We Will Rock You Dernière – Colosseum Essen 30.06.2013

So the day was finally there: the very last show of “WWRY” in Essen for God knows how long. I expected it to be emotional; but what I experienced during that show was beyond my imaginations.
The girls and I were at the Stage Door hours before the show started, to see and talk to the actors before and mostly, to give them their farewell gifts, in case that after the show there won’t be enough time. I didn’t really get the chance to talk to any of them…mostly due to the fact that I concentrated myself entirely on Andrea Sánchez Del Solar, who had arrived quite early. We chatted along, and I asked her to sign my Copper Book, and…well, talking to her was wonderful again. Just like I knew her for ages, not from a few times at the Stage Door. And I realized it wouldn’t be that easy to say Goodbye today, as she had really grown to my heart. Big time. I know it sounds pathetic and needy and weak, but she’s the one I miss the most; I miss her utterly every day, and I really hope I will be able to built up some kind of a friendship with her. I have barely met people with such a wonderful, lovely, genuinely nice and unique character like her.

Anyways, somehow I got to talk to Anna Lidman just before she rushed in, and after she signed my book and let me take a picture with her, I told her that I would be seeing her on stage, and wished her an amazing last show. SHE really grew to my heart, too, such a wonderful person. The fact that she saw me crying from the stage like someone had just died is quite embarassing, though.

Just before we went in to gave everyone the little free glowsticks for the show that Nurhan had ordered, I took a last sneaky picture of some of the ensemble members – a picture I wanted for such a long time and am actually pretty proud of, sue me 😉 (sadly only know that the two guys on the right are Nathaniel Scott & Dan Keightley, the guy on the left is the gorgeous Tom Nihill). These guys – and all the ones I didn’t catch in here, – are so underappreciated, which is a shame. Biggest talents in dancing and acting I’ve seen in a very long time.

Then we went into the theatre. Somehow I managed to switch my seat at the left side of the stage, Row 4, Seat 14, to the one right beside my beloved Katharina – right hand of the stage, Row 4, Seat 2 – just at the center aisle, which allowed me to have not only a perfect view of the stage, but also gave me the opportunity to go through this last show right next to a friend.
I knew this last show would be kind of special, which was proven by a lot of things:

1. During the scene where Bap/Pop is telling about the past, when Live Music was still allowed, and he was talking about “real men” and “women throwing their knickers at them”…which was the exact moment dozens of panties were flying onto the stage. Stefan Müller-Ruppert, who was playing Bap/Pop that night was actually pretty startled, stuttering “Y…yes, yes, I remember that…”, and while he was caught in the Laser Cage, being interrogated by Khashoggi, he actually tried to grab more than one of them. Then, hell broke loose. “Radio GaGa” started, and the whole audience went mad; everyone was cheering as loud as they could, clapping through the entire song, and what was the most amazing thing: everyone stood up, giving the singers/dancers their Standing Ovations while they were still performing! It was stunning, and just looking at the actors’ faces was enough to know how much they loved this, how much they appreciated it; I believe seeing Andrea Sánchez Del Solar grinning as much as I had never seen anyone of the GaGa-Kids grinning 😀

2. Brigitte Oelke, on as Killer Queen in that last show, was on fire. In that scene where Khashoggi reports to her and she gets her bikini zone waxed, and shouts “Wax!”, she suddenly put her hand up on the screen, holding a huge tuft of red hair in her hand – it was hilarious. And different to the usual script, she didn’t say “We destroyed every rock on this planet…and of course, the Katzenberger-Remembrance-Rock on Mallorca!”, but instead, blurted out “…and of course, the Jürgen-Drews-Remembrance-Rock on Mallorca!” (this is something only germans will understand as hilarious)

3. There is this one guy, Austin Garrett, who plays Axl Rose in the german version, and in the Heartbreak Hotel scene where everybody introduces themselves, he usually runs forward, falling to his knees, shouting his own name 3 times in a row, until the Rebel Leader tells him to shut up. Now, I knew that the day before in the Matinée, Austin had been allowed to shout out at least 7 times, so I hoped for it this time, too…sadly, it were only 4 times, but still, I loved it – as I love the entire scene.

4. “(No-One But You) Only The Good Die Young”…was horrible. It was the most heartbreaking thing I had ever seen on a stage. Soon after the first few notes that Anna Lidman (Ozzy/Meat) had sung, I saw one of the Ensemble members, Walesca Frank, wiping her eye, and a few seconds after, it was Andrea Sánchez Del Solar who also started crying. Me and my friend Katharine noticed that and I was already tearing up, as I always do when I hear the song….but all composure I had left me when I saw Christopher Brose (Galileo) crying like a baby on stage; he couldn’t stop at all, and after a couple of seconds, while tears where streaming all down his cheeks, he turned around, with his back to the audience, and all I could see were his shoulders, going up and down, and Chris shaking from all the crying. When the song was over, even the other men on stage where crying, and Markus Neugebauer (Brit) pulled Chris into his arms, comforting him, and the entire audience gave them Standing Ovations longer than anything I had experienced before. It was absolutely heartbreaking to see someone so professional being so touched that he loses all of his composure during a scene.

5. During the scene where the KQ plays with the GaGa-Girls and Khashoggi shows up to tell her the rebellion is vanquished and the KQ thinks for a short moment that they’ve won and started that short part of “Don’t Stop Me Now”, she’s usually interrupted by Khashoggi after a few seconds, and the next song started. This time, it was different. As I was told by Brigitte herself later, she and the GaGa-Girls all had planned a special something that neither Martin Berger (Khashoggi) nor the Band knew about: when Khashoggi interrupted her, she just kept singing the entire song! The band was so startled that for a few seconds, not a tune of music was played, leaving them thinking “What the hell?”, while Brigitte was singing, until they finally caught up and played along – it was hilarious. When Brigitte had finished and we all stopped cheering like idiots after Martin waved his hands and arms to make us stop, he changed his usual sentence into “Madam, and again, you have not let me finish talking!”, and Brigitte answering “You have NOT let me finish singing!”

6. Just short before “We Will Rock You” started, and Bap/Pop asks the audience if anybody wants to see his tits, everyone in the room went mad; we all cheered and shouted yes, and Stefan was smiling like an idiot. It was so wonderful to see Jeannine Michele Wacker (Scaramouche) smirking all over her face, saying “Shut up, Bap…and miscellaneous others!”

7. The Band was flawless that last time, and the Standing Ovations we gave them were more than well-deserved. They all got to our hearts when they waved their hands and arms, pulling weird gestures to make us cheer even louder and longer.

8. There was this special encore song I knew had also been played at the last show of this Ensemble in Basel, Switzerland: “Show Must Go On.” I didn’t think about it at all, neither did I ever expect that it would be the song I would love the most about the entire show. The 6 Main Actors got their own parts; when one person was finished (standing in a Spotlight that was centered on them), it went dark and the next one got his/her spotlight. And their voices…man, they were flawless. I think I have never heard Markus Neugebauer any better than in his part of the song; it still gives me goosebumps, and so do the parts of Anna Lidman & Jeannine Michele Wacker. No one can imagine the atmosphere all around the room in these 4 minutes; honestly, I have never felt so close to a family as I did while standing there, enjoying every tune that came out of the Cast’s mouths.

