolute pleasure to watch her play that strongminded character!
And don’t let me start on Darius Campbell as Milt Warden…holy cow. I had no idea what to expect, but man, that one is one classy, attractive, gorgeous young man in that army suit! Apart from this, I don’t think I need to explain how amazing his acting and singing skills are, he totally casted a spell over me whenever he showed up. I totally understood how Karen Holmes would fall for him (even without that cheating asshole of a husband she has in the show)…seriously, what is it with men in army clothing?
Then, of course, there were Robert Lonsdale & Siubhan Harrison as Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt & Lorene…these two were SO lovely together, and they harmonized really perfectly; I absolutely adored the fact that in their “relationship”, it was Lorene who called the shots, who was this strongminded person who has seen a lot in her life as a Congress Club woman, and who teaches Prewitt the one or other thing – if he likes it or not. I was way too excited to see Robert on stage since I had seen a video of him performing “Fight The Fight” from the show on the West End Live stage, and he definitely did not disappoint me at all – thanks to him, that song is my absolute favourite of the show, and I keep listening to it over and over. I loved how he played his role of a thirty-year old soldier who is supposed to be a “real man”, and still, he has kept that little glimpse of an insecure little boy, especially when he is around Lorene. Also, I loved how his character is thought of, strongminded when it came to not boxing or playing the bugle anymore, due to his past – even when his only and best friend in G-Company gets arrested…and when things change for Maggio in prison, seeing that absolute priceless change in Prewitt’s decision, seeing his rage and desperation turning his principles around, but still, in his heart, still being insecure, kind and just wanting to do things right, to stand up for his decisions – it’s pretty hard not to love Robert and his character.
All in all, that show has a lot of potential, I’m not lying. The slow-motion scenes when the Japanese attack on December 7th, surprising the G-Company in their beds were absolutely amazing, and the (I’ll call it like that now because I don’t know any better word/translation for it) “in-scene” action just as Prewitt gets shot and the storyline changes once more before he dies and is found by Warden touched me so deeply. And the end…the end is a complete piece of gold, with the entire Cast coming on stage, the Congress Club women and everyone of the G-Company singing “The Boys Of ’41” together, which completely hit me and made me cry like a little baby, with knowing that all of this really happened 72 years ago. It’s really hard to NOT be touched by that.

At the Stage Door after, it was a bit weird and not really satisfying, as Ann & Mandy weren’t really up for Stage Door pics, but I was, as I really wanted to meet Robert Lonsdale, Ryan Sampson, Darius Campbell & Lucinda Shaw, Simon Lipkin’s girlfriend, who I had seen on a stage for the first time ever and who – although she wasn’t to be seen or heard a lot – seriously made an impression on me; man, what a voice she has inside of her! Sadly, I missed out on her while I was talking to Robert and trying to take a pic with him (with a – sorry to be so mean – complete incapable guy taking my pics, it still drives me over the edge today), but thankfully, at least, after I chatted a bit with him, and later Ryan & Darius, I got my pics after all 🙂

My resumé after that night – “From Here To Eternity” definitely has A LOT of potential that still part of lies dormant deep down, but I am more than sure that with time, there will be more and more improvements and it will get even better than it already is. With this amazing and talented cast, there is no doubt that this show could be running for quite a while – which I sincerely hope, as this first trip will definitely NOT be my last one!

Rock Of Ages – Garrick Theatre 04./05.10.2013

Back on the Sunset Strip after 2 weeks, and slowly I get every other RoAdie out there, why everyone thinks that even one week without it is way too long 🙂

