Seeing and hearing Willemijn's Elphaba in person was a pipe dream for over two years, worshipping from afar...the dream that became a reality only to be shattered in an instant by the powers that be! "Curses...CURSES...Stage Entertainment!" Firstly for changing the date of the derniere which had me in a tail spin...the Wicked Fan Club show/meeting was changed to the 28th Jan, SAME night I had prebooked for Tanz and THEN for the fact I would not see the gal I was flying halfway across the world to SEE perform live! Went through the various stages of mourning; shock, sad, anger, more sad....to mindfully numb.From my pitiful state, decided come hell or mountains of snow, at the very least I would see Willemijn in the 'Best of Musical Gala' and the thrill of the hunt began for where and when? Berlin was it having planned to be there for the Berlinale on the 11th and read as a sign it was destined to be...having toyed with the idea after purchasing my ticket for Tanz and all the advertising on the SE website. Ha that and the excitement of booking my first ticket in German and not understanding a word...lol got a slight thrill and felt like I had accomplished something utterly AMAZING!
Tanz by the way was FANTASTIC for the visual aspect and also the music...LOVED the sets and the costumes but disappointed I didn't get to see the lead Jan Ammann as Von Krolock who I’d heard such wonderful reviews about; especially from friend saintaelphaba who had only just seen and met Jan just weeks before.
Being quite the vamp fan and having some knowledge of the musical, I anticipated the seductive allure of the character but Kevin Tarte came across as a bit of a ham, and to me seemed a little tired of the role or maybe just too long in the tooth cause I didn’t sense any lustful quality from his character portrayal. 2nd act was more enjoyable than the first but I could not fully immerse myself as I do with Wicked...felt like something was missing. The guy sitting on the other side of the aisle was disappointed for me, he having seen Jan multiple times....LOL I discovered Tanz has quite the following akin to Wicked so I felt right at home chatting to another musical fanatic. HA silly me attempted to flick the pages of the Tanz program during intermission with the hope of creating an animated sequence bringing the pics of Jan to life! Amusing how in desperate moments, the heart overrules the mind even when one is usually most logical!
LOL he politely asked me what I was doing, and I laughing said “Trying to make Jan jump out of the program and onto the stage!”...and so became the next 15 minutes of Jan's amazingness and Tanz in general! Actually, I'm curious as to WHY Tanz wasn't included in the Best of Musical Gala? The only conclusion I can come to, is that it’s so well known and needs no promotion?? Seemed to be a full house the night I saw on the 27th but a pity though cause would have loved to of seen Jan strut his stuff....he deserves to be seen by the masses!
Back to....The Velodrome being such a huge stadium lacked the cultural atmosphere one tends to associate with musical theatre; I have a passion for theatres as much as the actual productions, but this being a touring show and so accepted it for what it was. I made sure not to google any information about the actual event; partly for the surprise experience and also to avoid any further disappointments....the goal being to see Willemijn perform live and not think about sets or costumes.
I ran up the stairs to my seat...first one level down to get to the entrance...security check then another two flights down and one up to our seats. Attended with my friend David and while at first I was not enthused by the stage layout, it worked well with the two large screens either side, orchestra slightly in view but actually below the stage with an upper stage level atop of several staircases. Had a quick glance of the program...petted Willemijn's photo with an “awwww” and scanned the others in seeing what shows they had performed in prior... apart from Pia Douwes and Marc Seibert, had not seen DMJ, Ana Milva Gomes, Elisabeth Hubert, Patrick Stanke or Anton Zetterholm.
First up from Pippin 'Lass den Zauber entstehn' which was a great opening number to the gala, lyrically and also in introducing all the stars, as they sang various parts. DMJ was the lead/master of ceremonies for this number and gave a carnivale like performance in setting the mood for what promised to be a magical night with ensemble members coming up the aisles of the first block of seats in front. The orchestra sounded phenomenal and I was like a kid in a candy store; while I was concerned about the acoustics initially, all sounded perfect to me. Zoomed images on the large side screens naming each actor, eyes glancing from the stage to the screen with squeals of delight from me in the middle of the arena when Willimejn graced the stage. Spotted before her name hit the screen and I grabbed my friend's arm..."OMG there SHE is!!!" LOL clawed him with my nails from excitement and also relief in seeing her on stage, cause for days prior kept thinking something would go wrong...actually almost did with my flight being delayed over two hours due to snow in Berlin and also Nuremberg where I was flying out from to see the show that night!
