We Will Rock You – Frankfurt 19.-21.12.2014

After over one and a half years since the last time I had seen the show on german soil – and knowing that its Cast was almost the same as it had been when they toured through Basel and Essen in 2013 – I went into it with a lot of excitement and expectations. I was mostly looking forward to see everyone again after such a long time, as there were at least two people among them that I dearly missed and had stayed in touch ever since the closing. And I was also looking forward to how much everyone’s talent had improved since the last time I’ve seen them. And I was NOT disappointed.

19.12. 2014 (Evening/Preview)
I didn’t realize the first two shows that weekend would be previews – I was convinced that that show actually was the Premiere, until I saw some of the Casts posts on facebook. Anyways, despite a few technical difficulties (that, honestly, I didn’t even realize were technical difficulties because I hadn’t seen the show since June 2013 and thought “Oh, well, guess they’ve done a few more changes than usual” to myself, ha-ha), the feeling of being back with this talented bunch covered everything that had gone wrong that night.
Galileo & Scaramouche were played by Christopher Brose & Marjolein Teepen. I know Chris from last year, where he completely blew me away. His voice is incredible, and I was excited about having him as my 1st Galileo on this tour again. And despite the fact that he seemed somewhat sick to me, or tired, he still gave me goosebumps. The way he displays Galileo again was exactly how I thought Galileo must be. He’s that dorky, stupid guy who pulls off the role as a limelight hog at the end as if he’s never done anything else. He shows the audience he loves to be up there, which is, for me, one of the most important things any actor on a stage can do.
I was, however, disappointed about Marjolein. Not because of her talent, no way at all, because she HAS talent, she has proven it more than once to me when I had seen her as Killer Queen – her voice is really stunning. But to me, her display of Scaramouche was lacking  something that I love about that character, although I can’t put a finger on what that is. Maybe it was that she wasn’t as cute-bossy as the lead role, Jeannine Michele Wacker, who, until then, had been my main Scara on last year’s tour, or maybe that the relationship between her and Chris seemed a bit cold to me. But that’s all my personal opinion and is not supposed to diminish anyone’s talent in that Cast!
Markus Neugebauer played Brit once again, and after Anna Lidman last year, Ozzy was played by one of the new Cast members, Linda Holmgren. As usual, Markus‘ talent knocked me off my feet. I knew he was good, I had seen him last year and already thought he was the best Brit I had ever seen, but what he did on stage that night – wow. He has developed SO much since 2013, something I thought wasn’t possible. It was just tiny things, notes, that he did and sung differently, but those changes were truly amazing, especially the even more raspy sound of his voice on the high notes or the “waves” he gave some of his notes in “I Want It All”. And to see Linda was something I was curious about. I love the role of Ozzy, because she sings one of my all-time favourite Queen songs, and therefor I always have very high expectations to the person stepping into that role – and I might be a bit overly critical ever since I first saw Rachel John in that role at the Dominion Theatre in London and especially Andrea Sánchez Del Solar in 2013 in Essen. And Linda did not disappoint me, I even liked her better than Anna last year. Her voice is a lot higher than either Anna’s or Andrea’s, but it was something new to me, and she definitely did that role justice – especially in the high notes. That woman knows how to sing.
Brigitte Oelke & Martin Berger as Killer Queen & Khashoggi – do I need to say more? These two are institutions, have been with the show since 2004, and no matter how often I see them, their talent and amazing stage presence blows me away. Their interactions with each other, their voices, their acting – there’s not much better on german stages nowadays than these two. Brigitte’s voice…well, there is no word for it, you have to hear it for yourself. I’d bet that if she wanted to, she could blow up all the headlights in the theatre hall, and not even with a lot of effort, because her voice is THAT powerful.

20.12.2014 (Matinee & Evening/Premiere)
FINALLY, I would be seeing Jeannine Michele Wacker as Scaramouche again, and I couldn’t have been more excited for it. I had missed everything that I adore about her display of the role, and when she first came on stage, I couldn’t stop the major grin on my face. The thing with her and her Scara is, she’s the cutest, but also bossiest one I had seen so far. You look at her and think “Oh, look how tiny she is, how adorable!”, but then that girl opens her mouth and what comes out of it is too good to be true. Her voice is absolutely BREATHTAKING. It had already been like that last year, but what she did on stage that day was beyond my expectations. I knew she had different engagement over the past couple of months, even during this WWRY tour, she’s working at “Artus” in St. Gallen (Switzerland) every now and then, but you’d never guess the stress she has. Her intonation is crazy, her high vocals are not only high, but as strong as I’ve barely heard any other german singer being capable of. And her way of commanding Galileo about is just something you have to enjoy.
My Galileo that Matinee was Stuart Sumner – something I’ve noticed right away during “Radio GaGa”, when I didn’t spot him in his usual place as a teacher in the background. And although at first I was a bit sceptical – I had only seen him in the lead role once, and to be honest, he hadn’t fully convinced me back then. There were quite a few times he mixed up his text or one time, forgot it for a moment, and although I know it’s normal, they’re all just human and german isn’t his native language, (and I’d be the last person to judge anybody about it!!!) it disappointed me a bit, as I had heard opinions about how amazing he was as Galileo. This time, however, I was more than impressed. His voice had always been amazing, it was the one thing he convinced me with last year, but hearing him again showed me how much it had improved over the past months. And his interaction with Jeannine was adorable. He’s the most “manly” Galileo of all I have seen so far, the most “Rockstar” kind of guy of all of them, and every single time, his long vocals at the end of “We Are The Champions” leave me in complete awe – he knows how damn good his voice is, and he sure knows how to use it to have the audience in the palm of his hand.

