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Again Mark, Ralph,
Paul and myself went back to London to see the last performance
of Tony Vincent as Galileo Figaro in the We Will Rock You
musical on Saturday evening November 15th.
We arrived on Friday morning and as usual we first went to some
record stores in Oxford Street, this time to buy the Greatest
Video Hits part II. Some of us also bought the 2nd edition of
the WWRY cast cd to have it signed by Tony Vincent. We had only
bought tickets for the Saturday evening show, but while we were
standing at the back entrance of the Dominion and had met some
of the castmembers (after we were welcomed by the doorman Dave
<"Hi guys, I see the Dutch Army is back in London again!">)
we decided to get standing tickets for that evening. This time
we got standing tickets for the circle. This happened to be the
perfect place to see the show in all it's glory. When you see
the show a couple of times, especially in a row, you can notice
differences in acting or when things happen that are not planned.
That evening proved to be not the smoothest one. Not in playing
or singing, no that was great as usual, but the technique let
the players down, in a way.
Due to technical problems the show had to be stopped twice and
in both times it took 15/20 minutes to be able to continue.
The first time something wasn't working high above the stage.
Therefore a telescopic apparatus was driven onto the stage so
one person could be lifted in the air to solve the problem.
Under PICS you can see one image of that situation. This took a
long time and so the band started playing for a while. They
played music fit for the situation which brought excitement into
the action.
The second time the platform that rises up into the air did not
function. The cast made the best of it of course but I can image
when you see the show for the first time you do miss out on
something fantastico.
The four of us love this show so we decided to go back the next
afternoon to buy standing tickets for Saturday afternoon as well.
That show was really great, no problems at all. In one of the
scenes the Bohemians introduce themselves. They have adopted
names of famous singers (like Paul McCartney and Madonna) and
this time one Bohemian introduced herself as Tony Vincent!
Almost at the end of the show the whole group formed a circle
and danced around Tony Vincent to honour him. My guess is that
this was done for the afternoon audience for whom it was the
last time they could see Tony.
This weekend would become a real treat for us. After
this show we went out to eat something and then return to the
back entrance of the theatre. There we met some of the cast and
we saw Hannah J. Fox (Scaramouche) enter with a large bouquet of
flowers. Our great expectations were fullfilled because also the
great man behind this musical arrived: BRIAN MAY.
He was able to take some time to make pictures and to sign items
the fans had brought with them. For me he signed the UK cover of
the GVH2 DVD.
The Saturday evening performance turned out to be one of the
best shows ever! Every main character was welcomed on stage by a
huge applause from the audience in combination with yelling,
screaming and other noises! Great!
The first applause came when the speaker told the audience that
Tony Vincent would give his last performance as Galileo Figaro.
The Friday show was great, the Saturday afternoon show was
perfect, but this Saturday evening show was top of the bill, it
was a celebration for Tony by every member of the cast and they
truly gave a 200% each. Just at the beginning of the show Brian
May came in and took a seat a couple of rows away from the
stage. His daughters were sitting in one of the small balconies
of the theatre. One of the most moving moments came when Kerry
Ellis (Meat Loaf) had sung No-One But You. Being an emotional
highlight of the show on it's own, it now became even more
fantastic because Brian May stood up and gave Kerry a standing
ovation. A great gesture and a true compliment.
In June, on the first-year-celebration performance
of the show I was sitting right behind Brian May and then I had
already witnessed his involvement and enthousiasm for this show
and already then I had seen how real that is, how his heart is
so in it. Again he made it public by this standing ovation. (After
the show when my picture with Kerry was taken I told her how
great that moment was for the audience. She told me it was a
great honour for her as well.)
Throughout the whole show the performing was perfect and being a
regular visitor I could notice that the cast were saying goodbye
to Tony as well. At a certain moment in the show the character
of Britney tells Galileo Figaro (Tony) "let me show you"
and this time he said "let me show you for the last
time". Also moments of Galileo and Scaramouche together
were even more intense.
Also there was no stopping in the excitement of the audience and
it was clear a lot of us (like me) were present especially for
Tony. The ones in the audience who weren't aware of this special
evening must have had an unexpected experience!
During the second half of the show Brian and Ben Elton were
standing in the back of the theatre at the control panel.
Towards the end of the show the event got bigger and bigger and
as every night the songs We Will Rock You and We Are The
Champions were the absolute climax and there was no-one sitting
in his chair anymore... you just couldn't, you had to stand up and
be part of it as it were a Queen concert (how I miss those days!).
When the song We Will Rock You turned into the fast version of
it and the whole cast walks in front of the stage per group the
excitement grew even more.
And then there was the last song of the evening... that tour de
force called Bohemian Rhapsody...