04.10.2013
When I came to the theatre and saw the Cast List for today, my first thought went straight to my friend Alison – Nathan Amzi wasn’t on as Mayor. I didn’t know what to expect of Andy Spillett in the role, but I was excited of seeing someone else, and as I had absolutely loved Andy as Dennis two weeks before, I looked forward to seeing him doing his “Super-Swing” stuff again. Though I have to admit after seeing him: it was more than weird. I am quite used now to see Nathan as Mayor, and he and Andy have a completely different bodyshape; for me, Andy’s built just doesn’t quite fit the role of the asshole mayor, and when I stared at him on the stage, the entire time I thought how malnourished he looked, I constantly wanted to feed him! *lol* Apart from this, he did a good job up there anyways, can’t say it any other way – he really IS a Super-Swing.
Grant Anthony as Hertz…was different, too. Sorry to say that, but me as a german thinks that his german accent is pretty bad – but I have to give him that, he’s no native speaker, so he kind of is off the hook 🙂 Seeing him and Sandy Moffat work together as father and son was weird, too, because their age difference is not as big as the one between Rohan Tickell and Sandy, but I liked Grant’s Hertz, because I finally had someone who’s voice was a bit stronger, and a bit louder, and since I’ve seen Grant’s Stacee two weeks back, I loved his voice anyways. That man really has an amazing, deep voice and some serious acting skills.
Our Dennis that day – finally – was Daniel Fletcher. He would be my 4th Dennis and I was quite excited to get to see him after missing out on him every time since July. And he didn’t disappoint me, I loved him in that role (even if he didn’t top Andy as Dennis, though). Loved his facial expressions, and his voice was seriously great. That he is a seriously hilarious person only was a plus to that!
That day, we were short of girls, which I had never experienced before, and it was weird seeing Natalie Andreou looking into her mirror during “Heaven/More Than Words” without having the “Dream Sherrie” right across from her; Zizi Strallen, who usually played that part, wasn’t on that day, neither were Selina Hamilton or Carly Mercedes Dyer, which meant a lot of work for Cordelia Farnworth – which she managed to do absolutely perfectly.
One of my favourite parts of the show was definitely the one when Tim Howar had his first appearance as Stacee Jaxx just before “Dead Or Alive”. I was pretty surprised – and I know that I wasn’t the only one in the audience – when Cameron Sharp suddenly appeared on stage, playing a groupie! He stood across from Tim, and being the good groupie he was, asked for an autograph…and Tim totally cracked me up when he started signing the entirety of Cam’s both arms. And the entire time I thought: “God, that will be hard to get off!” Priceless, it made me love Tim & Cam even more than I already did.
And at the last Standing Ovations, while “Don’t Stop Believin'” was still playing, while Jodie Jacobs as Regina was standing on the stairs on the left handed side of the stage, Simon Lipkin suddenly showed up behind her, grabbed her around her waist and started dancing with her….only seconds before he grabbed the bottom of her dress in the front and pulled it all the way up her head! We were all cracking up, and while Jodie tried to pull it down over and over, Simon, the dork he is, always pulled it up again, twirling it around – unforgettable.

At the Stage Door later, Alison asked Simon what the thing with pulling up Jodie Jacobs’ dress was supposed to be, and he said “I have no idea, she liked it!” and I went “She didn’t look like she liked it!” and he smiled, saying again how much she liked it, how much all of the girls like that – what?! *lol* And I swear he said “Alright hun” to me right before we took our pic, even if you call me insane now 😉

After that, I found a new love of my life (sorry, Simon *lol*) – Rocky, Tim Howar‘s 7-months old little puppy, which his lovely girlfriend Jodie had brought with her. That little dog found his way right into my heart from the get go, and I even ignored Simon for him!!!! Tim was so lovely again, and of course I had to go and take a pic with him together with Rocky 🙂

When Ross came out, and I wanted to take a picture with him, somehow Daniel Fletcher threw himself into the background, completely photobombing the moment – and definitely worth it, that must be one of the best Stage Door pictures ever 😀

Finally, I also met Natalie Andreou and got a pic with her – something I had been waiting for for over a year; I just never caught her fast enough, or she was in a hurry, or in pain because of an twisted ankle (two weeks earlier). She was so lovely and kind, and she was so patient when Alison had to take my picture over and over again – that woman is made of gold!