It’s actually embarassing, but I have to admit that I cried through the entire last 4 songs without even a slight break: “We Will Rock You”, “We Are The Champions”, “Bohemian Rhapsody” & “Show Must Go On”. Everyone was standing, so was I, but while everyone around me waved their hands from one side to another or clapped, I was just gripping tight to the chairback right infront of me, not even being able to look up to the stage. I was crying, shaking, trembling, and from time to time, shook my head in disbelief that this was really over in a few minutes. I wasn’t able to smile when Jeannine saw me crying, or Anna, neither was I able to give all of them the credit they deserved so goddamn much. I was a sobbing mess, and I had lost all composure that was left inside of me. Considering that I had already started crying when “Radio GaGa” had started, or when everyone stood up during “I Want It All” or even a bit durign “One Vision”, and of course, through the entire song “(No-One But You) Only The Good Die Young”, I was really surprised I had been pulling myself together until the end of the show. It had honestly been the most wonderful, yet heartbreaking show I ever had the pleasure and honour to be part of, and despite all the tears and everything, I would never ever trade that day for anything.

After the show, we all went to the Stage Door that one last time, and I barely remember anything that I talked about with the actors; I was getting autographs and pics, mostly, and of course, gave my two presents to Chris & Jeannine – they both got a Plushie that were made by a friend of mine, Kim (from London), Jeannine getting a Scaramouche one and Chris a Galileo one; I really wanted to give them something special, something to remember their roles in WWRY, something to remember me. When I gave the Galileo one to Chris, he was staring at it for a couple of seconds, and finally, he said “How AMAZING is THAT?!?!?! Is that for me?!” and showing it around to his colleagues, pretty happy and proud. He hugged me and I knew he was really loving it, which was the greatest gift for me in that instant. I told him I needed a pic with him and the Plushie as a proof he loved it, and after a few complications (he almost left without taking that picture), he told me to come into the corridor with him where only the actors had access to, went to the reception and asked the receptionist to give him the doll for a second. Then he stood there, posing, while I took my picture with both of them, feeling all happy and special 🙂

Same goes for Jeannine. She was smiling from one ear to another when I gave my personal letter to her and the Plushie, and I have to say, I always loved her smile to pieces, because she’s just such a gorgeous young lady. She was totally touched, hugged me tight and thanked me. Later, a friend told me (when I saw the Scaramouche Plushie lying on the ground somewhere) that Jeannine had handled her with kid gloves, like she could break any second, while she was putting her right next to her bag. It was all I needed to know that this, too, had been just the right present for her 🙂 I even saw a pic on facebook where she had it tight in her arm on the bus when all the actors where leaving Essen – the biggest gift ever for me!

I took a lot of pictures with a lot of people, but barely remember a word I spoke to them; it was so much input, and it was so emotional to stand there and know this would be the last time for a very very long time, partly forever, with these people, and honestly, I never wanted it to end.
Walesca Frank:                                                                            Christopher Brose:                                                             

Isabel Trinkaus:                                                                 Brigitte Oelke:                                                            Jessica Kessler:

Marianna Neofitou:                                                                Lucy Wilkerson & Koco Zavaleta:

Jeannine Michele Wacker:

And now the only thing for me to say now is: THANK YOU to everyone who made these 3 months so absolutely mindblowing, wonderful, emotional, unforgettable! Everyone of them is SO talented, and I wish all of them the best from the bottom of my heart, wherever their way will take them. I miss you all so much, but I strongly believe we will all see each other again somewhere. These guys made me the happiest person alive for 8 weeks, and it’s something I will be forever grateful from the depth of my heart.

We Will Rock You – Colosseum Essen 28.06./29.06.2013

1. Friday, 28.06. 2013

Now I officially belong to that part of the Musical Fandom that calls the ticket organisation just less than 24 hours before the event, asking for a last-minute ticket for a show. It was a must-see for me, as I had deeply missed my favourite 2 main actors on stage 3 days before, and I couldn’t wait until the Dernière on sunday.

I don’t really remember if there was anything special this time, I just remember that it was a wonderful feeling to see Chris & Jeannine back on stage (again: I DO have the highest respect for Stuart & Jessica on tuesday, they were great, but just not my faves!), because I feel like the way they harmonize with each other is way more emotional; I always melt when during “Who Wants To Live Forever”, Chris embraces Jeannine so tightly from behind – no Galileo I have seen so far has ever done it that way, and I think it’s a very important little detail.
Anna Lidman being back as Ozzy was good to see – knowing that she was really getting better from her sudden deafness. And she was amazing, the best show I had seen from her. It’s always so touching when after “(No-One But You) Only The Good Die Young”, she turns away when she’s done singing, and everyone in the audience knows she’s crying; to know that she loves what she does so much that it’s really touching her soul is wonderful and an honour to be a witness of.
And the audience was wonderful! I feel like except for my 1st show at the Colosseum on May, 3rd, it got better and better with every show, they were really carried away with enthusiasm every single time, including long and loud standing ovations, cheerings and clappings – I’m very proud I’m a part of this fandom that was around in Essen!

After the show, of course, I went round to the Stage Door, where I was meeting Nurhan & Katharina (whom I had got to know 3 days earlier and already loved them 🙂 ), and we got to talk to Stuart for a while again, who was so lovely and nice, and then, Andrea rushed out of the door, being in a hurry, but still took a few seconds to stop, hugging me and telling me that sadly she hadn’t been on as Ozzy that night, but I just told her I didn’t care, because she was on stage after all, which meant a lot for me, anyways. The girls and me stood around a bit longer, and when Nurhan wanted to take a picture with one of the band members – Jamie Humphreys, a really nice person with an accent that kills me everytime *lol* -, I noticed Nikolas Heiber coming out. I told him I wouldn’t be calling him Madonna again, because I already recognized him a week earlier. He laughed, and I asked him if anybody has recognized him ever since, but he said no, but that it would’t be that bad. I can tell you, I really wanted to hug that one, feeling sorry for him…instead, I asked to take a quick picture (what a stalker am I?), and I felt his arm grabbing me around my waist tightly, and he pulled me onto him close, and we both did the “Rock-Gesture” – I really love the outcome of it, and of course, I liked Niko even more after that 😉

2. Saturday, 29.06.2013

Craziest day/night I have ever experienced, by far…not going into detail in public here, but if you wanna know, just ask. This show was one of my favourites of all the times I went to go see it in Essen. It would be the first and last time I’d finally see Tobias Bieri as Galileo on stage, and I had heard how fab he was. He was playing along with Jeannine Michele Wacker as Scaramouche, and isn’t it such a cute thing if you think about that these two are a couple?! Anyways, due to a promo thing in another city, the main cast wasn’t on that night, meaning that many roles were different this time: Brit would be played by David Michael Johnson (DMJ), who is a total legend for german WWRY fans, being the first ever Brit, Martin Werth would be playing Bap/Pop instead of Dieter Bohlen (dunno the Dominion version of the Bohemian leader right now, sorry :/), Nikolas Heiber would be playing Dieter Bohlen instead of Madonna, Nicole Malangré was going to be on as Killer Queen, and Marjolein Teepen, usually on as one of the Teen Queens, was going to be Ozzy/Meat.