Starting with Tony solo... huge applause, then before Hannah did
her part she went to Tony and gave him that large bouquet of
flowers. Again an emotional moment. When she sang the second
verse of Bohemian Rhapsody she turned her head to Tony and waved
him goodbye. Very moving.
Then the cast did the operatic part and Sharon (Killer Queen)
gave it all during the heavy part with one arm around Tony
Vincent.
Then came Tony's last minutes of the show... the last verse of
the song... This was really the most emotional and moving moment
in the show... because of the excitement of the audience he had
to wait to sing that very last line... "Any way the wind
blows"...
The audience went wild and the applause was enormous.
After the curtain calls Brian May and Ben Elton came on stage to
honour Tony and the public reacted accordingly. Brian also said
that Tony had created the part of Galilleo Figaro and though he
left us, he sure hoped that one day he would come back again.
Ben Elton also told us that "Roger is not here at the
moment, he's stuck in the traffic, the bastard! - but he will
join us for a drink afterwards". We all left the Dominion
being blown away by all that talented people and precious
moments.
We walked to the back entrance of the theatre but there were at
least 100 people waiting for Tony, Brian and more of the cast,
so we decided to go to the place where we knew Brian's driver
had parked his car. And indeed through one other exit of the
building came Brian May. Dave made us clear by one single
movement of his hand that this wasn't the moment to ask for
autographs and we all followed that signal. Afterwards we
went to the restaurant just around the corner of the Dominion
where Brian, Ben Elton and the cast were having a drink. Tony had
left the Dominion through the main entrance of the theatre
because he came, in company of Dave again, walking from the
other direction. I was able to shake hands with Tony to thank
him and to wish him luck back in the USA. He really appreciated
that. At a certain moment Ben Elton came outside to make a phone
call and afterwards I asked him if Roger Taylor was already
inside. "You never know where Roger is, because Roger is a
ROCK STAR !", he said. Laughter of the group of waiting
fans of course. Later on Brian came also outside, busy with a
phone call. When he walked back to the restaurant he made a
little time for pictures and autographs and a very nice moment
was when he sat on one knee to have him photographed with a
little boy who happened to have his birthday. Typically Brian to
make time for his youngest fans at such a moment.
We had to wait some more time, expecting Roger to arrive in his
car. Then suddenly I was almost driven off the sidewalk because
a guy with a kind of bicycle-vehicle (in which people are driven
around in London) couldn't almost stop in time, having two
passengers with him. Soon we noticed that it was Roger and a
woman (I didn't recognise her) who were in the back of that
vehicle. Roger came out and I handed him the GVH2-DVD and asked
him to sign it and told him that Brian had already done that.
"Oh, do you know if Brian is already inside?", he
asked me. Even if it are just a few words, and it sure cannot be
called a conversation, but being a Queen fan it's just nice to
have a chat with Brian or Roger, even if it's that short, I can
tell you!
He made time for other people, pictures were made etc and he
went inside.
We waited there until 3.00 o'clock in the morning for every
guest to leave. (In that time I spoke with two women from
Germany who happened to know my website through QueenZone! That
was a nice surprise because it felt as if we knew each other.) Shortly before that Anita Dobson arrived but
stayed in her car. She smiled and waved at us. Then Brian came
outside and told us that he first would bring his girls home.
There they were, Louisa and Emily. I decided to make no pictures
at this time, as it was some kind of private moment. He brought
the girls to his car in which the two of them left. Then Brian
went to Anita but while he stepped into the car some people
succeeded in getting some autographs in that one minute. Perhaps
I should not write this down out of respect for their privacy,
but the moment when Brian sat next to Anita and they greeted
each other, it was a moment of true love. I could only see
Anita's face but that said it all... Oooh - when that lady
smiles... (Brian - you're a lucky man!)
One of the friends that travelled with me had come into contact
with Tony Bourke (the drummer of the musical cast) a few visits
ago and when he came out of the restaurant they exchanged even
phone numbers and email addresses. Tony Bourke promised my
friend that he would receive the drumsticks he had used during
that night's show. (WHAT?!)
Then finally Tony Vincent left the restaurant. He made time for
his fans. Pictures were made, items were signed. Even the
manager of the restaurant came outside with the guestbook and
asked Tony if he would sign that and if a picture could be made
with him and Tony. I myself got a picture taken with Tony for
the last time, thanking him for the great shows and he finally
signed the booklet of the 2nd version of the WWRY musical cast
cd.
This was an evening (and night) we will not forget. I now have
seen this musical for the 10th time - travelling from the
Netherlands with one reason only: to see, feel and be part of We
Will Rock You. No matter how often you see this show:
The
Queen musical We Will Rock You is a show that blows your mind.
And
Tony? I wish him all the success in his career of acting and
singing, and in his private life.
Any way the wind blows.And
Tony? I wish him all the success in his career of acting and
singing, and in his private life.
Any way the wind blows.
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