Rocky Mania - Rees - October 27th 2006

Where exactly is Rees? First thing I asked myself when I heard of this show. And thanks to "Microsoft Auto Route" I found out it's only a 40 minutes ride by car from my hometown. So I decided to spent my Friday evening watching this show without knowing what to expect.

The show consists of various songs from the musicals Little shop of horrors, Tanz der Vampire, Jekyll and Hyde, Wicked and The Rocky Horror Show. In addition there are some "stand alone songs" like "Hero" from Bonnie Tyler and "You took the word right out of my mouth" from Meat Loaf.
There is a moderator who is leading the audience through the show and the different musical parts in it. For this rather small show the set design was really well made. They even had Audrey II for the Little shop of horrors part in the show. The costumes on the other hand were nothing special and some of them were acctually rather ridicules.
And what really bothered me was the sound. They didn't have a band but that wasn't the bad thing. After all this is a small touring production. But the playbacks were way too loud. Sometimes it was hard to even understand what the performers where singing because of that.

The cast overall was good with some exceptions. ;)

Rafi Weinstock
I have to admit I didn't know him before this evening although he's been in several musicals. But that ment I could watch him on stage with an open mind and without any expectations (neither good nor bad).
His first appearance was as Graf von Krolock in the Tanz der Vampire part of the show. And what can I say? I was extremely disappointed! I think his voice was way too weak for the songs and he had major problems with the words for the songs (this might have been because he was nervous but still it bothered me).
But what really got on my nerves was the way he was trying to walk around the stage gracefully.... which was impossible with the costume he was wearing. If anyone of you has ever tried to walk around gracefully while wearing plateau shoes you know what I'm talking about. ;)
He was really good in the Rocky Horror part of the show and as voice of Audrey II though!

Heiner Dresen
... used to live in Rees (something I learnt that evening) and was the moderator of the evening. He did really well.

Fr. Menke
Once again I will admit: I didn't know her. She used to be a "Neue Deutsche Welle"-Star back in the days. She did the first song of the show and it's quite to hard to write about her without being nasty.
But the first thing I thought when she came on stage was "Oh my God!! WHAT is that??"
Ok, she certainly was nervous - no doubt. That's why I didn't mind her first appearance was rather shaky. But looking at the whole show all I can say about her is: "Involuntary funny". I'm sure she tried hard but in my eyes she came across as totally fake and rather foolish. And why did she sound like she had too many drinks before the show? Her voice isn't bad at all but the way she was singing made her sound.. well... drunken.
And when she started juming up and down on stage while singing "Hero" I lost all remaining sympathy for her.

Felix Maximilian
He really surprised me in this show... and I mean this in a positive way. No, I didn't think he'd be able to sing that Meat Loaf song. And he did really well not only while singing that song but throughout the whole show. Actually he was one of the strongest singers on stage (and to be honest: I hadn't expected that either).
His "As long as you're mine" with Cemil was fantastic! And he looked hilarious as Seymour with those funny glasses. :)
I have to applaud him for his totally funny mimic... loved it! It does sound a bit mean but he was fantastic in playing a fool - but I mean this in a totally positive way!
And one last thing that deserves to be mentioned: Nice outfit for the Meat Loaf song. ;)

Christoph Goetten
It was great to see him on stage again. I remember seeing him in Jekyll and Hyde in Cologne a few years ago. In Rocky Mania he did several songs from Jekyll and Hyde including "Dies ist die Stunde" which I totally enjoyed. His "Gefährliches Spiel" (with Melanie Stara) was great as well.
I think they should give him some more songs throughout the show.... a voice like that deserves to be heard more often! :)

Anastasia Bail
She is totally wasted in this show... what a voice! I mean, she only sang "Mädchen der Nacht" (with Melanie Stara) and did some background singing for some of the other songs. She needs to sing more solo songs!!

Melanie Stara
Really enjoyed to hear her singing "Mädchen der Nacht" and "Gefährliches Spiel". But didn't like her as Glinda in the Wicked part of the show. Her voice just didn't suit the songs.

Cemil Bakanyildiz
I'd never heard of her before and she blew me away. Wow! The only song she didn't quite manage was "Defying Gravity". I loved her "As long as you're mine" (with Felix Maximilian) and "Suddenly Seymour" (once again with Felix). All in all a truly great performance. Would love to see her on stage again someday. :)

So, looking back at the whole show I have to say this is a lovely little production with a lot of potential. You're definitely up for a fun evening if you've got the right bunch of people on stage. They have to work on some things: sound, costumes.... is it really necessary to have "non-musical people" on stage in a show like this (guess you know who I'm talking about)...

Felix Maximilian and Frl. Menke

Christoph Goetten and Heiner Dresen

Felix Maximilian

Felix Maximilian

Felix Maximilian and Cemil Bakanyildiz