Then….Premiere night. My first ever, with – of course – all the main Cast in the lead roles. I only want to say a few words to the (for me) dream pair of Galileo & Scaramouche: Christopher Brose & Jeannine Michele Wacker. Ever since Essen in 2013, I can safely say that I can never get enough of the interaction between those two on stage. They work together so unbelievably well, their voices match SO well, too, and all their movements and vocals are totally geared to each other as if they never did anything else in their life than being up on that WWRY stage together. Jeannine’s cuteness in playing Scara takes Chris’ dorky Galileo-behaviour to new highs, and Chris’ rocking side at the end lets Jeannine turn into a small pile of fangirl – I barely have seen two people who seem so destined to sing and act together – and their duet of “Who Wants To Live Forever” is one of the most beautiful and tear-bringing things I have ever seen on a stage.

21.12.2014 (Matinee & Evening)
Two different Galileo’s, Killer Queen’s & Bap’s – nice. When months before, I had booked my tickets for that weekend, I had only booked the evening show, as my original plan had been to meet up with a friend that day – which turned out to be a fail, so 30 minutes before the show started and after I had overheard a conversation whereby Isabel Trinkaus would be playing Killer Queen that afternoon, I spontaneously purchased another ticket in the middle of the 6th row (which was actually the 3rd row – what exactly the staff at the Old Opera House thought about that confusing seating, only god knows!)
To have Isabel as the evil Killer Queen was something I was absolutely thrilled about. Honestly, you can’t compare her to Brigitte Oelke in any way, and you’d be very wrong to even try to. Whereas Brigitte’s KQ is nothing but evil, loud and the very meaning of a “Diva”, Isabel’s KQ is even more evil, loud, scary – and extraordinarily bitchy. Which is actually a good thing. I love that touch so much that she gives the role, and since the last time I had seen her in it, she has improved so unbelievably much, her voice has become so incredible it was more than a delight to see her in that huge lead again.
Now to that day’s Ozzy, who was – in both shows – played by Andrea Sánchez Del Solar…if you know me well enough, you know what that fact means to me. Ever since I had first seen her Ozzy, and everything that comes with that role, I was done. I don’t even have words for the talent that that girl has inside of her. Her deep voice fits perfectly to “I Want It All”, and the soul in it never fails to make me completely cry my heart out during “(No-One But You) Only The Good Die Young”. She’s the first and only person after Rachel John at the Dominion Theatre in London who ever made me tear up at that song, even BEFORE she has started singing – simply because I know what’s coming, and it’s the most beautiful thing I ever witnessed on stage. Moreover, the harmony between her and Markus Neugebauer is perfect. Their voices are geared to each other, it seems, because they’re both so unbelievably strong and a guarantee for goosebumps. If you ever have the chance to see either of them somewhere on a stage in the world – grab a ticket.

Over all, that weekend was a wonderful and memorable one. I met wonderful people again – Jeannine & Andrea, who I had massively missed over the past 18 months, Stuart & Brigitte, who recognized me despite my not so memorable face, and seemed genuinely happy to see me again and cared about how I’d been since we’ve last seen each other, Victor Barretto, who had been part of last year’s Cast and who, sitting in the same row as me during the Premiere show, also recognized me and asked how I had been…and not to mention two of the nicest people I have ever met. Martin, one of the band members, who I genuinely came to like, because he was so lovely and funny, and made me look a teeny tiny less stupid and dumb as I was standing all by myself at the Stage Door between and after all (!) of the 5 shows of the weekend, outside, defying cold, wind and rain, and who I sadly never got to say a proper Thank You & Goodbye to. I hope one day I can have another shot at that. And of course that WONDERFUL blond woman of the crew whose name I sadly never learned, but who was the kindest thing I ever came across at a Stage Door – taking care of me, making sure I wouldn’t freeze myself to death after the Premiere, and after two hours of waiting for the ones I was waiting for, dragged me (under my protest) to the premiere party to get out of the cold and right into the fun of it. If you read this: THANK YOU for everything, and I sincerely hope we’ll meet again one day.
And of course the numerous hugs, smiles, winks & waves of the people I genuinely care so much about – not just as actors, but more, as human beings, as people like you and me, – will stay in my memory of that weekend.

 

Any Way The Wind Blows…

May 31st, 2014. The day an era of 12 years at the Dominion Theatre ends, and after that day, neither Tottenham Court Rd. nor London itself will ever be the same.

I have been thinking long about whether I should do this post. I don’t want to sound like my life is ending now that my favourite show of all times is sadly closing. I don’t want to tell anybody out there that it has majorly changed my life or changed it at all, for that matter, because that would be a lie. It’s just going to be my personal way of saying Goodbye to something that means a hell of a lot to me.

I remember the first time ever that I watched the show. It was January, 13th, 2008. Cologne, Germany. Originally, I only went to see this show because I got 2 tickets for a former friend’s birthday 10 days before. She had spoken about it months earlier, and although I always had some kind of soft spot for some of the Queen songs, I never gave it much thought or even planned to go and see it, mainly because at that time, I had nothing to do with musical theatre at all. I was 22 years old, and I couldn’t think of anything more boring than paying to watch people dancing and singing on a stage.

Safe to say that this birthday gift was the best idea I had ever had.