My eyes never left Willemijn...lol except for when Marc moved centre stage...he got a second look cause great abs has he! Never having seen Pippin, not sure if the costumes were true to the actual production but I was extremely happy, as I had expected the show to be more like a gala event with the stars in evening wear, basically promoting the songs from the respective musicals, rather than an entire act with costumes and sets. The latter was more akin to a huge light show with projected colours and images onto the stage background, staircases and sliding screens..which worked quite well for what it was.
The arrangement flowed flawlessly into the next number from Chicago with DMJ introducing the murderesses and ’Zellenblocktango’ with the click of his fingers. I had been looking forward to seeing this live, as much as seeing the Wicked segment...my all time fave song from Chicago. Featured all the leading gals and a few from the ensemble...ALL were fabulous but Willemijn...simply DIVINE! Ana Milva Gomes was another fave murderess, along with Pia. ‘Heutzutag’ was next with Pia and Elisabeth...great number! So many musicals and songs so will just add highlights here and there.
West Side Story this was one of my fave musicals in my formative years...coming from an ethnic background with parents migrating to Australia, could relate to the “stick to your own kind” mentality...I know it backwards, as I do Wicked, so quite partial as to how it’s performed. ‘Cool’ was first up with Marc leading the Jets and Anton second in command...all very smooth...cool in fact, and again the arrangement flowed perfectly into ‘Maria’ a song which in the past made me laugh for the fact my best friend William in uni, would break into song and serenade me during the most awkward moments (Maria/Mary...same to him), so I was already smiling as the music began...HOWEVER, Patrick Stanke’s rendition almost had me in tears for the angelic tones and notes he sustained...I was floating! ‘Amerika’ was next with Ana and Willejimn main vocals, both had so much fun with this song...their gestures and facial expressions were hysterical and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Willemijn perform something so not Elphaba.
More in a few days...off to catch a flight to Frankfurt and then home to AUSTRALIA!!! No more snow...YAY!!
ing it and can't wait to hear more about your once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Well so much for finishing my BOM review, though I was sidetracked at the time with the 
incredibility of the plot for 'Love Never Dies' and it's opening in London! 
and the opening scene featured a projected image of the Shiz University statue to which I immediately thought...NO chance of Fiyero (Mark Siebert) jumping up onto him with the usual moves, as he would end up smack BANG into the screen! 
Costumes were of interest in that while Fiyero’s costume was same as in the musical we all know and love; the Shiz costumes looked like basic green and white school uniforms no angle cuts with the only oddity being that the blazers were half/half, green and white each side with the actors wearing beret styled hats. Glinda was also dressed in the same uniform, blending in with the rest of the students which at first was a surprise, though in watching how the scene played out, she was not as involved. The focus was on Fiyero, with none of the libretto prior, just the song which lead perfectly into the next song in making the transition more plausible within the short time frame to express the theme. LOL and in NOT thinking Fiyero was a total skank going from one girl to the next within seconds...more of a carefree spirit! 
I could hear myself saying...“OMG you guys GET A ROOM!!” LOL seriously though, they made this song completely real for me, and even though I had never seen them together when they were both in the Stuttgart Wicked production....it felt like home, a PERFECT fit. 
Not that I ever thought of Mark as “my” Fiyero, however, he was indeed the German production’s best in comparison to the two Stuttgart shows I'd seen with both Mathias Edenborn and the understudy Bero Antunovic. 
It was a phenomenal experience and you can't flaw performances like that.
Pathetic I know, and in walking out into the cold, traipsing through the snow back to the hotel, I actually laughed at one point to hold back the tears, in that it seemed to be the perfect sad dramatic ending of a theatrical play with me in the lead! *takes a bow and draws red velvet curtain* THE END! 
and the 'pfffffffft' look she gave while watching them, then peering over the cover...looking longingly at them all having fun. You really felt what she was feeling in being an outcast wanting to fit in without her even singing a note or saying a single syllable...all in her gestures.
Each segment she was in, was like viewing multiple aspects of her personality on stage. LOL from the demure miss in 'West Side Story' to a fiery dominatrix commanding the stage in 'We Will Rock You'....SHE ROCKED!! 