The show was amazing, Tobi really surprised me. When I heard him in “Who Wants To Live Forever”, I was really impressed of how soft and at the same time strong his voice sounded; and with his version of “Hammer To Fall”, he simply blew me away. You gotta know I never got along well with the thought of a blond Galileo with curly hair; for me, it doesn’t fit to the role, for me he somehow needs to have dark, short hair (tell me why I’m so weird about that *lol*). But when I experienced him singing, especially the high and really powerful notes, I whistled inside, because he was so fabulous. And he has this special kind of acting that Chris does not have, something still really childish and cute, which fits him perfectly (should I mention how cute I thought it was that the Shirt that is worn in that role seemed way to small for him and always slided upwards when he raised his arms or moved alot? 🙂 ) And he and Jeannine harmonized SO goddamn well! I had never seen her that happy on stage (she had been very happy before, but I guess being on stage with your boyfriend is always really special 🙂 ), and you could see how much both of them enjoyed their last time together on the WWRY-Stage…they were both absolutely breathtaking, and I really regret that I never had seen them up there before. At the end, during the last few notes of “We Are The Champions”, the stage definitely was all Tobi’s: he encouraged the entire audience to sing along with him he shouted “Eeeeeeooohhhh…” more than once and everybody had to repeat it, and every time he did it, the notes got longer, until at the last one, – which was SO long that no one of us could actually hold it at all -, we all just stood there, laughing, and Tobi….he enjoyed this so much, it was amazing to see we gave him exactly that kind of last Galileo show that he must’ve hoped for. And Jeannine having tears in her eyes proved that she had loved it and was grateful for the audience once again.

At the Stage Door after, first one to come out was Marjolein, and she was so nice! I told her it was nice to see her in a different role this time, and she concluded with “…not so evil, right?” When I had first met her a few weeks back, she must’ve been in a hurry or sth, because she seemed so distant and impatient and kind of annoyed, and I was glad I got to talk to her once more to see that my first impression was wrong 🙂 Then I finally caught Martin Werth…gosh, I had waited so long for this, as I had never recognized him at first, or just didn’t see him coming out…only to see him on SO many of my Stage Door pics with the other actors, actually photobombing almost all shots *lol* I told him that I was really impressed because I hadn’t expected his voice to be so fantastic and good, and that he had really blown me away. After that, I saw Nurhan, one of the 3 girls I had met 4 days earlier, talking to one of the Ensemble Members, Austin Garrett, who played Axl Rose (who oddly looks EXACTLY like Joey Primo in “Rock Of Ages”!!!!), and he was so lovely and cute, I can’t even. He was so touched when Nurhan gave him a small present, and it was really heartbreaking seeing that he had been crying for a couple of minutes, that he actually had a hard time pulling himself together…and it didn’t take long until the poor Nurhan, not being able to see others cry, started crying herself. That was the first moment I realized that the Dernière the next day wouldn’t be a walk in the park – for none of us. If only I had known then HOW much it would be killing me.

After that, Tobi and Jeannine finally came out, and I walked up to Tobi, telling him how breathtaking he had been, that he had really impressed me and that I absolutely had loved his performance, though nobody could hold this last high note of his 🙂 It was so lovely to talk to him and Jeannine, seeing them together (seriously, they must be the cutest couple I’ve ever seen). When I first took a pic with Tobi and then one with Jeannine (I told her how breathtaking I thought Tobi had been, and she laughed and said “Go tell HIM that, he never believes me when I tell him!”), I actually really wanted one with both of them, and somehow, at first, Nurhan ended up taking a picture with ONLY both of them, and it was hilarious and cute at the same time 🙂 After that, I got my pic with both of them, and that one is actually one of my favourite of all pics I took over the past 8 weeks. It’s one more wonderful memory that no one can ever take from me 🙂

We Will Rock You – Colosseum Essen 25.06.2013

This would be the first of the 5 shows I had seen so far that I would NOT see Christopher Brose as Galileo & Jeannine Michele Wacker as Scaramouche. A few hours before, I got the news that it would be Stuart Sumner as Galileo that night, and it made me very happy; I had heard how amazing he was, and I had talked to him 4 days earlier, and I was really excited to see him on stage. Scara was being played by Jessica Kessler, who I was also excited to see, after I had seen her on stage on TV a while back and thought she was great. And of course, the best message I got that day: Andrea Sánchez Del Solar was going to be Ozzy/Meat one last time! She had posted sth on facebook, and I had answered that I hoped she’ll be rocking her last few shows, and when she asked me if I would be coming that night, because she was playing Ozzy, I was seriously over the moon. I think I haven’t smiled so widely in a very long time 🙂

The first moment Stuart opened his mouth for “I Want To Break Free”  was amazing. I expected alot, due to everything I had heard about him and his voice, and he was breathtaking! He was capable of holding the notes for so many minutes, and he gave me goosebumps more than once…that man has a damn lot of talent! And he reminded me that nobody is perfect, when he forgot his text two times during the show: once, in the scene where Galileo & Scaramouche become friends, just before Scara tells Galileo that she had always wished for a friend, and the second time, just before “Who Wants To Live Forever”, where he stood there, stuttering for a split second. It was nice to see something so humane 🙂 And Jessica…well, I will be honest here: at first, I didn’t like the fact that when she talked, she put in her accent…which is one I absolutely HATE and disgust (it’s one spoken in some parts of my county, and I always refer to that accent as coming from people who are…well, not well-educated). But the more the show went on, I thought that it fits into Scara’s rebellious and cheeky character, and she was really funny in her role. Plus, her voice was great, too. Well, and my Andrea…she definitely KILLED IT! It was the best show I had seen of her, the voice coming out of her mouth was mindblowing! It was almost like…well, she knew I was sitting in the audience, she knew the seat I was sitting in, and I love to think that she was actually doing everything so it wouldn’t just be a special last Ozzy/Meat show for her and the entire audience, but especially for me, as she knew how she is my absolute favourite in that role, how I love her to pieces. And honestly? It’s a really nice thing to think that she gave her best for me, to impress especially me. Probably insane and ridiculous, but who cares? It’s what made and makes me happy, and that woman deserves every support she can get, even if it’s just through some stupid words/texts from me.

As it was the last show of Stuart as Galileo (he would still be on for the rest of the shows as Mick Jagger) and Leon Van Leeuwenberg‘s last show as Bap (I only heard it just before the show, I had no idea he would be leaving already), a few things were different:

1. When at the beginning, Bap talks about the old times, about hairy men being real rockstars and women “throwing their knickers at ’em”, a few girlie underpants were flying onto the stage! Leon was startled for a second, and he smiled widely from one ear to another. And when he was interrogated by Khashoggi, being trapped in the cage of laserlight, he tried to grab the panties, which was hilarious. Also, normally, Bap said “Love & Perestroijka…sexy baby!” (don’t know how to better describe it, sorry) just before he gets dragged away from Khashoggi’s men, but this time, he pushed his hand up into the air and shouted “Love & Perestroijka….you sexy motherfucker!” in a singing voice, just like Prince is doing it in his song – the audience freaked out!

