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 – 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!

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! 🙂