The Power Of Music

We all know it – we smell a certain scent and it brings us memories that we have put away a long time ago. Like the smell of freshly cut grass, that reminds me, personally, always of the summers as a teen, when I used to play badminton with the two neighbor boys on the lawn next to our house.

And the same thing happens with music.

Last night, out of the blue, I started an 80’s playlist on Spotify. Don’t ask me why – maybe I can blame the Corona Crisis and the resulting lockdown that has kept me from being able to have my weekly coffee intake in my favourite coffee shop in over two weeks (seriously, though – do one, COVID-19, I need my hipster coffee!). Anyway, the moment the songs started shuffling, it was like I was thrown back into 2013; a crazy time, but also – the best time of my life. I earned about 400€ less than what I earn nowadays, and yet, from July on, I travelled every single month to London for a (long) weekend to spent time with people I met there at a musical who’s music was – surprise, surprise – all 80’s music.

Take “You Give Love A Bad Name” by Bon Jovi, for example. When I hear it, I remember the very first time I ever stepped foot into the Shaftesbury Theatre, where that song was played before the show, making you feel the buzz of anticipation.

Or “Livin’ On A Prayer”, also by Bon Jovi. All I think is about a show’s Cast Members walking through London, being generally weird as fuck in their Stage Costumes (Mullets rock!).

Or “Pour Some Sugar On Me” by Def Leppard. Hearing it, in my mind, I am standing next to a then not-yet-friend who was seated next to me on September 22nd in her “Franzy says No!” T-Shirt and who was infectious with her anticipation and giddy mood – which was the start of a wild ride of meetups and Stage Door antics.

Or “Thriller” by Michael Jackson – here I am, waiting in line at Madame Tussaud’s with the same friend, who not only knew, but also danced along to all the lyrics.

Or “Can’t Fight This Feeling” by REO Speedwagon – I know it’s a sad song, but whenever I hear it, I can’t stop smiling thinking of two men up on stage, one blowing fog with a Fogmaster 5000 and both basically having a makeout session in public.

“Radio GaGa” by Queen at the beginning of the very first West End Show I visited on my very first trip to London (which was actually at the end of 2012, but you know, it started it all and there were many more visits to that show in 2013), which, up to this day, never fails to give me goosebumps. Although, to be fair – all Queen songs do that, so…yeah.

Or, of course – the never not appropriate “Don’t Stop Believin'” by Journey (actually, it has just come up on Shuffle and now I’m sat here crying) which in the past 7 years has become MY hymn for the year 2013. If anything throws me right back into that crazy, hysterical year, it’s that one. It makes me think back to Standing Ovations, Lunge-ing hopes at every visit, mornings waiting at the Box Office to get the best seats for the day, evenings in the freezing cold (which gave me my first very serious Peri-Bronchitis, thank you very much, London!) waiting for people coming out of the theatre who had become some kind of family for our group of giddy girls, just the general feeling of belonging to something where you’re not judged, where you don’t judge, where each and everyone was one and the same. And a few friendships from back then are still going strong, and I think due to what 2013 and that 80’s music brought us, and despite us all growing up more with the years, moving on, getting married, having families, it will always keep us together one way or another.

In fact, I think the 80’s were one of the best era’s of music the world has ever and will ever have, right along with the 90’s (I’ll always be a 90’s kid, can I get a “Yayaya Coco Jambo”?). The lyrics back then, they made sense, they were uplifting, they spoke of heartache, of loss, of true love, of desperation, of hope. Nowadays, all that is on the radio is various abominations of David Guetta’s style (seriously – how can almost every song these days sound the same? That damn autotune…) or songs by idiots calling themselves RIN, Capital Bra, Apache or Bausa who degrade women in almost all their songs and call that “rap music”.

So…music. Lifting you up when you need it, taking you back to wonderful times (seriously, though…how did I pay for all those trips then? How did I not have to worry a dime about my IBS or my weight gain? How could I sleep for days in Hostel rooms with at least 3 other strangers? Was I possessed? We’ll probably never know), letting you dance and sing along to songs long forgotten that nevertheless still pull on your heartstrings. It can be a song that reminds you of a dream coming true (like Two Steps From Hell’s “Heart Of Courage”, which reminds me of witnessing the triumph of our soccer national team, becoming World Champions in 2014 after 16 years of being a fan and waiting for that day), or songs that make you so giddy you turn back into a 14-year old fangirl (helloooo, Backstreet Boys!). Music is timeless, and it’s more powerful than anything else in the world.