2. Just before the part where the Killer Queen is being defeated, and Bap asks the audience if anybody wants to see his tits, Scara normally said “Shut up, Bap!”, but this time, Jessica & Stuart absolutely killed it: Stuart blurted out “Bap, pack in your breasts…” and Jessica concluded “…Bap, please put some clothes on!” You have to know, there’s a song in Germany that was pretty popular a while back, and it went like “Bettina, pack in your breasts, Bettina, please put some clothes on!” Therefor, you can imagine what was going on in the room at that moment 😉

It was quite an emotional show, and Stuart definitely got his moment for himself during “We Are The Champions”, when he encouraged the entire audience to sing/shout along with him, and these sounds reminded me SO much of his engagement as Cover Tarzan in Hamburg a few years back. And as the last few notes of “Bohemian Rhapsody” sounded, Jessica & Stuart walked up to each other, just when Stuart sang “Nothing really matters…” and Jessica/Scara is supposed to sing “…to me….”, she held out a red rose to him and her voice broke, so that she wasn’t able to sing her part – it was heartbreaking and beautiful together, and a wonderful end to their last show together.

After the show, I went to the Stage Door, though I didn’t really had much time to. I was lucky, as I got to catch Stuart, Andrea & Leon (with whom I wanted a pic so badly since my first time in the show, but never had the guts to walk up and talk to him!). It was amazing to talk to Stuart, just like old friends, and he was so nice and patient, it actually felt like he wanted to stand there and talk to his fans for the entire night. Such a lovely man!

And Andrea, of course…my little Latina girl…words can’t express how overjoyed I was, everytime I got to see her on or off stage. She always walks up to me with the brightest smile and pulls me into her arms, while hugging me so tight…it actually always feels like a friend, and that is the most beautiful feeling ever. Talking to her, I always just want to freeze time, because she’s such a wonderful person.

Leon was even nicer than I thought, he pulled me so tight up to him, just like a Daddy *lol* It was a shame that this would be the last time we would be able to see him, but I wish him all the best in the world, that man has talent!

My resumé: it was a good show, but…well, my least favourite from all the shows I’ve seen. I have to admit, I was really missing Chris and Jeannine, and I realized that no one – no matter how mindblowing and amazing they are, – will ever be able to replace these two for me as Galileo & Scaramouche. NO ONE. I have the highest respect and appreciation for everyone who has such a talent as Stuart & Jessica definitely have, I really do; but hands down, you all have your favourites, and no one can reach them.

We Will Rock You – Colosseum Essen 21.06.2013

The Cast this time was very promising. In my 4th show in Essen, I would FINALLY get to see Brigitte Oelke as Killer Queen, after missing her 3 times before. And I was not disappointed; I think it’s safe to say this was the most mindblowing german WWRY show I’ve ever seen. But from the beginning.

My seat was in the 1st row, just centimetres away from the stage, and I thought it was amazing. Sure, sometimes, especially during “Kind Of Magic”, when the KQ & Khashoggi are on this platform that rotates over the audience, I had to almost strain my neck to look up, but it didn’t take any of the magic away for me. Moreover, Brigitte was looking down at me fiercely more than once – that woman can scare little kids! No need to say that she’s perfect for that role, that her voice was killing me and gave me loads of goosebumps that night.

And Christopher Brose & Jeannine Michele Wacker again…they were on FIRE that night! I have never seen Jeannine better than this, her voice was perfect, the notes she hit were so powerful, and Chris…well, he definitely enjoyed that night so much. He outgrew himself, his performing was so amazing! Of course, I was a bit sad to see Andrea Sanchez Del Solar wasn’t on as Ozzy, but it was good that Anna Lidman was back on stage after her sudden deafness; her voice was amazing, one that you don’t hear often.

There was this small part just before the Bohemians defeat the KQ, when Bap asks the audience if anyone wants to see his tits, and Scaramouche tells him to shut up, where Scara rummages at her guitar, and when Jeannine said those words this time, you heard the laughter in her voice, and her entire face was a big grin; it was great to see that Leon as Bap caught up with this like it was part of the show. And he was amazing, even better than I knew him, and there was this moment when I was thinking about something really ridiculous: I had NEVER seen any of the actors on stage sneezing! Don’t ask me what was going on in my head, but I was really wondering how they manage that…and then there was the scene in the Arena of the Champions, and Leon was standing in the back while Chris & Jeannine were in the front, completely in their scene – and Leon sneezed! It was so surreal, and you could hear it loudly through his microphone, even as he said “Sorry” to no one in particular. It was even funnier as for several seconds, he tried to pull himself together while laughing about himself (with Chris & Jeannine catching that up and starting to laugh, too) – it was hilarious!

Oh, and the crowd – holy mother, WHAT A CROWD! Everyone was on fire, they all cheered and laughed and clapped, it was even better than last week. I had some pretty annoying swiss people right next to me, two real WWRY fans, and I know it’s part of the show, and I love it, when people cheer loud and all…but I had my reasons for wanting to slap them more than once when they started cheering when the songs weren’t even over. I hate that. Anyways, they were kind of nice, and during “We Are The Champions” they gave Chris the huge flag they had brought with them, and he used it  on stage, swung it around him; then a girl that I got to know over Instagram a few days earlier, Rebecca, waved Jeannine over to her and threw two little plush toys on stage, one for her and one for Chris, and they both played with them during the song, which was so touching; I think I actually saw Chris being really really touched by that gesture. Me, personally, I loved these little things.

After the show, of course, I went straight to the Stage Door, and this time, it would be actually crowded around there; as time passed, more and more people showed up, actors came out one by one so it was hard to focus on everybody and get pictures with the ones you wanted (therefor, I missed Chris, as he was talking to Rebecca, and also, I missed Markus & Leon; Markus seemed to be more focused on the two swiss people, and I felt like the third wheel, so I turned away). Anyways, first person to come out was Stuart Sumner, who plays Understudy for Galileo and also Mick Jagger. He had also been Understudy for Tarzan in Hamburg a few years back, and after hearing how amazing he must be as Galileo, I regretted that I neither had seen him in Hamburg nor now in Essen; both shows I will do before they leave, he won’t be on, sadly. Anyways, he was really kind and lovely, we talked like old friends, and when I asked him if they knew whether they’d be coming back, he looked at me really shattered and said that it was planned that they’re going to be back next year, but nothing was for sure yet, and also nobody knew when or where it would be.

Victor Baretto came out next, and he directly walked up to me, Rebecca & her mother as if we knew each other for a long time when I shouted “Bob!” and hugged us. I told him how damn good he smelled (that night, my stupid blabbering was ridiculous -.-) Such a lovely person! He was so nice, and when he and Rebecca found out they were from the same country – Brazil – AND born in the same town – Brazilia -, I turned myself a bit away, because I didn’t understand any of their portuguese *lol*

Nikolas Heiber, the guy who plays Madonna, came out next, and after I was first a bit taken aback by how goddamn GORGEOUS he is, I smiled at him when he looked at me and shouted “Madonna!”, and he came up to me, stopped right infront of me, and said: “This is the first woman who actually RECOGNIZED ME!” Everyone around was laughing, and I was telling him that of course I had recognized him, because I had been sitting right infront of his face the entire time. Then I had to tell him how GOOD he smelled, and by that time, Rebecca had already said that he was looking SO good, and he laughed and thanked us. When I also asked him about coming back next year, I could see in his gestures and the mimic in his face and his tone that he was really shattered and down that they’re leaving after only 10 weeks, that he really wished they would’ve stayed longer. It was really sad and touching to see that everyone of the Cast members loves this show and their work on it so much!