The moment the show started at the Musical Dome, I was sucked inside. “Innuendo” has always had a very special meaning to me since that day, because whenever I hear it, goosebumps are everything I’m made of. I remember when “Radio GaGa” started a few minutes later, and I thought: “I love this shit.” And I do until this day forward. I don’t even know or remember the Cast we had back then, but I know they had a huge impact on the fact I fell in love with this show from the get go (although I was as far away as you could be on your first ever musical from knowing what a “Stage Door” was or that you could actually meet the actors after the show).

Years passed by where I completely forgot about it. My life went on, friends came, friends left. Then I met a certain person online, Kim, who today is one of my best friends. We became friends over the fact that we were both crazy “Supernatural” fans (nothing crazy about that anymore) and went to the same Convention hosting actors of the show in 2011. But what I only discovered later was that Kim was the biggest musical theatre fan I had ever met. I always saw her pictures of shows, “Cats”, “Tarzan”, “Rocky Horror Show”…and I have no idea how it happened, she somehow drew me completely into that musical theatre thing, made me fall head over heels for “Tarzan” (which is until today still one of the best things that could have happened to theatre land), and before I even knew it, I was sitting in Seat C 29 of the Stalls at the Dominion Theatre in London on September, 20th, 2012, on my first ever London trip.

The only thing I regret about that night? That I did not have any device on me to record the show. Yes, I know it’s prohibited, but if I had known back then what I knew today, I would’ve done anything to keep it recorded for eternity. Because that show simply knocked me off my feet. I had both understudies for Galileo & Scaramouche (which I didn’t know until I actually thumbed through the programme), Scott Monello & Emma Hatton. And up to this day, these two will always have a very special place in my heart. I fell head over heels for Scott’s adorable display of Galileo, for his vocals and his small dancing parts, and more than once after the show I thought how it could be that he was “only” the understudy? He was absolutely breathtaking. So was Emma; she sang the roof off the theatre with her insane vocals. Her hight notes gave me goosebumps, and having had the honour and luck to see her perfom one more time exactly one year later, I was more than happy to see and hear how everything in her voice had improved even more. Plus, her Scaramouche was one of the most adorable things I had ever seen on a stage (and note, that was only my 2nd ever musical at that point in my life). That I had also the honour to see Rachel John as Meat that night will probably always be one of the biggest highlights of my life. That woman has a voice that is out of this world, and she was the first and only person until last year who actually made me cry the instant she started singing “(No-One But You) Only The Good Die Young”.

After that 1st visit, I was not only totally in love with London (coming from someone who always despised the british accent and never cared about anything british at all, I guess that’s saying something), but also helplessly with musical theatre, and it was just natural that I was back at the Dominion only 3 months later. This time, I would be seeing the new Cast doing their thing, forwardmost, Oliver Tompsett as Galileo. I had seen him in the role of Drew Boley in “Rock Of Ages” three months before, and back then, I he knocked me so hard off my feet with his talent that I was beyond happy to see him in my favoure show. And what can I say? He did definitely not disappoint me. He was, and still is up to this day, the most talented person I ever had the pleasure and honour to watch. His vocals, his talent, his acting skills, yes, even his silly little dancing steps during the show, were and are completely out of this world, and I don’t even know of one second that he didn’t give me chills all over my body. I had high hopes and expectations about him as Galileo, since I knew what he was capable of if you let him do his thing on a stage, but what I saw that night was beyond said expectations. The moment I saw him performing “I Want To Break Free” and through every song he performed that night, I knew he was exactly where he belonged. There is one word in Germany for someone on a stage who enjoys every second of it, who is practically overflowing with vitality, gratitude and happiness, all displayed by the biggest grin on their faces during an entire show: limelight hog. And that is what hit me the moment Oliver stepped foot on that Dominion stage, and that special feeling never left me whenever I came back to see him four more times; it was a gift from God he was chosen to play Galileo Figaro.
Rachael Wooding, who played Scaramouche – wow. I have barely seen any woman (apart from Emma Hatton three months earlier who had such a positive energy inside her little body and such mindblowing vocals than her. Plus, her interaction with Oliver was amazing, they seemed like they had done this job together for years instead of months! The chemistry between them was the one thing I will always remember the most about all my Dominion shows, because not only between Galileo and Scaramouche it’s a very important thing, but between all the other characters, too.

Months passed until I went back to the Dominion, but instead, I was part of two crazy months in May/June 2013, when the german Cast of “We Will Rock You” were on tour close to my hometown, in a city called Essen. I have talked about it in certain posts on here, and the fact that I spent a hell of a lot money for 7 shows in 8 weeks says a lot about how much I fell even more in love with the show than I already had. The Cast was the best thing I had ever witnessed on a german stage, and the time I spent watching the show and hanging out at the Stage Door was definitely one of the best times of my life. I made wonderful friends during the tour, including two Cast members, and it was all thanks to them that the show grew even bigger in my admiration than it already had. Even though a few songs were sung in german (which was weird after 5 years and recently having seen the West End Cast two times), I couldn’t help but sing, cheer and clap along with them. Some people say that different versions of the same show might be having different impacts on the fans, and I’ve heard a couple of times that a german Cast can never achieve or do what a West End or Broadway Cast is capable of. But here’s me saying: THEY CAN. And hell, HOW they can. The german Cast has shown me that no matter in what part of the world “We Will Rock You” is performed and no matter how much scepsis you will feel towards it at first, the songs and the feelings you have throughout it will never be different. They will always suck you in, because it’s the show itself that will always provide its inexplicable magic.