So thank you, music of the 80’s and really, any kind of music. Like a great poet once said:

“Now I’ve had the time of my life.
No, I never felt like this before.
Yes, I swear, it’s the truth.
And I owe it all to you.”

(Spoiler: it was not a great poet, it was a cheesy 80’s movie that I still have never seen and never plan on seeing up to this day. But you got to admit, that tune’s damn catchy.)

Queen + Adam Lambert Live Open Air – RheinEnergiestadion Köln 27.05.16

My 1st ever concert, and what a show it was.Pelting rain from the moment the supporting act (Larkin Poe) came on stage until the very end…but what is an Open-Air gig without rain? 🙂

There were surely a few songs missing that I would’ve thought of being put on their setlist, too (“Show Must Go On”, “(No-One But You) Only The Good Die Young”, to only name two amazing songs), but overall, the setlist done was perfect. It was all a big party as well as a lovely reminder of Freddy Mercury, who was inserted singing on the big screens during two songs, which made the entire crowd cheer even louder than they already did. The entire band made sure nobody would forget that we all wouldn’t have been there that night if not for Freddy.

Adam Lambert
That damn hot limelight hog! What a man! He did more than great. Although he surely does not hold the notes at the end of “Somebody To Love” as Jeannine Michele Wacker in the Musical “We Will Rock You” does (but maybe that is just the way he decided to do it, to give the song his own special note, which is nevertheless great!) , his voice is absolutely phenomenal and harmonizes so well with the music and the voices of Brian and Roger. His stage presence is worthy of being in Freddy’s place; he catches the audience with just a smile, or a wink, or even just saying “I’m so queer!” when playing with an umbrella in the rain of Cologne (“My feathers!” was his explanation, regarding his black costume, done with loads of  feathers). There were high notes that would almost make your ears bleed, both because they were perfect, as well as belted out. Adam also absolutely knows how to play with the audience, to find the balance between letting the crowd wait and cheer for him, Brian and Roger to come (back) on stage, and making them cheer, scream, whistle and clap even louder as soon as the next song starts. I’ve always dreamed of one day seeing him on a stage, and it was definitely worth the wait.

Roger Taylor
Without this man, Queen wouldn’t have been the same. I can’t believe where he, being his age, gets the power of doing a drumming solo stand-off with the other drummer, Rufus Tiger-Taylor – his son – the way he did – and always smiling while at it! At about the middle of the concert, he sat on his drums, starting slowly, alternating with his drumming partner, each of them trying to exceed the other one’s drumming set. And Roger surpassed any expectation I’d ever had. The rate at which he kept playing for minutes, over and over again, surely made the crowd’s heads spinning, and when, towards the end of his drumming stand-off, he and Rufus fell into a joint rhythm that made the floor rumble, the audience was in his hands. It was all topped when he sang “These Are The Days Of Our Lives”; that song has always made tears well up in my eyes, and hearing it sung by the man himself who’s largely written it, was a spectacular feeling. His voice is so smooth, and at the same time, somewhat “raw” that it’s a shame he only sang that one song and part of “Under Pressure”.

Brian May

Everyone in the audience that night – and probably all over the world, – will agree that this man is a total LEGEND. That man is 68 years old and he plays the guitar like a young God. His guitar riffs…I have never heard anything like it in my entire life. I had once seen him shortly, doing the guitar solo in “Bohemian Rhapsody” on stage of the Dominion Theatre in London, in the musical “We Will Rock You”, so I knew what he was capable of. But what he presented the audience with that night was absolutely out of this world. It’s the longest riff I ever witnessed anywhere (it was about 10 minutes long!), but Brian made it feel like it was just a few seconds, and he ended it by introducing “Tie Your Mother Down”, which had all the crowd on their feet. He also had everybody hung on his lips when, sitting at the end of the stage, with a member of the crew holding an umbrella over him and his guitar, he sang “Love Of My Life”. This was the first time I experienced a full stadium – or a room – singing together with the performer at the top of their lungs. And Brian definitely enjoyed it, given the huge smile plastered on his face afterwards. It gave me goosebumps how suddenly, almost everyone around switched on the flashlights on their phone in the dark stadium, swaying in the rhythm of that heartfelt song. It was short, and over way too soon, but you could see and feel that it was one of the most magical moments ever. It was like Freddy was around, just by belting that ballad out loud and lighting up the sky.