While I was talking to Niko, I saw Anna coming out, and I hated to miss out on her again, so I called her, walked over to her and complimented her on a great show, saying I was glad she was back (yes, I know she’s not my favourite, but she was sick, and what kind of person wishes this on anybody? I know she loves the job, she’s amazing, so she deserves to be okay and back on stage). Soon it got awkward, since I was blabbering away in german, until she said “Sorry” and I realized she understood even less german than I thought. I then told her that I’m really sad about June 30th being the last show, and she smiled shyly, saying that she was glad she won’t be alone on stage that day, because she would just be a sobbing mess. I didn’t think she was THAT nice, that I would really like her, but now I do 🙂

Next one…Jeannine. She was already out, talking with Rebecca, and I kind of just jumped into their conversation. I was telling her that I also had some special farewell gift for her and Chris, but they wouldn’t get it before Dernière day, and she thanked me, saying that I was so sweet for thinking about something like that. I then told her I will be back 2 more times, that I sadly miss her on tuesday, as I booked before knowing it was her day off, but that I was looking forward to it anyways and that I would see her again on June, 30th, though I was a bit scared (due to the fact that in this show, I already had tears in my eyes during certain songs, thinking about the end). Before she left, she hugged me again, but somehow, just before it was MY turn to leave, I went up to a girl I knew over facebook, Christin, and Jeannine was still standing there, talking to them, and she was quite surprised we knew each other. We then talked about this and that, unnecessary facebook friends, that we hoped that every of the last show should be as that one has been, and she told us she had to go home to practice a bit. When I told her: “You?! For what?! You don’t need any practice!”, she told us that it was for an audition, and we ended up joking about roles that seem not to be made for her age (Phantom & an old lady). It was actually like we all knew each other for years; she was so lovely and kind, and, before she left, hugged everyone of us tightly. Love her to pieces, in case you didn’t know already 😉

Last person I finally got a hold of was Brigitte, and it was so surreal to talk to her about grocery shopping in the end! I told her that I had missed her 3 times before and I really had wanted to see her as KQ, because one of my friends had seen her in that role and thought she was perfect for it (of course, I was blabbering such stupid stuff that night that I actually told her my friend totally dislikes the show because it’s too weird and crazy, and I can tell you, I’m SO sorry today for the shocked glare that showed up on Brigitte’s face!) Thankfully, she’ll be KQ the last two shows that I’m going to be part of, so I hope I can make it up to her somehow!

Resumé: despite the two loud swiss people who sometimes annoyed the hell out of me, the entire crowd at the Colosseum that night were flawless, rocking Bohemians, the Cast was totally on fire, and the show was one of the most memorable moments of my life!

We Will Rock You – Colosseum Essen 14.06.2013

And back again for my third time at the german version of “We Will Rock You”…and man, I can tell you, was I nervous! It would be the first time one of my friends finally joined me; she had neither read about the storyline nor the songs – NOTHING. And she had told me that she was expecting to NOT like it – yeah don’t make me feel too good here, will you?

Anyways, before the show started, I was literally bouncing in my seat, I was talking like the Niagara Falls, and the grin on my face must’ve been wide enough to include everyone in the room. Moreover, my favourite Galileo & Scaramouche were on again – Christopher Brose & Jeannine Michele Wacker, plus, I had talked to Andrea Sanchez Del Solar over the last couple of days and had gotten the confirmation that morning that she would be on as Ozzy again – perfect! When we reached the theatre, I already saw that I would also have yet another Killer Queen, my third one (Isabel Trinkaus, a german one finally *lol*) and another Bap, Stefan Müller-Ruppert. And I have to say, he wasn’t my fave, I just love Leon too much in that role, but he was great anyways. Just a little old man that you have to like, because he’s so cuddly 🙂

Of course, Jeannine & Chris killed it again. And due to an absolute amazing audience – it was almost like I was sitting at the Dominion in London; everyone was clapping and cheering and laughing at the right spots, etc., – every actor on stage that night really had a hard time. When it came to the part of the show where Galileo imitates Brit as he prepares to prove he’s the dreamer, where all these weird sounds and noises come out of his mouth and his movements are just hilarious, the entire room was giggling and laughing, and Chris seriously had to pull everything together to not burst out laughing on stage; I loved how the corner of his lips went up and at the same time, you could actually see him think: “No, stop it, you just can’t, stop it, will you?!” And everyone else on stage – Jeannine, Markus & Andrea, – turned their heads away from him, because otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to pull themselves together – loved it! I don’t know why, but it seemed to me that in that show, everyone was clicking so much better than anytime before, they had so much fun performing, singing and playing together, and it was a real family-like feeling.

Thankfully, I had yet some another wonderful memories that I will probably take to my grave with me one day *lol*:

1. Just after “Play The Game” was done, my friend, who I was so scared of looking at during the entire show, tapped me and just said 6 little words that completely made my night, if nothing else (in english, it’s 8 words, sorry^^): “This is so much more amazing than Tarzan!” Coming from her, with next to no expectations at all for “WWRY”, this meant the world to me. She was laughing and clapping the entire time and I just felt myself easing as the show went on, because I knew it had been the right decision to ask her to accompany me.

2. During “Who Wants To Live Forever”, almost at the end, when Galileo & Scaramouche stand on stage, Chris embracing Jeannine from behind, my friend pinched my arm hard, and when I looked at her, I knew she was LOVING it. She was loving the romance in that song, moreover, she loved the voices to pieces, and she thought it was beautiful. It sounds weird, but I felt so honoured she felt like it, almost as if it was me standing on stage and singing for her – she really loved what had become my life recently.

3. “We Will Rock You” – the moment that I’m always excited for the most – at least when I’m sitting right handed from the stage, close to the front. I knew that Scaramouche – Jeannine – would stand right infront of me, and my eyes were – pathetic, I know, now shut it – glued to her face the entire time when she started playing the guitar chords to the song. And in that moment were she really felt the song, looking into the audience to make sure everyone is stomping and clapping along with the music, – she spotted me in my seat, smiled and winked at me, and I hope to God my friend hasn’t seen the biggest grin growing on my face (that could make her jump to the wrong conclusions *lol*).

4. “We Are The Champions” – probably the one song of the show that I completely forget to give a shit about if I embarass myself infront of everyone in the audience. As I was singing every song along for the entire 3 hours, it was only natural to sing that one song along, too. As Chris sung the first few notes, I looked over to my friend, making a very clear gesture with my hand: palm upside, pushing them up and down again – I wanted her and me to be the first to give the Cast their deserved Standing Ovations. But my friend was too shy, and I sat there, staring at Chris singing and enjoying every bit of the song, and I just thought: “Fuck it!” and got up as the only person in the entire audience. Chris’ face instantly turned around to me, and he had the biggest grin ever on his face. He pointed with his left hand onto me, smiling, silently thanking and giving me an imaginative High Five with it, and again – the smile on my face must’ve looked ridiculous. I barely noticed everyone else standing up just after me, including my friend, who only seemed to have waited for me to be the first, because I was so focused on Chris and the others singing. I also noticed Jeannine looking over to me during that song, smiling, and she nodded at me, probably silently thanking me too, and I knew how much it meant to both of them and everyone on stage that I stood up and gave way for everyone else’s Standing Ovations.
Then something really heartbreaking happened: I was looking at Jeannine, suddenly realizing that she had gotten really emotional – she had started crying while still being on stage! Her eyes had started to go reddish, and I saw a few tears streaming down her face, and at one point, just before the first Curtain Call, she started shaking her head from one side to another to shake off her emotions and tears. It was really touching, and I myself had to pull myself together, fighting against the urge to run up on stage and hug this little person. And my thought was: “If she’s crying NOW, how is she going to survive the very last show in 16 days?!” Please don’t let me think about it. Seriously. Don’t.