The thing that impressed me the most was the Cast Change day at the Dominion on October, 5th, 2013. It was a very emotional day, as it was the last performance of Scott Monello, Emma Hatton, Rachel John & Wayne Robinson (who played Brit), but also because it was the day that Brian May came up in the middle of the stage during “Bohemian Rhapsody”. Safe to say that together with the entire Cast smashing the song and his breathtaking guitar solo he totally blew the roof off the Dominion. It is, up to this day, the most amazing show of that Cast that I have seen, because everyone was on fire and giving it 200% of their talent.

I am gutted to no end to see this wonderful and amazing show leave the West End, because theatre is losing one of its biggest and best pieces today, but although I couldn’t see it more than 6 times, I am beyond grateful for these few times, and each and every one of the shows I was part of I will always cherish deep down in my heart. I am also grateful for every single actor of the Cast that ever took their time to come out and chat with the fans, with me, who were always so patient, kind, funny, caring, and never got tired of us showing up on their doorstep to tell them how amazing they are, or asking for photos or autographs. This goes especially out to the following people that I have met over the past one and a half years and that grew to my heart so much that I will always try and support them in whatever they’ll be doing: Scott Monello, Oliver Tompsett, Katie Paine, Rachael Wooding, Rachel John & Emma Hatton.

Thank You, “We Will Rock You”, for the past one and a half years, for every single amazing show, for every laughter, for every tear I shed, for every beautiful moment at the Stage Door, for all the goosebumps you got me, simply for all the beautiful memories that you brought me and that I will keep in that special place in my heart forever. You will all be massively missed, and it is more than wrong and sad you have to go, but one thing I know for sure: you’ll be going out with a bang, because that’s what you deserve.

THANK YOU.

 

We Will Rock You – Dominion Theatre 17.05.2014

My very last ever “We Will Rock You” at the Dominion – that day definitely came way too fast. It had been my very first show back in 2008, and since then, had always been my absolute favourite. But even if people will slaughter me after reading this: I wish my very last memory/experience of this show would be the Cast Change on October, 5th, 2013, and not this show. The reason for this is simple: the Cast. I am not someone to slate new Casts when I see them first, when I am used to an old Cast, because I know it’s all hard work and a tough job to step into big footsteps, and everyone deserves a chance. Maybe I expected too much from my last show, as I already walked down the aisle to my seat with tears in my eyes. But from the beginning.

I arrived in London at 12pm that day, and my friend Sarah had told me that if I wanted to catch Oliver Tompsett & Katie Paine before the Matinee to give them their farewell gifts, I should head right down to the Dominion. Safe to say I rushed into the tube to Piccadilly Circus with my heavy suitcase and the bags, and from there, ran for my life, as it was getting later and later and people seem to love stepping into my way as if they had no care in the world. Thankfully, I reached the Theatre just in time, because after 5 minutes, Katie arrived, greeting me from afar, hugging me and apologizing for not replying to my tweet that morning, asking when she’ll arrive. She then told me that Olly would probably be already in, as they had rehearsals at 1pm, so I did not only give her her own present (she was absolutely taken aback, thanked me a couple of times and told me what a very nice thing to do it was), but also the one for Olly, which she promised to give him. Before she went inside, she asked me where I was sitting in the evening show, and when I told her that I’d be seated in C20 in the Stalls, she smiled and said she’d wave at me from the stage. Such a sweetheart 🙂

First thing that shocked me when I got into the theatre that evening and checked the board – Rachael Wooding (Scaramouche) wasn’t on. Safe to say my heart sank, because I couldn’t have imagined a better Scara to end on than her. Plus, the actual cover, Catriana Sandison, wasn’t on, either, as I noticed when the show started – after the Matinee, she had felt poorly and Sophie Ayers had to jump in, and apparently, the Dominion Staff hadn’t had the time to change the board (which is not a big deal, really, just confusing 🙂 ). Thankfully, the wonderful Oliver Tompsett was on as Galileo, and that was the thing that mattered to me the most.

When the show started, I was already in tears. During every song, every scene, the fact that it would be the last time I see them was in my head, and it broke my heart. What I noticed pretty soon was that since the Cast Change last October, they had changed a lot of the script, which was confusing at first, as I thought maybe the Cast had forgotten some of their text (which is highly unlikely, as they know what they do, but they’re just humans, after all), but as the changes kept happening, I realized it were no mistakes – which I didn’t like, to be honest. For me, it felt like some of the jokes were taken away (like when Olly/Galileo tells Sophie/Scaramouche that he had been tweeting the entire time – what was left out at that point was him saying “Only important stuff, what I had for breakfast and stuff”, which is basically the thing that makes this scene work the most!). Plus, for someone who knows the show by heart, it’s a confusing thing, it actually made me feel like I haven’t seen the show in years instead of only 6 months.