05.10.2013

That show was supposed to be different for me, again – Jodie Jacobs was off that day and that would mean the first time I wouldn’t see her Regina on stage! I was excited to see Cordelia Farnworth in that role, as I had seen her as Sherrie on my birthday, and she had been really amazing back then. And what can I say? Cordi definitely did NOT disappoint me, she was absolutely wonderful! I even loved her more in that role as in the role of Sherrie, her voice seemed to be more challenged as Regina than it had been as Sherrie; back then, I thought sometimes she sang too quietly, but as Regina, her voice was strong and amazing, plus, she looked super cute in her dress! It’s such a shame I didn’t just ask her to take a picture when she and Natalie were standing in the foyer after the show to collect money in their costumes 😦 At least I got one with Natalie, and you may not see it in the picture, but I was a mess at that moment. I have no idea why (okay, I partly know why, but I’m not going to spread it out here, because it’s absolutely stupid!), but during the show, there was more than one occasion where I instantly started crying, especially in the 2nd Act. “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” is always putting me over the edge, but it got worse during “Don’t Stop Believin'”, when we were all giving the Cast our Standing Ovations; I was just standing there, sobbing, crying, puffy eyes, and I couldn’t stop, nor could I properly look up at the Stage. Maybe it hit me that moment that the 2nd November came closer and closer, maybe it was the other thing that destroyed me during that show, but I was as emotional that day as I had never been in any of the shows I had been to since last September.

At the Stage Door after, of course I went for a pic with Simon, and this time, I asked Steph, another friend, to take my picture for me. She kind of had problems with my stupid camera, so Nathan Amzi, who had just come out of the Door, went over to her, staring at how she was doing, looking at the camera’s display and said “And now just press the button!” I guess having him standing so close to her (sorry to embarass you here, Steph ;D ) made her absolutely nervous, so somehow, Nathan took over my camera and took the picture himself – all the time, I was standing next to Simon, his arm wrapped around me, and as longer as it took Steph and Nathan to take the picture, I felt how he pulled me closer and closer to him – not complaining here, though, I think I fell in love with Nathan that moment *lol*

Also, I finally got a pic with Nathan smiling AND one with my favourite Dennis, Andy Spillett, both of them turning out great 🙂

What can I say, it were two amazing, emotional shows and to know I wouldn’t be back until the weekend when the bitter end comes made it even harder to leave.

Rock Of Ages – Garrick Theatre 21.09.2013

“Here we are, back at the Bourbon Room…”
For a double Rock Out – Matinee & Evening, meeting quite a few of the RoAdies I had only heard of so far and was pretty excited and slightly nervous about!

With two shows  completely lacking of principles. Ross Hunter (Drew) had been sick with a strong bronchitis, Tim Howar (Stacee Jaxx) also was ill due to bad breathing issues, Daniel Fletcher (Dennis Dupree) was off, too, and we were short on girls so Zizi Strallen had to come back earlier as Groupie, right next to Cameron Sharp, filling in as Joey Primo.
Drew would be played by Dylan Turner, which would be meaning I’d be going to see my 3rd ever Drew, and despite the fact that I had really wanted to see Ross again, I was more than excited to see someone else in that role. And whoa, this man is not only absolutely hot looking (he never had been my type or anything), but the voice inside of him is mindblowing. Never would I have expected that his Drew would be some seriously amazing thing. Whenever he came up to the high notes, I was thinking “Oli Tompsett would be pretty proud if he heard this right now.” Dylan’s duets with Natalie Andreou as Sherrie were so absolutely beautiful, and I understood why everyone was so overjoyed about him getting the chance to play that role over these few days. I was really excited about the part in “Oh, Sherrie”, where Drew sings this really, really high and long tune, and ever since I had heard and seen Oliver Tompsett killing it one year ago, no one had ever impressed me like he had done back then. But man….Dylan? For God’s sake, he was ON FIRE! That tune coming out of him for more than a few seconds was absolutely perfect! He had the audience completely going mental over that one (considering ALOT of the people at the Garrick that day were dedicated RoAdies, it’s not hard, really).
Grant Anthony was playing Stacee, and I didn’t really expect alot, though I had heard he would be amazing – but considering that Tim had completely cast a spell over me when I first saw his Stacee two months earlier, I doubted anybody could match up to that….well, I was proven wrong. Completely wrong. Grant was AMAZING as Stacee, his facial expressions were completely cracking me up, and his voice…whoa, that man has some serious talent right there! Loved the deep vocals so much, and I was more than happy I got to see him before the show closes.
Our Dennis in both shows was Andy Spillett, and what can I say: I think he gave me my favourite Dennis ever that day!  He, too, has the most hilarious facial expressions I have ever seen on anybody, and during the scene when Lonny (Simon Lipkin) is holding the Fogmaster 5000 and starts talking about his feelings towards Dennis, Andy’s face was priceless, there are no other words for that. I loved absolutely everything about his Dennis!
Joey Primo that day would be played by Cameron Sharp, and no words needed for how excited I had been for that one! I had heard from Sarah that he had been absolutely amazing the day before, and after seeing him on the left side of the stage, throwing money in the air and shouting “I SHIT MONEY!”, I was absolutely hooked by him. He did so unbelievably well, he seemed like he had never done anything else in his entire life, and you would never ever guess that he had only started rehearsals 4 days earlier and had been throwin into cold water with his stage premiere the day before. He just seemed like the boy next door, a member of the Cast that had always been there. And whenever I think of Joey Primo now, all that comes to my mind is his face. He was absolutely flawless, and I’m gutted I will never get to see his Drew!