6. Just before the very last Curtain Call, after “Bohemian Rhapsody”, everyone was coming up to the edge of the stage, taking their bows, waving and thanking the audience, and instead of Jeannine it was now Andrea who stood right infront of me; again, my eyes were glued to the front, trying to catch her eye, and as she was letting her view wander around in the room (and just before the Curtain fell down, seriously, couldn’t have been more than a few short seconds!), her eyes caught sight of me. The light of recognition flickered up in them, she started smiling widely and waved at me, and me, startled as I was, just realized in time what was happening to wave back at her – so surreal!

Well, after the show, right off to the Stage Door (with an old guy behind me saying “Oh, there’s someone who has to get her train”, as I shoved my way past him; yeah, sure, my TRAIN *lol*). There I was with my friend, and we both were the only ones waiting (I’m so glad I wasn’t there alone, as I had always had at least ONE person to be there to take my pictures and all!). It actually felt like hours until Andrea finally came out as one of the last ones (or at least one of the last/only ones I did recognize). Still walking through the corridor, when she spotted me, I saw the biggest smile on her face as she came up to me. She pulled me into her arms, hugging me, shaking my friend’s hand and when we three talked it was like I knew her for years, which was so surreal, considering this was the first time I saw her face to face, talked to her. She was so nice and patient, and I told her how happy I was that she had been on that night, that I was glad I had had the luck to come to the show just when Anna Lidman (First Cast Ozzy) had become sick – though of course, this doesn’t mean I wish her any bad! You just have your favourites, right? Sadly, Andrea didn’t know if she’d be on the next friday, when I would be back, but I said that I’ll cross my fingers for that, because I just loved her performance again. Before she had to leave to pick up her boyfriend, we took a quick picture (with the amazing Robert Lindemann in the background, such an amazing guitar hero 😉 )- which I love to pieces, seriously, – she hugged me and my friend again and left. Words can express how much I adore this little person!

While I was talking to Andrea, I saw Chris coming out, and scared of missing out on him (he looked like he was actually about to leave immediately), I shouted “Chris, could you wait for a few minutes?”. Seriously, it came to me after that, that I did that each of the 3 times I’ve been at the show now; I’m ALWAYS talking to someone else from the Cast when he comes out, and I ALWAYS have to ask him to wait for me – this is becoming kind of a running gag, haha! When he came up to me, he smiled and pulled me into his arm, hugged me, and I told him that I was now back earlier than I had told him last time, and I somehow managed not so squeak when he remembered that I had said that on his facebook Fan Page a few hours earlier. I then asked him for the Autograph Card he had promised to bring me on June, 21st, and he actually had them in his backpack. While he was rummaging inside of it, he made my night even more by asking “For whom have you been asking again for the Autograph?” and inside I was like: “Uhm…what…? Uhm…me?” When I told him that, he laughed, said “Oh, alright!” and gave me and my friend each one, saying that after the last time I had seen him, he had gone up and started writing all the Autographs. SO sweet of him, isn’t it? We took a quick picture, which was funny, as my friend had some issues with the flash on my camera and when the first pic did turn out all blurry and bad, she blurted out: “Let’s take another one, Chris, you don’t look good on this one!” and Chris was like: “What? Me?” I laughed out loud and felt a slighlty bit embarassed telling him that he always looks good indeed, but I think he already had understood that she had just made a joke. I told him my goodbyes until the next week and he went off talking with some other fans he knew.

Then finally, it was time for Jeannine, whom I have seen coming out, and she had almost left, but I asked her to wait for me shortly; during my talk with Chris, I had seen her talking to some other people, pointing at me as to say “That one’s waiting for me, too” before coming up to me and hugging me tight. I noticed she was in a hurry, but she was still so patient and nice, and I told her that I had seen her crying on stage, and that I had told myself the same time to NOT starty crying myself, because that normally happens when I see anybody cry infront of me. She laughed and said that it was going up straight to the end, that it gets more and more emotional, and when I told her that next week she just can’t cry or I have to bring her some handkerchiefs, the laughed. Sadly, as she had to catch her train, there was not more time to talk to her, but she still took her time so I could take my picture with her.

After that, my friend and me waited for a few more minutes, because I wanted to talk to Isabel, but as I almost knew she probably had been walking past me (because I just don’t recognize her without all her KQ Make-Up), we decided to go home – with my new Autograph Card AND a brand-new WWRY T-Shirt (that I had bought during the Interval) in my bag! 🙂

We Will Rock You – Colosseum Essen 17.05.2013

Only two weeks since I had last seen the show, but I’d decided to go again; seems like I have a lot to catch up on after the last 5 years.
This time, I had an even better seat: last time, the “good” action on stage, meaning the actors looking directly into the audience, smiling at them, etc., happened to the right hand of the Stalls, and when I booked, I knew that I wanted to sit on the right, hoping for some smiles this time…and I wasn’t disappointed. I had a striking view of the stage, it was all clear and I knew this was going to be good.
Once “Innuendo” started, my skin was crawling of goosebumps again – as it does everytime. I was almost jumping in my seat waiting for “Radio GaGa”, because I’m always curious about how good-looking they all are…and my, this time, they were even more gorgeous. There was that one GaGa Boy that I couldn’t take my eyes off of, but of course – lucky me – when they all came up to the edge of the stage, he was on the LEFT side of it, while I was sitting on the right. Nice.
I will not talk about every detail here, as I did that the last time, I just need to say that it was the best WWRY performance I had seen so far, maybe only slightly bettered by the one at the Dominion in London where I’d seen Oliver Tompsett on stage. It was BREATHTAKING. Christopher Brose & Jeannine Michele Wacker were on again as Galileo & Scaramouche , and I was so looking forward to meeting Jeannine again, as I had kind of stayed in touch with her over the last two weeks, she even sent me and so many other people who are in her facebook group free autographs with a cute dedication, which me made me love her to pieces already. I can’t put into words what happened on stage that night, I really can’t. It was absolutely mindblowing, although, after last time, I really didn’t expect that anybody on that WWRY stage could get any better…but they did, and HOW THEY DID. Jeannine was on fire, I thought I would explode during her last long vocal in “Somebody To Love”. I felt like she and Chris harmonized so much more than two weeks ago, you totally bought it that they’re in love (on stage). And they both have this comedic timing, especially Jeannine, and the audience just loved them. And there were 3 little things that made this night even more special for me:

1. During “I Want It All”, when Brit & Ozzy (Meat) encourage the entire audience to clap along with them in that song, Markus Neugebauer (who was Brit again that night) stood at the edge of the stage on the right, and his gaze went through the first few rows, and then, suddenly, he looked me directly in the eye and grinned like a little boy, and my smile must have looked absolutely ridiculous! I even thought for a moment I would start squeaking.