Now to the Cast. I feel bad for stating my opinion like this, but I have to say that from all the different Casts I have seen over the last couple of years, that one was the weakest for me. Not the “old” ones (Alasdair Harvey, Oliver Tompsett, Brenda Edwards & Katie Paine), but the “new” ones. Maybe it’s like I said, I was used to the 2012/2013 Cast, they grew to my heart, and with them being gone, it was bound to be different. But the voices weren’t giving me goosebumps, to be honest. Amanda Coutts (Meat) was probably the one I was most excited about, as I heard a couple of good things about her voice and performance, and I was more than looking forward to her “(No-One But You) Only The Good Die Young”, which had always given me tears when the former Meat, Rachel John, had sung it. I have to admit, Amanda was okay, good, actually, because she has a lovely voice, and you can really see her talent shining through, you can see why she was cast as Meat in the first place. But it’s fair for me to say that she didn’t touch me inside my heart with her performance. Plus, maybe it was only me being spoiled by Rachel John & Wayne Robinson in the roles of Meat and Brit, but to me, it felt a bit cold between her and Rolan Bell, can’t put my finger on it. Rachel and Wayne always had a special connection, you just bought it that they were a couple madly in love, living for the dream of real music coming back one day. I just didn’t feel that about Amanda and Rolan. His voice was good, too, and I have to admit, it was way better than the one of Wayne when I first saw him in 2012, Rolan had much more strength in it, and he was able to sound louder than the orchestra. But I didn’t have that certan special feeling inside of my stomach that I can’t quite put my finger on.
Sophie Ayers (Scaramouche), what can I say about her? I think for people who know the show by heart, the role of Scara, and her songs, it’s obvious that she is the 2nd Scara cover. I’m not saying her voice or performances were bad (because they weren’t, none of the new Cast one’s were, if they were, they wouldn’t be part of the show, after all), but it’s just that she hasn’t got what Rachael Wooding displays in that role; one essential and important thing for me, personally, about this role is to hold notes for a bit longer than usual – especially during “Somebody To Love”. A powerful voice is what makes this song so beautiful, what makes the actor singing it grow to your heart. I am truly sorry, but that just didn’t happen for me with Sophie. I felt like something was missing. I can imagine that something like this can happen if you’re thrown onto a stage on such a short notice, you have to work in your role and work with the other actors on stage, and I know it must be difficult. And I am not saying that Sophie isn’t talented, because she most definitely is, and I can see how amazing she can be with a lot more stage experience as more than a 2nd cover, which I wish to happen to her. I just didn’t warm up to her as much as I did with any other Scaramouche I’ve seen on stage in my life.
The “old” ones were fab as always – I absolutely love how Brenda Edwards & Alasdair Harvey interact with each other on stage as Killer Queen & Khashoggi, there’s nothing like it, really. I know some people don’t agree on that, but for me, Alasdair is Khashoggi, he has been my first one and will always be my favourite; he lives the role. Brenda isn’t my favourite Killer Queen, I have to admit, but I have barely heard such a powerful voice on stage than hers, she just gives me the goosebumps whenever she hits the high notes.
And Oliver Tompsett…what a man, what a talent. I knew he’d blew me away once again, and it’s safe to say he was on fire that night. It doesn’t matter which song he sings or how dorky he dances, everything he does on that stage gives me the biggest goosebumps. Once again, from “We Will Rock You” until the end of “Bohemian Rhapsody”, he had me in tears, and during every second of these songs, you can see how much he loves playing the role of Galileo; to me, it seems like he is actually born for that role. He’s a limelight hog, he enjoys playing with the audience, he enjoys drawing them in, and his “Day-Oohs” are legendary. I have never heard a more powerful voice, or seen more talent on a stage than the one he has. He’s one in a million for me, and having him as my very last Galileo at the Dominion was more than a gift for me. It’s too sad the show is closing in a few days, but I think it’s safe to say that it couldn’t end on a better Galileo Figaro than Oliver Tompsett.

The Stage Door afterwards was barely busy, which surprised me, as it was a saturday and it was getting closer and closer to the end. Thankfully, a lovely woman from Norway stood with me, so I wasn’t completely on my own. I got to talk to the ones I wanted to – Olly & Katie, mostly,- got my pics and therefor, wonderful memories. Olly said he was sorry for it having been my last WWRY show, and he and Katie thanked me again for my gifts, gave me a couple of hugs and were generally the most lovely people you can ever meet at a Stage Door.

I also got a few words with Amanda Coutts, Alasdair Harvey & Brenda Edwards, and I had a funny moment when Alasdair signed my ticket book. Apparently, he had put his autograph into it, writing a bit over the one Olly had written down just moments before, and he apologized, and I told him I didn’t mind, which came out a bit like “Oh, never mind, it’s just Olly!”, and Alasdair pulled a shocked face and went “I’m going to tell him that!”, which was hilarious, as I know he was joking (I had never seen him anything else than serious at the Stage Door before, so that was a nice thing 🙂 )

All in all, yes, I was a bit disappointed by my last show, which was probably my own fault due to high expectations and a lot of emotions inside my body, sue me. But seeing all the familiar faces one last time, talking to them one last time and properly saying goodbye to them was all that mattered. And to everyone in that Cast/Show, I hope they’ll continue to do amazing things, to improve their talent, and to have a bright future!

2013 – A Year In Events

As the year now fast comes to an end, I decided to jump onto the known bandwaggon and make some kind of an end-of-year review of what my year has been like (I hear the screams of the “Oh no, not one of those AGAIN!”). If you’ve read this blog before, you’ll be shocked to see that it all mostly consists of me travelling around the world aka London. But anyways, I want to look back at all the lovely things I’ve experienced this year, all the lovely people I met and made friends with. Because this year consisted of so many beautiful memories that no one will ever be able to take away from me.