Bottom line: Adam, Brian & Roger were on fire. They were turning the stadium into a big party with their rock anthems, swayed with everyone during the ballads, and throughout the entire gig, the audience was in the palm of their hands with their unique voices and stage presences. And once again, Adam Lambert proved that he is worthy of currently being in the place that Freddy Mercury made so unforgettable for all the fans of Queen all over the world. He may not be among us anymore, but these three men – Brian, Roger & especially Adam, made and make sure that nobody ever forgets the legend that was Freddy Mercury and Queen.

What an incredible and unforgettable night it was. Thank You.

We Will Rock You – Frankfurt 09.01.2015 (Dernière Day)

Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought that this last day at the beautiful Frankfurt venue would be one of the best days of my life, two of the best shows I’ve ever seen – and that three of my biggest (show-related) dreams would finally come true.

Matinee
When I first stepped into the Opera House, to my delight, they finally had set up the Cast list for the performances at the reception. The even bigger delight came when I saw who would be on as Galileo & Scaramouche: Fabio Diso & Leoni Kristin Oeffinger! I took the list into my hands and stared at it with a shocked expression on my face and a loud squeak trying to make its way up my stomach, into my throat and out of my mouth – F***ing YES! I had come across the fact of how rare it was to get Fabio as Galileo, and to get Leoni as Scara was even more rare, and I never expected (although wished for it) to ever get to see either of them in one of the lead roles during that short run in Frankfurt – and now I had them both.
Leoni as Scara…uhm, holy moly. I had only known her as teacher so far, and whenever I thought about her as Scara after seeing pics of it, it felt weird, although if you’d ask me, I couldn’t give you a reason why. Maybe I’m too biased by always seeing Jeannine Michele Wacker as Scara 😉 Anyways, the moment Leoni stepped foot on the stage, it was totally hers. Her voice is totally different from Jeannine’s, but absolutely stunning nonetheless. It’s deep, with a slight rasping sound when she comes down to the low notes, but at the same time, all powerful, which left me completely speechless. I’d never guessed that this was lying dormant underneath that teacher role. From the acting point, her Scaramouche is adorable, she has this very headstrong and stubborn attitude, with what she makes the Galileo at her side – in this case, Fabio – look very tiny and small. If I think about it, if I was a guy and was to play Galileo next to her, I’d be pretty scared of her 😀
And now, to Fabio Diso…OH MY GOD. First of all: he is, without a doubt THE most adorable, cute and “Oh, I want to run on stage and hug him like a little boy” kind of Galileo I have EVER had the pleasure and honour to see on and off stage. He has this certain kind of way to style his hair…I mean….just look at him. (Fabio, if you see this: sorry that I borrowed the pic off your page, but I thought best to have people see what I mean, if that’s okay with you 🙂 )