2. During “We Will Rock You”, Jeannine stood on the right side of the stage, almost directly infront of me, there was only one person blocking me from a clear view. She encouraged the crowd to clap along with the song (which is, together with the hands-clapping encouragement during “I Want It All” always my favourite part of the show), and she must’ve seen me sitting there from the corner of her eye earlier, because it wasn’t long until she looked at me directly, stared at me for a couple of seconds while playing the guitar, and her smile was so wide as she recognized my face, and it got even wider the longer we looked at each other! She knew I would be in the audience, as I had told her on her fb page, and it was such a wonderful feeling to know that she was happy to see me. I must’ve looked like an idiot, smiling from one ear to another, and I felt like waving at her. Which I didn’t, as this would’ve been really creepy and stupid.

3. During “We Are The Champions”, Chris stood at the edge of the stage, right in the middle, so I had to turn my head a bit to the left, and he was grabbing at his microphone, singing into it enthusiastically, and his gaze went through the audience, went over to the right hand of the Stalls, and suddenly, he looked straight at me – and winked! At that moment I was pretty sure the squeak that was stuck in my throat just must’ve been actually heard somewhere in the universe.

Well, after the show (after 4(!!!) curtain calls), I went round to the Stage Door fast, as I didn’t really have much time (had to get up the next morning at 5am and would be at home around 1:20am). I was scared again that I would be there on my own this time, but somehow God must be a Bohemian, because when I went around the corner, there were a few people waiting there already. I walked over to a blonde girl named Raphaela, who came all the way from Austria with her mother, and when I asked them if it was okay for them if they took my pictures for me, they said “Sure!”, and I borrowed them my pen in return, because they wanted to get some autographs and couldn’t find theirs. It’s underestimated when I say that they were really happy that someone was with them who actually could recognize the most important actors when they came out, and I was just happy I would have my pictures and didn’t look like a stalking idiot.
First one to came out was Jeannine. Someone was blocking my way the entire time, so I moved my head from one side to another, and finally, I caught her eye. She smiled at me, and I walked up to her, saying “Hi” like we were old friends (which, honestly, now feels so creepy and weird). She smiled even wider and there was this second where I saw her slightly stretching her right arm, like she wanted to hug me but felt weird doing it, and I wanted to hug her, too, but felt also stupid, but then, I just went for it. She must’ve noticed that, because we hugged each other after all 🙂 I told her that it was a mindblowing performance, and that I really didn’t think she could get any better since the last time, that it was absolutely amazing. She was so taken aback, and again, it felt weird seeing her like a little girl who isn’t really comfortable with these compliments, like she couldn’t actually believe this all was real. She then said that it had been an extremely emotional show, and I told her that she looked like that, because her eyes were red and puffy and were watering in tears. I wanted to know what had happened, but she just said something I couldn’t quite understand, only thing I got was that I might hear from “him” later on fb or somewhere (don’t really know what it was all about, but it sounded serious and difficult, and I actually thought Jeannine would burst out crying infront of me. I just wanted to comfort her with a hug, but stopped myself). I then gave her a little plush toy I got her and Chris, which was a little cow with a shirt, a souvenir from my hometown plus some chocolate, and she was so touched about it that she thanked and hugged me again. I asked her for a picture together, and when I got it, we stood there for a few moments, and she told me that her knee was bleeding due to the many falls on it on stage, and I offered her a band-aid, which she said she didn’t need because she’s already used to it. After she had given Raphaela her autograph and a picture, I asked her if she would be on stage in 5 weeks when I would be back at the Colosseum, and when I told her it was a friday again, she said “Of course, I’m always on on fridays”. I smiled at her, said my thank you again and that we’re going to see each other on the 21st of June again. God, how I love this little cutie to pieces!

Next one to come out was Christopher (why do these two always come out at the same time LOL). He spotted me and first looked like he didn’t know himself if he remembered me, and I was startled at first, then walked up to him, and we talked a bit. I told him the same things I had told Jeannine, and he also was really touched, expecially when I gave him his treats, a small plush lion with the same shirt as the plush cow that Jeannine got from me, and some chocolate. He thanked me, hugged me, and we both took a picture. When I asked him if he was on stage the 21st of June, he said that normally he is of course, unless something unexpected happens, and I smiled and said that I was pressing my thumbs that all went well on that matter. Raphaela asked him for an autograph in her programme, and Chris then asked us what we would think suits him better, shorter or longer hair (as his head shot is honestly drop-dead gorgeous with his short hair), and I just said “Short, definitely.” He laughed and said that everyone is telling him something different, but that he decided to let it grow a bit longer. Before he turned to his Cast Mates, I then asked him if he had an autograph card on him (because I love that one of him and really wanted one). He said he unfortunately didn’t, but when I asked him if he would bring me one on June 21st, when I was coming down again, he said that he would definitely do that. Such a beautiful person!

Then Markus came out, and I had told myself not to let him pass again, which I had done 2 weeks ago. I was standing there with Chris, and I just had said my goodbyes to him, and Markus was standing right beside me all of a sudden. Raphaela was the first to talk to him, told him that she had to greet him from a friend of hers in Austria, asked for a picture and an autograph…well, and it got weird, as Markus asked me to hold a shirt that he was carrying around on a coathanger. I stood there like an idiot, told him how amazing he was, and that he looked SO similar to a friend of mine when I had first seen his head shot. He asked me what the name of this friend was, and I told him “Sascha, but you won’t know him”, and he laughed. I gave the coathanger to Raphaela and got my picture with him, I asked him if he will be on in 5 weeks, and I was happy when he said that he probably will be. Only later when I looked at the picture again, I realized that rigth beside the door, Léon Van Leeuwenberg was standing with a cigarette in his hand, and I. just. didn’t. recognize. him! Such a shame, hope I will next time!

Then there was Martin Berger, who had played Khashoggi again, and Raphaela and her mother must’ve known him, as they were chatting along like old friends. I walked up to them, hearing how he was telling them that after WWRY, he will be playing a role in the theatre version of “Catch me If You Can” in Austria, and I said that I just had to somehow see him in it (that movie is amazing!). I asked for a picture, got it and he was off.

Last but not least – I have to admit I would’ve completely ignored her, as I just didn’t notice or recognize her, – Marjolein Teepen was there, who had played the Killer Queen that night. I have to say, on the high notes, she was really, really good, she was mindblowing, but sadly, too often, her voice was so quiet, and when the music was playing, I could barely understand her. But her gesture and mimic was…wow. That was the first time that a character on stage actually could scare the hell out of me. It was amazing, like she had never done anything else in her life, like she was born for this. I told her how much she could actually scare me, and she laughed and said “Yeeeees!” and I replied “Well, that’s the intention, right?” I then asked for a quick picture and she was off.

I say it again: BEST WWRY SHOW I HAVE SEEN SO FAR, and now I’m even more in love with this show and its german Cast.

We Will Rock You – Colosseum Essen 03.05.2013

Finally, finally, FINALLY! I was finally back at the german version of “We Will Rock You”, which I had last seen in Cologne over 5 years ago, on January, 13th, 2008. For months, since I had booked my ticket, I was so excited, I could barely think of anything else. And when I found out who the First Cast Galileo & Scaramouche would be, I was even more excited, because they seemed like THE perfect fit for the roles: Christopher Brose & Jeannine Michele Wacker.
When I got inside the Theatre, the first thing I did – of course! – was providing myself with merchandising (I needed memories, as the Show would only be in Essen until June, 30th). Bought the programme (which looks better than I expected, knowing the german programmes), the CD with the Cast Recording from Cologne from 2004 and a black WWRY mug, which I already love to death.