January
2013 started for me in the worst possible way. I was in a huge fight with a colleague who once had been a very good friend, and I thought about quitting my job due to the fact I couldn’t stand seeing and working with her all day. It was a very fine line these first weeks in the year. But then my life turned with a bang. Literally. Okay, not literally, but you know what I mean. At the end of this month, I was going back to London with my best friend for my 2nd visit – safe to say the moment I first stepped foot on holy british ground three months before, there was no going back. It was more than just a “quick visit”; we had both a full-packed plan. There would be 3 Musicals & 1 Live Concert at the Hippodrome Casino in just 2 days – little did I know back then how much that Casino visit would impress me! I went to see “We Will Rock You” together with a friend I met during my 1st visit in London in September 2012, simply because I was all on my own and back then, she was the biggest fan of Oliver Tompsett (who plays Galileo) I had ever met so far. That night was the first night I actually had a proper chat with him, and also, met the wonderful Katie Paine for the first time. She had been a mindblowing Killer Queen that night and hasn’t been topped by any other Killer Queen I have seen before or after her. She’s amazing. And nothing else but absolutely lovely and kind.

.

The 2 other shows that weekend were “Billy Elliott” and “Les Misérables”. It was my first time seeing both shows, and due to a really crap seat (seriously, never, EVER sit on the balcony if you love moving your legs. Or your body, for that matter.) I couldn’t really enjoy the latter. The voices were amazing, there’s no doubt about it, but that was it for me. I will never be a person who gets along nicely with texts that are not normally spoken but sung. “Les Misérables” itself is amazing, with everything around, but I think it’s just not the right thing for me. It was also the Cast Change day, and seeing Liam Tamne going after I’ve heard and seen his beautiful talent was heartbreaking – even he started crying during the last “Do You Hear The People Thing” so that he hadn’t been able to properly sing his part.

“Billy Elliott”, however, surprised me way more than I thought. I had never watched the movie, have never been bothered or interested in it, but the show itself was beautiful. All these talented kids…it was amazing to watch them dancing and singing on stage. Our Billy that day, Harris Beattie, was the most talented kid I had ever seen on a stage so far, and I know I will definitely be back for a 2nd time somewhen in 2014 for sure.

Last but not least, a concert awaited me and my best friend at the Hippodrome Casino, Matcham Room: Caissie Levy. I had heard her sing on the Cast Recordings of “Ghost – The Musical”, and I was absolutely stunned by her voice and talent, so I was more than excited for that night, especially because Oliver Tompsett & Paul Ayres (he played Carl in “Ghost”) would be there, too. And I wasn’t disappointed. It was an unforgettable night for me – especially at the moment when my favourite West End Person ever – Simon Lipkin – casually walked up the stairs, just 5 metres away from me, and queued to be let into the Matcham Room with everyone else. Seeing him made that night even more perfect than it already was, with all the beautiful voices and songs. I hopethat one day I will be part of that kind of special night again
 

The next 2 months were sort of…dead. Not literally, but almost. I love to think of February & March of the time I needed to recover my jaw from dropping all the way to the floor when I saw Mr. Lipkin coming up these stairs at the Hippodrome. Yes, I am that pathetic that I admit I need to recover from looking at this beautiful man. Sue me.

April
I was finally visiting my best friend again, after three long months (she lives about 4,5 hours away from me). There was not much planned, just having a great time together – and of course, seeing my beloved musical “Tarzan” again. It had been that one musical back in March 2012 that had me completely fall in love with Musical Theatre in the first place; I love absolutely everything about it, the costumes, the actors, the storyline, the songs, the stage set…I could go on and on and wouldn’t be able to explain it properly to you. It was my 3rd time back at the Neue Flora in Hamburg, and it still hadn’t lost any of its magic for me. These first few minutes when the show starts, when “Two Worlds” start playing – never has any beginning of any show made my entire skin crawl of goosebumps as the beginning of “Tarzan”.
Sadly, my best friend got sick that weekend so after watching the show, the rest of the weekend consisted of sitting infront of her TV, doing a “Full House” marathon. But you know what? That made this weekend even more wonderful, because it’s these little things I love about our friendship the most, the thing I cherish the most: relaxing, being lazy, and still never get sick of each other.

I also finally got to see one of my favourite comedians live on stage. She kind of disappointed me, as I knew she was funnier whenever I saw her on TV, but nevertheless, it was unforgettable to experience her on stage after wanting this so much for such a long time.

May
I love to call this the month of highlights.

Highlight No. 1:
I would be seeing another of my favourite comedians on stage, and although I already knew his programme, I was almost peeing myself laughing. That guy, Kaya Yanar is absolutely hilarious and I think I will be back for his new programme next year.

Highlight No. 2:
I would finally be seeing the german version of “We Will Rock You” on stage again after over 5 years. If anyone had told me that that first visit after all these years on May, 3rd, wouldn’t be the last one of the tour, I’d probably would’ve laughed. Loud. Little did I know. So little. The show blew me away more than I can tell you. Everything about it was mindblowing, the Cast was the best german Cast I had ever seen (apart from the “Tarzan” one, maybe), the songs brought up again all my love for the german version….long story short, I was back in love with my favourite show of all time. No surprise then, that I already went back on May, 17th, is it?

