WE WILL ROCK YOU
THE MUSICAL
How I experienced the last Try-Out on May 13th 2002 and
the
World Premiere on May 14th 2002 and dreams came true

Home WWRY

Again Queen have entered new grounds and again with inevitable success. For years Brian and Roger have been working on this enormous project and it all came together after Ben Elton joined the team and created the right story.

On May 13th I arrived in London to join a group of Dutch Queen Fans on the 14th to see the World Premiere of We Will Rock You - The Musical. I've been a Queen fan since 1974 and one of my greatest wishes was to meet the Queen members outside a performance. For years I've been longing to meet Freddie's mother as well, but some way or another these dreams did not come true - yet.
In the afternoon of May 13th I decided to take a look at the Dominion Theatre to get some of the atmosphere. There I met one of the most talked about Queenfans, Basje Asselbergs from the Netherlands. Though my intensions were to only see the World Premiere this guy did his utmost to convince me to buy a ticket for the last try-out as well. In this way he would have a companion to see the show and I would have a chance to preview the musical before the premiere. I decided to buy one of the last standing tickets so I could also see the last try-out, not knowing it would become the start of miraculous visits to this musical, giving me the opportunity to meet our heroes. 
The show wouldn't start for some hours and with Basje I went to the back of the theatre where we were joined by some other people. There we waited and waited and finally we met Neil Murray, Spike Edney and Ben Elton. All such great guys and though in a hurry they found some time to chat. I managed to be photographed with Spike and Ben standing next to me. I also met some of the Musical cast, like Tony Vincent. A great chap. If it wasn't for Basjes interference I never would've taken action to meet these people at the back entrance of the Dominion.

My standing ticket proved to be a "winner" because that evening, when I stood at the back of the Theatre in a corner near a door that lead to the corridors, I suddenly saw Brian May peek into the theatre hall. He was so close I could actually touch him (which of course I didn't!) Next to Brian there was Roger Taylor. Seconds after the lights went out, Brian and Roger walked by me (as close as one can get) and I realised that part of my dreams had come true.

The show was stunning. The live music, the songs, the players, the story, the effects, the atmosphere... it was perfect. And after seeing Brian and Roger this close... Could this get any better? Well, it would!

After the show again I went to the back entrance of the Theatre and though it took hours - finally when almost everyone seemed to have left the building - Brian May came out of the Theatre and instantly I walked towards him and without hesitation he shook hands with me. I had a little chat with him and he signed my We Will Rock You ticket ! He proved to be a very nice guy indeed. 
I could hardly believe I finally met and had spoken with Brian May - THE BRIAN MAY from Queen, who is the creator of songs like White Queen, 

 

Why Don't We Try Again, We Will Rock You, Dream of Thee and The Prophet's Song. A true Genius. I would wish this night could have lasted a lot longer.

The next day I met the first members of the Dutch Queen Fan group that - just like me - had tickets for seats of the first two rows in the Dominion Theatre of the World Premiere of the Musical. We all stayed in the same hotel so it was great fun to meet the others. That afternoon we went to the Theatre together and especially for that evening I wore a shirt on which I had printed a home made WWRY logo. This proved to be a unique one and it was filmed by a dutch television station who had a camera crew standing next to the red carpet in front of the entrance of the Theatre. They broadcasted my apppearance on Thursday May 16th.
Inside the Dominion Theatre we all bought merchandise and went to our places. When we looked up to the balcony we could spot Roger and also Freddie's mother Jer Bulsara and his sister Kashmira Cook. Again another part of my dream came true. Finally Brian and Anita took their seats and while the theatre was filled with Queen fans he received a great welcome with applause from all of us.

Though I knew what was coming, the experience was totally different sitting this close to the stage and being there with all those fans. Not in the least the fact that I was one of the lucky people who got a ticket for this World Premiere.  Again the show was great.

After the show most of us went to the nightclub where the afterparty was to take place. Celebrities entered, Robert de Niro somewhere in between of his bodyguards, Roger Taylor, Brian May, Bob Geldof, Rudi Dolezal, Hannes Rossacher, Ruby Wax and Jacky Gunn. We stood there for hours but it didn't take that long to make my dream to fullfill some more, because suddenly John Deacon left the nightclub, just some feet away from me. He was the last person I'd expected to see, but now I finally had met Brian, Roger and John, outside a tour.

And after midnight... there she came out of the nightclub... Jer Bulsara, along  with Kashmira Cook. A friend of mine shook hands with Freddie's mother and of course I didn't hesitate to do also. Shortly after this she went back inside to wait for her car, which proved to be Freddie's Rolls Royce. As if being guided by Freddie Mercury himself I followed her and managed to have a short conversation with her. What is there to say in such a surprising moment but to thank her for everything Freddie has done for me and all of his fans. She listened with a smile on her face and when I asked she and Kashmira even put their signature inside the We Will Rock You booklet of the musical. I proudly showed her my home made Queen shirt and she nodded looking very happy and even clapped her hands to show her appreciation.

When she'd left I walked back in a daze, shivers down my spine thinking "is this the real life - is this just fantasy". Finally the Dream had walked back in a daze, shivers down my spine thinking "is this the real life - is this just fantasy". Finally the Dream had become Reality.
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If you wonder if you should go and see this musical:  DO ! 
It's just great!

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