Of course, there had been a few very remarkable things in both shows:

Matinee:
– After “Can’t Fight This Feeling”, Simon had his face coming closer and closer to Andy’s, and while the entire audience completely freaked out, he nudged his nose and Andy started laughing along.
– Programme Scene – always something everyone is excited about the most, because you never know what Simon Lipkin will be pulling next. When Lonny/Simon went “What do you really want?” to Drew, unexpectedly, some random guy up in the Dress Circle suddenly shouted down to the stage “How much for a picture of you naked????” – safe to say the entire audience completely went nuts, cheering and laughing, and you could just see how much that question had distracted Simon; he was even more out of script than he already is every single time. He kept grinning, staring upstairs, and after a few seconds of trying to pull himself together and go on with the show again, he gave in, saying “Okay, I’m sorry, but I just have to ask: WHAT?!” Everyone was laughing their asses off, but the guy in the Dress Circle obviously was too shy to repeat his question, so Simon made a short joke about him feeling quite safe up there, first having a huge mouth and not pretending it had never happened, then he went back to his normal track – hilarious.

Evening:
– During the scene when Jodie Jacobs as Regina runs past Drew, who is holding a Pizza Box in his hands, she bumped into him and inspite of the box flipping 180 degrees – which it usually did, so Drew always had to try to flip it back upwards without the Pizza sticking to the top, – it flipped the entire way round – 360 degrees. For a second Dylan was seriously confused and tried everything to not start laughing, but he was very good at keeping his composure and going on with the script.
– The scene when Drew & Sherrie have a serious talk about their feelings towards the end, when Drew complains about Sherrie sleeping with Stacee Jaxx and Sherrie tells him he told her they were just friends, and Drew goes all like “I never said that!”, Simon bursted out of the door, holding a huge cookie in his hand, and the audience went mad. He obviously had been chewing on it before that scene, because his mouth was full of crumbles, and for over a minute, he tried everything to swallow as fast as he could, before almost choking on the words “Uhm, yes, you did!” and running back to where he came from – I highly doubt that that was intended or planned after all. Not with knowing Simon 😀
– Programme Scene: Simon started to make fun of Drew/Dylan having been in “High School Musical”, and he started doing the choreography they do during “We’re All In This Together”, calling Dylan a “Disney-loving Bastard” all the way and telling him he would’ve loved him to be in “Cinderella”, simply for the “Bibedi-bapedi-boo!” Oh, Simon.