Highlight No. 3:
The Asylum Europe 4 Convention in Frankfurt – a Supernatural Convention, organized by Rogue Events, and the third one of theirs that I attended. I’m not gonna lie: it was the best weekend of my entire life. I had never laughed so hard with friends as I did that weekend. We had the best guests any Supernatural Fan could wish for (seriously, though: Ty Olsson – holy crap. Never liked him on the show, basically because I never understood a word he was saying. But seeing him in real, on stage, at the autograph tables…god, that man is a GOD. He’s sexy as hell and the funniest American I ever had the pleasure to meet. Totally in love with him now. No regrets. And of course, Kim Rhodes, biggest fangirl ever herself, tops even the creepiest Supernatural fan by far…and still is the most lovable person you will ever meet!), and honestly, even if I don’t talk to any of the girls anymore that I spent the whole weekend with (except for one) – it was the best weekend I ever had in my entire life. I felt accepted, I felt liked and I felt like I belong somewhere. I miss that time dearly (not the horrible goodbye from my wonderful friends Susie & Jaynee after the Closing Ceremony, though), and even if we don’t have to say anything to each other anymore: I also somehow miss the girls. They were and are amazing, and it was an absolute honour to spend three entire days with them. (If you see this: Angii, Becky, Justine, Vanessa, Claudia & Laura – THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.)

Highlight No. 4:
The first Road Trip ever with my 4 girls to Hamburg to see “Tarzan” (they hadn’t seen it yet at that point) and do some sightseeing and simply have a good time together before one of them, my closest friend here, Mimi, would leave for Korea for 2 years. I won’t lie, the weather was the shittiest I had ever experienced on a “holiday” (seriously, “it’s raining cats and dogs” was nothing compared to the shitstorm that we endured that weekend), it was exhausting, partly embarassing (for me, to be honest; you might have noticed, if you read this blog before, that I turn into a massive fangirl whenever I am near a Stage Door, I don’t care about anyone or anything then), but all in all, SO worth it. Each of my girls absolutely adored and loved the show, and the goosebumps we all got while watching it was proof enough of it. It was the last time I saw the show before it moved to Stuttgart 5 months later, and I still cherish every single moment of that last day. And I was happy I could make my friends somehow understand why I loved that Musical so much.

June
The month I like to call the “Crazy WWRY month”. 6 shows in two and a half weeks, new friends made, spending time with the best and nicest german Cast I have ever met, including a heartbreaking Dernière on June, 30th (=Closing Show). Until that moment I barely had cried so much in my life than in that last show; the last 4 songs somehow passed by in a blur, I couldn’t sing, I couldn’t clap, I couldn’t cheer up to the people on stage that have found their way into my heart so fast and easily. Every single of these last shows were special in its own ways, with insane vocals, tears, breathtaking performances by each and everyone of them, and the group of fans coming from all parts in Germany….until that point, I had never experienced such a supportive and dedicated fanbase, and I am proud that I have been a part of it for 2 months.
 

July
Birthday month! I turned 27 this year, but nevertheless, I was excited like a 6-year-old for the first time in years. Mostly due to the fact that I would be spending the two days before and one day after it in my favourite town: LONDON. Plus another “We Will Rock You” show on the 23rd and my birthday show at “Rock Of Ages” – for reasons, of course. I haven’t been seeing that show for over 10 months when I went back, and I never thought I would ever again, due to the move to the Garrick, the ticket prices that had gone up since last year and the problem that I had no one to join me. But as it happened, twitter brought me together with two lovely little girls from England: Sarah & Alison. They had decided to spent my birthday together with me, as I would be on my own in London, and what can I say, it was an unforgettable time, thanks to them. I got my Simon Lipkin birthday hug, my Nathan Amzi birthday High-Five (he’s born on the same day as me, crazy) and last but not least, Simon Lipkin aka Lonny called me up to his dressing room at the end of Act 1 in “Rock Of Ages”. That day herald the start of the most amazing half year of my entire life. Oh, and apart from that, entire London went totally nuts to the news that Prince George had been born. Totally went under the radar for me, I wonder why…

In retrospect it now seems as if the quiet August that followed was much needed, considering what would be following until the end of the year. I think my subconscious somehow tried to regain strength and save it for the upcoming events. Or maybe it was just the fact that I simply couldn’t afford a trip to London every month because then I probably would have to have slept under a bridge until the end of the year. Who knows.

September
Another birthday month, yay! Not mine, of course, but the one of Alison & Sarah. I wasn’t there when Ally celebrated her birthday in London, but I was as Sarah did 10 days later. I made a bad choice of a hostel on Russell Square (although it had free WiFi and it was quite close to Piccadilly Circus, but god, those STAIRS), walked way too much again, and of course, we went to see “We Will Rock You” together on Sarah’s actual birthday day and “Rock Of Ages” the day after. The WWRY night was absolute surreal and one of the most hilarious I experienced in my entire life (I will just mention the band that thought the birthday badges Sarah wore on her boobs were biscuits they stared at througout the entire show and of course Oliver Tompsett going “What nice big badges you have there!”). My night was absolutely made when the wonderful Alison caught Scott Monello, my very 1st Galileo at the Dominion in September 2012, before he could leave the Stage Door. I love this man to bits and finally meeting him was one of the most precious moments of my year 2013.

“Rock Of Ages” was another story. Can’t say anything else but how much I kept falling in love with this show and cast although I already knew it by heart. The two shows on the 21st were electrifying, and the best thing happening that day was that I finally got to meet the beautiful sunshine that is Noor, one of the RoAdie-Family. We were sat right next to each other, and what can I say: experiencing my favourite West End show right next to a RoAdie, to a friend, is the best thing that could have ever happened to me. Dylan Turner, who played Drew that day was breathtaking, so was everyone else, and I am more than proud I was part of the audience that day.