Anyways, second thing: HIS VOICE. I’m honest, I had very high expectations of him after that short recording. And all of them were pretty much just by far surpassed! Even after his first few vocals of “I Want To Break Free”, I couldn’t keep myself from shaking my head, murmuring “Holy crap.”, because he was better than I had ever expected and thought possible. His voice is the most powerful any other Galileo of the german Cast has ever presented to the audience, and especially in the high vocals, he puts all his power, energy and talent into the notes, it was mindblowing. The moment he opens his mouth, you don’t believe your ears, if that makes sense. I could go on and on, keep praising him, but there are just no words to express HOW breathtakingly good and talented this young man is, you have to see it for yourself.
Third thing: the interaction/harmony between Fabio and Leoni. One word: WOW. I always thought there was no pair that seemed to be more made for each other on stage than Christopher Brose & Jeannine Michele Wacker, but those two proved me wrong. Every oh so tiny movement and word is geared to each other, and their voices just match. And as to how they play the characters, I think Fabio is the most talented Galileo of all. Each of them is dorky and insecure and weird in their own way, which is wonderful and a joy to watch, but he gives it the last touch that I think the role needs to be just perfect. He’s even more dorky and insecure than Chris or Stuart, and if you didn’t know the show as I do, you could never believe that that little boy is capable of becoming the biggest rock star in the history of the iPlanet, because hands down, if you look at that cute little face, you don’t buy it that he’s a hero or sort of a “guitar guy”. And seeing him proving everybody wrong – mindblowing. As to Leoni, she totally lights a fire under him, she has him in the palm of her hands and she bosses him around as she pleases. The way Fabio reacts to that is what I call talent. Whoever decided to put these two up on that stage together in the two lead roles has my deepest gratitude. Just wow.
The two other roles that were completely different than usual were Robert Meyer as Brit and Marjolein Teepen as Ozzy. Seeing someone else than Markus Neugebauer in the role of Brit was weird, but refreshing, and although my first thought was “He looks a bit like a milksop without a beard”, I was positively impressed by Robert. I only knew him as Madonna, one of the Bohemians, and I must say, he did a good job. I liked the way he tried to look extremely strong and macho-like, and also, that his voice is lighter than Markus’, it was a refreshing new touch to see in the role. There is a lot of potential in him, and I hope he gets to play the role a few more times during the running tour, because he definitely deserves it. As to Marjolein as Ozzy…let’s just be honest: I’m totally biased as to who plays this role. For me, there’s only one true Ozzy, and that is Andrea Sánchez Del Solar. Period. Marjolein‘s voice is stunning, no question, she has some killer vocals and a huge talent, especially on the high notes, but in comparison to other Ozzy’s, she just doesn’t touch me with them, not even during “(No-One But You) Only The Good Die Young”. I can’t explain it, maybe my mind is too gridlocked on my opinion, and I know people will think I’m a horrible person, but that’s how it is. I met Marjolein in person three times, and I know for a fact that she is a very loving, caring, nice, lovely & patient person who takes her time with her fans, and I would never diminish her talent in any way. But I guess once you have your favourites, and those favourites impressed you so much with their first performance, it’s hard for others to convince you of something else. I’m sorry for that.

Over all, this show left me in total awe, and with a new favourite Galileo – Fabio Diso, with whom the current Cast has THE most talented one in their midst, someone who definitely has the talent to take over the lead role, and I sincerely hope he gets to play it much more during the tour.

Evening
It seems like destiny saved the best thing for the very last show in Frankfurt: Andrea Sánchez Del Solar as Scaramouche. Ever since I had seen her as Ozzy and learned that she was also one of the three understudies for the roles, it was one of my dreams to see her as Scara at least once. And there it was, where I least expected it. When she told me about it right after the Matinee, forgotten was the migraine I suffered from for the entire 2nd Act, pumped full of pills against the headaches and the terrible nausea – nothing in the world would keep me from witnessing my favourite WWRY alumni doing her thing in the biggest lead role. And hell, what a show it was.
The moment she stepped foot on stage in that purple wig and the black dress thingy, belting out the few german lines of “I Want To Break Free” that Scaramouche sings at the beginning…I was feeling like a proud mother. Or friend. I know it sounds strange, but that’s how it is. I felt tears welling up in my eyes when I heard the vocals coming from her, and they almost overwhelmed me. And a few big fans across the aisle that cheered her on loudly proved my point: she deserved this role. Her “Somebody To Love” was absolutely beautiful; she can hold notes for as long as not many people I’ve met (who are in the theatre business) can, and it’s so wonderful and refreshing to have a complete different intonation, a much deeper voice than any of the other Scara’s. And still, even more so, her high vocals are breathtaking, from what I could gather in the first row, she left the audience in complete awe with her amazing singing talent (not that it surprised me, though). As to her acting, her way of displaying Scaramouche…wow. I know that the role is supposed to be cheeky and mean to Galileo, bossing him around, taking the lead and such, and I’ve seen quite the ways of doing it since last year…but without a doubt, Andrea‘s way was just beyond hilarious, adorable and cuddly! The way she intonates some of Scara’s sentences, how she behaves around and with Galileo (Christopher Brose, in this case) is just…whoa. And it looked like she enjoyed herself in that role so much, which is wonderful to see – when an actor gets the opportunity to play big roles and do it with such a naturalness, because that’s what they all work really hard for. No surprise she got some of the biggest applause after that last show, it was more than deserved, and still, after over two weeks, I feel really proud of her. Although it still feels surreal that I really witnessed it.

Thank you, “We Will Rock You”, for amazing 7 shows in Frankfurt, for giving me so many beautiful memories, and I hope to maybe see all of you again in Hamburg – or at the latest, in Cologne, where it all began! THANK YOU for being such a talented, lovely & wonderfully crazy bunch!

We Will Rock You – Frankfurt 19.-21.12.2014

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

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

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

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

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

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