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!

Caissie Levy Live At The Hippodrome 26.01.2013

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

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

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