After both shows, we went to the Stage Door, and it was quite crowded. After I caught Simon (yes, you know I just had to, right?), we all saw him going over to a girl a bit further away, and he started signing on a green cast she wore around her arm, and suddenly, while he was signing, we all saw him starting to laugh, and after a few seconds, he completely cracked up, tried to regain his composure to finish the signature, but with Nathan Amzi seeing it too and starting to laugh, it was absolutely impossible. Somehow, we all knew that he had been writing something really inappropriate onto it, and we were right: he had drawn a penis onto the inside of the girl’s hand, and all I could think of was “Oh, Simon! Little boy inside a grown man’s body!”

I don’t remember anything I said to anyone at the SD that day, but I do remember that after Simon had been so kind to take a picture with me inside that crowd infront of the Garrick (though he surely wanted to get away to grab some food before the evening show), I just felt like getting him some kind of little Thank You, so along with Alison’s Mother Mandy, who got him a Wispa Bar, I got him one, too. When after the evening show, he came out, I gave it to him, he smiled like a little boy, his eyes wide opened like it was Christmas, and he went all like “Awww! Thank you! Chocolate, that’s the way into my heart!!!” and inside, I was all like “Yeah, I figured that, why you think I spoil you with these all the time?” 😀 Of course, I just had to take another picture with him, as I never am really pleased with the ones I have, because none of them is that perfect (and come on, I never let an opportunity to be in that boy’s arm pass!), and when he said “Sure!” and I went to his right side, he grinned widely at me and asked “Is that your better side?” and I went “Yeah, my chocolate side!” I think it’s safe to say I completely melted in his arm that moment, because I finally had managed to get at least a very slight connection with him, something I had wished for so badly since I had met him first last year, and having him making an approach of talking to me first was more than I had expected when I started that day at the Garrick.

After taking all of our possible SD pictures – Cameron Sharp, Selina Hamilton, Nathan Amzi & Rachel McFarlane (without my desperately wanted and needed pic with Natalie Andreou; she had visibly twisted her ankle on stage during one of the last songs and rushed off the Garrick after the evening show, which was absolutely understandable), I went back to my hostel with the thought that this weekend had been more perfect than I had ever hoped for it to be, – especially with FINALLY meeting Noor (who I already dearly loved when I first met her, sitting right next to me during the Matinee), Steph, Natalia, Sigal and so many others of the RoAdie Family! And I already couldn’t wait to be back 2 weeks later!

We Will Rock You – Dominion Theatre 20.09.2013

Back at the Heartbreak Hotel for Sarah’s birthday show – and by the end of that day, I would’ve been laughing harder than I had in a long time! I was supposed to pick her and her mother up at the Garrick – she had been at “Rock Of Ages” for the Matinee, too – so I rushed there after arriving at St. Pancras, just in time for the end of the show. We ended up taking pictures with some of the actors – Dylan Turner, Sandy Moffatt, and, unexpectedly, Cameron Sharp, who had his very first Joey Primo show that day due to the fact that they were short on people and he had to come in 10 days earlier than planned after only 4 days of rehearsals! And still, he appeared like he had been on the Cast forever, feeling like he already belonged to that RoAdie family for years!