October
You’ll be absolutely surprised now when I tell you that two weeks after I had already been in London, I went back. Not? Alright then, was worth a try. It started with the most horrible and expensive train journey of my entire life, making me almost miss my “Rock Of Ages” matinee, but somehow (please don’t ask me why, because I still don’t know how I magically survived that) I made it after all. This time there were three highlights waiting for me and one I didn’t even know would be happening.

1. From Here To Eternity at the Shaftesbury
2. Rock Of Ages (shocking, huh?)
3. We Will Rock You

I have been watching out for “From Here To Eternity” since it had been announced that this new show would start at the Shaftesbury at the end of September. For me, being hugely interested in the Third Reich, and also, the story of “Pearl Harbor” (yes, I admit it, partly due to the movie, but come on, you gotta love Ben Affleck in that, and the music and the drama), it was a must-see for me. I went together with two other RoAdies, Ann & Mandy, and although our seats were not the best ones (B8, 9 & 10, at the far end of the row, with people constantly coughing and moving their heads infront of us the entire time although they were sitting in the FRONT ROW), it was a beautiful and at least for me, magical experience. That show totally got me under its spell, with the actors, the costumes, yes, even the love songs (everyone who knows me knows how much I despise love movies or songs), the entire storyline. I already can’t wait to hopefully be back in April 2014 for a 2nd visit.

“Rock Of Ages” was surprisingly good…okay, no big surprise there. It was wonderful to see Ross Hunter again, the smiley face that I had last seen 3 months before. The moment Nathan Amzi took a picture of me with Simon Lipkin probably will forever be one of my favourites in the history of Stage Door visits, due to the fact that I got to stand next to my boy a lot longer than usual (because the poor Steph who was at there with me had problems with my camera first) and him pulling me closer into him just before Nathan took the photo. I am that insane, I know. Plus, I finally met the adorable Rocky, the puppy of Tim Howar. Totally in love with him although I still prefer cats before dogs. And forever will, you just gotta love cats.

The “We Will Rock You” Cast Change…long story short: it was emotional. Heartbreakingly emotional. It was the day we had to say goodbye to so many amazing people, and three certain ones: Rachel John, Emma Hatton…and my Scott Monello. Alison, who was with me that night, and me were already a sobbing mess during “Radio GaGa” (the first song, for god’s sake), and we were done by the time “(No-One But You) Only The Good Die Young” started. That entire show was breathtaking, and the vocals of Oliver Tompsett were the best I had ever heard of anyone on stage; the audience was absolutely on fire, being part of that crowd that sung along with “Bohemian Rhapsody” as loud as they could…I can’t find words for it. The appearance of the one and only Mr. Brian May kind of made this night even more perfect, when he came up on stage during the guitar solo of “Bohemian Rhapsody”. It was wonderful all in all, I got to talk to a lot of Cast members way more than I had ever before – despite the crowd at the Stage Door that was insane – and I enjoyed every second of it.
 

Which made me the happiest person this planet, no, this universe has ever seen and will ever see is the fact that by pure coincidence, one of my closest friends, Susie, was in London at the same time I was (she’s from Scotland). We spent wonderful 6 hours together before she had to leave for home again, but that moment I finally got to hug her again after 5 almost unbearable months not being able to see and spent time with her…no words. Nothing will ever make me happier than that moment did.

November

This was the month I feared the most since it was the month were “Rock Of Ages” would close forever. It is also the month I cherish the most because despite all the tears and my breakdowns that last weekend in London for 2013, it was also the month I got to know and meet the wonderful Laura & Ali and felt the biggest support of an entire group of people/fans that I had ever experienced, although I met a lot of them for the very first time. It was madness when all the box offices were out of order for over three hours, it was madness when we all sang along for Natalie Andreou  when she broke down during “More Than Words”, and it was madness in general. There was so much love before, during and after the show that I can’t really put it into words. That’s why I’m going to let the pictures speak for themselves.

To have some chance to distract myself from my favourite show closing, I decided to go and see “The Commitments” the day after, and I have to say: it was good. Not the best thing I’ve ever seen and I think nothing that I need to see twice (hands down: I have never been and never will be a Soul person), but it was wonderful to finally see Ian McIntosh on stage, in a lead role, because I can’t say anything else than that he was breathtaking. Absolutely breathtaking.

December
Quiet month. Still recovering from half a year of travelling to the UK & Hamburg and back, 10 “Rock Of Ages” shows, 7 german “We Will Rock You” shows, 2 UK “We Will Rock You” shows, 1 “From Here To Eternity” show & 1 “The Commitments” show, including going through 2 heartbreaking Closing shows. Not even to speak of my bank account that was desperately in need of recovering. I’m not even kidding, the joke with sleeping under a bridge became quite scaringly real for quite a while.
Before this amazing year ended for good, there still was one thing that made this year absolutely perfect: I fulfilled myself one of my long-cherished dreams and finally got a tattoo on my right wrist on December, 23rd, the day before Christmas. It’s dedicated to “Rock Of Ages”, which has helped me through this year and the message that is behind its last song, “Don’t Stop Believin'”.

Because if there is one thing I have learned in 2013, it is that no matter how hard life gets, no matter how many times you get kicked down, how many times you’re let down, you should never stop believing that one day it will all get better. That one day, the sun will shine for you again, too, and you will realize it was all worth it.

On that note: HAPPY NEY YEAR 2014! May it be filled with loads of laughter, love, success & health for all of you!

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!

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!

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.

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!