Nicole schreibt...
London September 2018 - The Goodbye |
End of Act 1.@DominionTheatre.
I didn't expect to write a "trip report" about a trip for just one performance of a show I've alreay covered extensively, but I also can't NOT write about this memorable evening and the craziest trip I've undertaken since... oh, perhaps the bad old days of taking an overnight coach to arrive in London on Saturday morning, catch a matinee and return to arrive home on Sunday morning in my very first years of musical-going in the late 80's/early 90's. It was also during those days when I didn't have money to travel however I wanted that I developed what I've come to call Adam Pascal syndrome.
My very first musical at the tender age of fifteen was Starlight Express in Bochum and during the very first performance I was utterly charmed by one of the leads. I returned two months later in happy anticipation to see him again, but an understudy was on for the part. I bugged my mother until she'd take me a third time and that turned out to be one week after the cast change - he was gone forever and I had never got a second chance to see him in the part. The same scenario repeated itself a few years later with Rent: I was utterly smitten with the Broadway cast recording from the get-go, finally a contemporary musical with rock music and contemporary issues rather than the whiny adapations of literary classics that followed in the wake of shows like Phanton and Les Mis. I was in Heaven when the four lead guys from Broadway came over to London and I was particularly impressed by Adam Pascal as Roger. I returned to see Rent a second time, but while the other three guys from Broadway were on, Roger was played by an understudy. By the time I could see Rent for the third time, all four had returned to the US. I never saw Adam Pascal again and to this day I haven't seen another Roger like him, no matter where in the world I caught the show (including New York).
Now fast forward more than twenty years in which I've seen plenty of shows and plenty of performers who I liked, but nothing that really got me fangirling to a point where I wanted to see a show again and again (and again). Enter Jim Steinman's "Bat out of Hell" and along with it, its young leading man Andrew Polec, a ball of such massive talent and energy I hadn't seen in ages. I first saw the show in Manchester last spring and followed its progress via London, Toronto and Persephone back to London and was so so ready to see it and its amazing leading man again. And to avoid a recurrence of Adam Pascal syndrome, I prepped by planning a few trips ahead. A wise idea indeed, becaue it promptly turned into a bumpy ride. In May I was lucky and saw him twice, in July I was unlucky and saw the understudy, then lucky again in early August. I had planned another weekend in late September to say goodbye properly (and was sure I'd have had my fill of the show by then), but then of course young Andrew went and buggered off early to do the US-Tour from mid-October. And while I'm now older and richer, but certainly not wiser, the moment the news broke, I was on the Eurostar booking site for a mad dash to be at the last performance on 1 September. It also marked the end of an era as it was the last time the original cast that started the show eighteen months ago in Manchester together would be sharing the stage.
I could have done without the additional drama on the Belgian railways with major distruptions on the main line between Liege and Brussels, making me ask/beg my Mom to give me a ride to Bruxelles-Midi Station, but I made it to London in good time. And the moment I arrived at the Dominion Theatre and saw all the fans out in full force - many dressed in t-shirts of the show or in self-made costumes from the show (usually Strat's and Raven's red shirt with the black horizontal stripes - I knew I had done the right thing to be there and savour the electric atmosphere. The Dominion was quite full and the enthusiasm of the crowd amazing without being the kind of obnoxious fan hysterics I detest. It started off on the right note already with a standing ovation for Andrew the moment he walked onto the stage and him actually breaking the fourth wall to acknowledge it and utter a few thankyous. I was also pleased that people didn't forget there was another leaver that night, Patrick Sullivan, who had been with the show as Blake from the first performances in Manchester and who also got a standing ovation after his biggest number "Objects in the rear view mirror". The cast was utterly incredible on the whole. I've never heard Christina sing her heart out the way she did that night and I hadn't thought it possible that Danielle could be EVEN better than she usually is, but both of them blew me away. It all ended with another huge round of applause, standing ovations and a nice little speech. Here are a few mementoes from the night:
A short clip the official Bat-Twitter shared online of the last bit of "Bat out of Hell" at the end of Act One. I am actually in this video. EEEE! See, if you can spot me :)
Andrew’s FINAL ‘Bat Out of Hell’.
?? WOWZERS ?? pic.twitter.com/1e7MsiCttD
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