So after we took our pictures and chatted away with Cam, we went straight for the Dominion, where we would meet up with Alison; Sarah was wearing HUGE badges on her shirt saying “Birthday Girl” all over her breasts – a fact that would leave us breathless by the end of the night. The show itself was absolutely brilliant, as always. We had the entire First Cast on that day, and our Seats just in Row A, right infront of the stage, were absolutely perfect. Of course, when Oliver Tompsett finished his “I Want To Break Free”, we were all three screaming at the top of our lungs, and also, screaming for Rachael Wooding as Scara that night was a must – I somehow had forgotten how absolutely amazing her voice and performance is. Of course, Rachel John as Meat again left me completely in tears when she sang “(No-One But You) Only The Good Die Young”….that woman is the only one having the power to completely break me everytime I hear her voice. Plus, who really impressed me that night – Wayne Robinson. I knew his Brit, and honestly, I always had issues understanding his accent and thought that right next to Rachel’s powerful voice, his own voice always sounded a bit…silent, not to say a bit weak. But that night, he was absolutely on fire, and I was taken aback by how much he had improved over the last 8 months since I had seen him. His vocals were loud and deep, and it was exactly what I imagined Brit to sound like. Safe to say he was absolutely flawless.
At the end of the show, when they were all getting their well-deserved applause and Standing Ovations, there was this moment when Kevin Kennedy (who played Pop that night) ran over from the left-handed side of the stage to the right one, glancing at Sarah, who’s huge birthday badges were all glittery, and he grinned at her, shouting “Happy Birthday!” – it was hilarious. And when we went back around to the Stage Door, waiting for everyone to come out, we were already laughing about it and not thinking of anything bad when suddenly, one of the Band Members came out the door, staring at Sarah and saying “We were wondering what they were! Biscuits maybe!”. He left with us laughing, screaming at the top of our lungs, gasping for air; these things must’ve definitely shone from the Stalls up to the stage, so it was no surprise they had irritated them!
When Rachel John came out, she was seeing us grinning and still laughing, and I told her about the Band, which left her all like “WHAT? That is so not appropriate, they should seriously focus on their texts! That is so wrong! I looked at them too, but of course, in a completely different, loving way!” Oh that woman is so lovely….and it was hard to see Sarah saying her final Goodbyes to her, as Rachel would be leaving on Cast Change day 2 weeks later and Sarah wouldn’t be there.
Then Rachael Wooding & Katie Paine came out together, and you have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for seeing both of them again, talking to them and getting a picture (as Katie always rushes off afterwards). When Katie saw us, she gave Sarah & Alison a hug, and she introduced herself to me with “Hi, I’m Katie!” and I went to tell her that I knew that, that I had been the girl who had sent her the fan letter 5 months earlier, and she smiled widely, saying her Thank You. Unfortunately, they both had to rush off, but as I asked Rachael for a pic, she stopped for a short moment, standing between Sarah and her mom…then rushed off after I took the pic, and I was like “Uhm…it was actually ME who wanted the picture…?” It was weird, but I knew I would be seeing her two weeks later, so I got over it.

Then FINALLY, Oliver Tompsett came out, greeting us all with a wonderful smile and a huge hug for each of us, and his stare went right down to Sarah’s breasts, to these huge badges she wore for her birthday, and he completely cracked us up by grinning like a school boy, saying “What nice big badges you have there!” – priceless, absolutely priceless. If there was any more reason I needed to love this man to bits, it was that moment. Nothing’s more lovable than a man who can truly make you laugh 🙂

And then, the most beautiful thing happened, the thing I had waited for for over a year. While we were talking to Oli, taking pictures and all, Scott Monello came out. You need to know, he had been my very 1st Galileo at the Dominion back on September, 20th, 2012, when I first came to London, and ever since, I had adored him, wanting to meet him and all, but never got around to it because he always rushed off after the show. So I had told Alison & Sarah in advance that no matter what, we just HAD to catch him at the Stage Door, as I knew, he, too, would be leaving on Cast Change day, and it would just crush me not ever having the chance to tell him how amazing I thought he is. I still remember during the show that night, I had done nothing but always staring at him the entire time whenever he showed up on stage as one of the GaGa Kids.
Thankfully, Alison was standing close to the door, and when Scott came out, she shouted for him, and when I heard his name, I thought I must have stopped midsentence to Oli, seeing Scott standing there. I went over, and I don’t even know what I said, but I remember telling him he had been my very first Galileo and that he always was my favourite, though I never got to see him more than that one time. He was so lovely, smiled all the time, and I saw that he really appreciated what I told him. Of course, I must have been the happiest person alive when I asked him for a picture, he said “Of course” and I was standing there, in his arms, smiling like the biggest idiot on the planet! Alison said afterwards that it was a beautiful picture and you could actually see how really really happy I had been, and I have to agree: I love the picture, and I still smile like a fool when I look at it 🙂

After such a wonderful and eventful night, I was heading back to my hostel, as it would be a double “Rock Of Ages” show the day after – and I was seriously more than excited to be back on the Strip!