When I got to my seat, I realized I had the perfect one. Third row, Seat 3, amazing. I had a clear view on the stage, and only the seat infront of me was even more perfect. When the show started and the first notes of “Innuendo” blasted through the speakers, I felt this tingling sensation all through my body, my skin was covered in goosebumps, and the only thing that was missing was me jumping up and down my seat. “Radio GaGa” was – as always – mindblowing. When I had seen the Show for my 1st time 5 years ago, it was THAT song that made me fall in love with it. I love how all the actors sing together, how synchron the all move, dance and sing, it gives me so many shivers everytime…and of course, everyone of the GaGa Kids was goddamn good-looking, it shocks me everytime how beautiful they all are.
Well, then, it was time for Galileo & Scaramouche to get on stage…and oh my, was I blown away. Christopher’s first few minutes on stage were just wow, he is such an amazing actor! Every movement of him, every word has his own little story, and his intonation is absolutely flawless. Even before he started singing “I Want To Break Free”, I fell head over heels for him, because he was just perfect. His portrayal of the lost, lonely rebel that doesn’t know his place in the world was so great, you really buy it because he’s so convincing in everything he does. His voice is breathtaking (though I felt like sometimes, he’s got tiny problems with the very high notes in the songs, but that could just be me being spoiled by Oliver Tompsett, the First Cast Galileo at the Dominion Theatre in London), and it’s a voice you don’t forget because it’s really special.
And Jeannine as Scaramouche…holy cow, what a voice, what an acting talent, what a woman!! Every movement of her on stage was mindblowing, and when she came to my favourite part in “Somebody To Love”, where the actress has to reach the really high pitches, and kind of stop breathing while singing…I thought I’d die right there. God, she was BREATHTAKING! It took all composure I could bear that I did not start squeaking. And of course, she is such a cute little girl, perfect height for the role (I’m so sorry, Jeannine, but it’s true 🙂 ), and in everything she does, says or sings, she totally convinced me that she loves that role and that she’s dedicated to her job and her fans. And the smiles she gave the audience whenever they cheered very loudly, they were priceless, and made me love her to bits.
A few things stayed in my mind so well and made that night even more special for me:
– During “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” (one of my favourite songs EVER from Queen), I stared at Christopher, and I swear to God, there were two (!) times in that song that he looked and smiled at me from the Stage (or it was just my imagination because I wanted it to happen, haha), and I instantly caught myself grinning from one ear to another, my face probably going from white to red 🙂
– During the second scene where Galileo, Scaramouche & Pop (Bap in german) ride on the motor bike and sing “Headlong”, I could swear again that, before the bike turns over and the three are with the backs to the crowd for a few seconds, Christopher looked and smiled at me again! My smiley face must have looked absolutely ridiculous.
– During the scene when Kashoggi (played by Martin Berger, who plays him since the Premiere in 2004) tortures the Bohemians, he actually called the guy who played “Bob The Builder” not by his name, but “Madonna”, who’s actor sat on the other side of the stage! I don’t think many people realized that, but it was a very special moment for me, because noticing these little flaws makes me so proud, as it means I’m starting to be one of these fans that notice every little detail about their show 🙂
– Last but not least, when Pop (Bap) realizes he’s a groupie and ask the crowd “Does anybody wants to see my tits?”, we were all cheering, and then, suddenly, someone in the crowd yelled “Get undressed!”, Léon Van Leeuwenberg (playing Pop/Bap that night) AND Christopher Brose started smirking like little schoolboys, and you could actually see Léon trying to regain his composure, it was priceless!
Of course, the show was over WAY too soon, and there were four (!!!) curtain calls, Christopher always ducked himself as far down as possible, giving all of us huge grins and thumbs up, and made us cheer even louder. I then headed out to the Stage Door, already scared that I would be standing there all on my own, with no idea what to do or even how I’m going to manage to get my pictures, but at the same time, adrenalin and pure happiness was rushing through me. Luckily, there were two other girls from Berlin standing there, Claudia & Heike, and I got to talk to them, and we waited together. First person I recognized and actually really wanted to talk to was Jeannine Michele Wacker, and god, she’s is such a lovely, kind, patient and cute person! I told her that it was my first time back at the german version of WWRY after 6 years (I only realized later that it had only been 5 ), and that I absolutely loved it, and especially her. When I told her that I had seen the show at the Dominion in London, she told me that she had seen it, too, and that her Scaramouche back then had been the amazing Lauren Samuels, and that she thought she was amazing. I then told her that I have a favourite Scara in London, and that she, Jeannine gets really high up my favourite Scaramouche list, that I’ll put her almost on the same step with her. God, she was so overwhelmed and touched by those words, and I just wanted to take her into my arms and hug her because she was so cute and it seeemed to me that she still couldn’t believe she was in that role every night. I then asked her for a picture and an autograph, she asked me for my name, and before she left, I told her I’ll definitely be back again at least one or two times until the show closes.

Next person to come out was Goele De Raedt, who had played the Killer Queen that night. You have to know, I’m a bit spoiled by how Katie Paine plays that role on the West End, but somehow, Goele seriously made me think of Katie ALL THE TIME. On stage, with the outfits, she looks so much alike her, and her portrayal of that evil character is absolutely flawless. From where I sat, she could actually scare the hell out of me, with all her perfect facial expressions, and her voice was absolutely stunning, especially when it came to the really difficult notes or the high pitches. At the Stage Door, she almost ran away when she came out, but Claudia called her back (as she knows her personally), and we got to talk to her a bit. She was so nice and lovely, and when I asked her for a picture, she said “Oh, I look so awful right now!” and that was all that it took to make me really like her, because it made her look like such normal woman!

Last but not least: Chrisopher Brose. Oh God. While I was talking to Goele, I saw him coming out, and before I could think any further, I shouted “Christopher? Could you wait for a moment?” and he looked over to me, said “Yeah, sure!”, put his bag down at the door and came over to me. I told him that I absolutely loved the show, and that he was unbelievable, also, I asked him if “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” was the song he loves to perform the most, because it had seemed to me that he had special fun during that song, with the smiling and all, and he said that it really means a lot to him if someone notices these little things in the show. I said that I’ll definitely be back at least one or even two more times until the show closes, and he said “Yeah, please!” Of course, I told him, the prices are really high and it’s a question of money, but that the show is worth every penny I have to pay, and he then smiled and said “Yeah, I didn’t want to say it like that, but I agree, and it really makes me happy that someone thinks that.”, and he also asked me where I was sat, resulting in my answer than I sat in Row 3, almost directly infront of the Stage and that it was perfect. I then asked him for a picture and an autograph, he asked me for my name, and when I got both, I thanked him, said “See you soon!”, and he walked over to his Cast Mates for a quick cigarette before they all left.

So, it was the BEST night I had had in a very long time, and I can’t thank Claudia & Heike enough for being there with me, taking my pictures for me and just being nice to spent time with. Definitely have to do that again some time! 🙂