„ Lord of the
Dance“
Showbericht von
JoeJoe
29. März. 2004 Alte Oper Frankfurt (Germany)
March 2 2004
Well here I am, another airport—FRANKFURT, yes as in GERMANY!!! It still amazes me how HUGE Frankfurt airport is—how beautiful and pristine clean. Boarded the plane on time only to sit on the tarmac for one and a half hours---I am supposing it is due to the heavy weather—no one bothered to tell us anything. Keep this in mind, as it is a harbinger of things to come. I know my reports are usually well organized—no promises this time---there is soooo much to talk about. I tossed and turned from 1230pm to 5am, writing this about a billion different ways in my mind—Okay here goes.
First I have to begin with a very special “angel” from God. Heike Lundstrom. Without this beautiful, wonderful lady my trip would not have been possible—she got the very best tickets available for me, she was my hostess in Frankfurt. She is like a long lost friend or family member you just found again. She loves the troupes as much as I, and OH MY GOD how the dancers love her. Everyone knows her talks to her and respects her. I was sooo very honored to be in her presence. And you should have seen the way T1 responds to her during the show—it is for her, they interact with her and for her. And yes I cried when I had to say goodnight meaning good bye---but I hope and pray we will find a way to go to another show together someday. Timo is next. A very sweet man. Wonderful person—great to be around another I felt so “at home” with. He is a nurse and I would feel safe with him taking care of me anytime. Cathy came from Austria to be with us. She is so beautiful she could be with any of our troupes!!! Soft spoken and extremely kind. She shared the second show with me—sitting right next to me---what a joy to be around someone who enjoys a show as much as I do. Stephanie was also with us, a very shy, soft spoken lady—who also loves the troupes. Ines and Revnl, the Bernd Geiers. And one more very neet lady who’s name escapes me right now. Gosh I loved being with everyone ---INES—had just been to LAS VEGAS and brought me well wishes from T3 as well as an IDM with Damien on the cover and YES he signed it for me and Bernie signed a program that I bought for Jen—got a photo of her doing that. And photos of something I have been asking for ----for a long, long time. Dancers are now coming out after the show to greet the public!!! ONLY 3 it seem---but that is a start!! I think every dancer deserves to be out to receive the adulation of their public—but I am thankful for this much. Ines reminds me of ME!!! Traveling about seeing different troupes in different places---she is sooo sweet and wonderful!!! THANK YOU INES, TEEMO, CATHY, STEPHANIE, AND MOST OF ALL MY HEIKE!!!
Let me clarifiy something from one of my earlier reports—Des was captain of T1, but only while Bernie and Damien was with FOF in the states. NOW he is captain of T4. You know how much I loved the shows –but there is such a big hole onstage without DES there, without Kelly and Chris and Katie. God Speed to each and everyone of you, I miss and love you each!!!
OKAY two men that have to be highlighted first—GER HAYES and BRENDAN MCCARRON!! WOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!! BRAVO!! BRAVO!! Even Heike said these were the best shows she has seen—sosooo it is not any exaggeration on my part to say Ger is the sauciest, hottest, spiciest LORD OF ALL!!! Eyes to die for, stage presentation is unequalled—high kicks, leaps of a stag. Yep this EPCOT kid has grown up very nicely thank you very much!!!! Gerard, Ger, heck he is still my Gerry and just as kind and as wonderful as ever. BRENDAN—okay now I have to stop and write an open letter to big brother Donny—okay, okay, everyone can listen. Donny told me in Macon he has NEVER seen his little brother in lead—well Donny, thank you to Heike who had a shirt made with your picture on the front for me—you were there both on my heart and in it when little brother took the stage, claimed the audience, my heart and the role—yes, the only dark lord I will ever see as Don Dorcha, other than Daire. NOPE, Paul, Terence, Adam, Kevin, Ciaran, Chris, David and Thomas are all “bad guys” and Cian was always a “devilish bad boy” to me. I think you know when I look at Brendan I look for Donny----NO MORE! Brendan deserves to be his own man now. All the McCarron take charge lead is there, the beautiful McCarron eyes and stage presence too, but Brendan is most like Daire Nolan than anyone I have EVER seen in leadership and dancing and being just as an important lead as the LORD. Donny I know how very proud you are of both your brothers, and I pray I get to see Kieran (Brendan spelled it for me), but Brendan I hope you know how proud I am of you!!! Now I cannot wait to see Brendan and Donny together---OH MY GOD that would be fantastic, pure perfection!! As I listen to my LOTD CD right now, I am trying so hard to imagine it—some say that if you can see something in your mind you can make it come true—GOD I hope so. BRAVO GER----BRAVO BRENDAN!!! My GOD how many Bravos for both shows!!!
OKAY, OKAY on to the shows—The first show was GER HAYES, Brav----OKAY I said that---I cannot stop talking about his performance and I have been thinking and thinking of how to make you see what I saw: take Paddy McCarthy’s kicks, and drop dead cuteness, and throw in Johnny Finnegan’s eyes to die for, and showmanship, and of course all the perfection of Damien and Des, put it in the most handsome, sauciest container you have---and you get Ger. Gerry thank you for the hugs and time spent with me—I will never forget your generosity. Gerry got a standing “O” during Victory and then halfway through Planet Ireland and it lasted and lasted—God I wish the show never had to end. Ciaran Devlin, this is one-drop dead handsome, beautiful bad guy!! Evil, yes, but eyes unequalled and gestures and stage presentation that is phenomenal, no wonder he is on most of the posters & ads for the bad guy. Emma Holtham, another Epcot kid, grown into a more beautiful lady then I remember from Epcot. Everyone was soooo excited by her grace and beauty. She dances a very exciting but soft Saoirse. Long beautiful lines, wonderful pouty expression and gestures---made you believe every move she made. Good God this was the best I have ever seen her—counting all the times at Epcot. BRAVO—I know there is that word again—but sooo deserving. Another wonderful surprise is Stephanie McCarron---the closest I have ever seen to Gillian Norris in presentation, playfulness and beauty. She is soooo cute with her huge smiles and devilish eyes. She had the audience under her spell from the minute she took the stage. I have to call her Morrighan cause she is just to good to be called a bad girl!!
Both shows: Helen Egan—I FINALLY MET HELEN!!!! I WAS SOOOOOOO THRILLED, and PROUD. She’s the original, the role model—but I have a confession, she is my jester—I cannot forget the scream in FOF or that uniform—but---what expressions as the little spirit. Her eyes cry right out loud. She rips your heart out when her flute is taken and broken—and when she runs out to jump in the lords arms at the encore ---WOWOW she is just beautiful. Cora Smyth is just what I remembered as the fiddler---beautiful, expressive and interacted with her new partner Theresa Bourke. I wondered about how this would work out since Miread left. It was just wonderful. Jennifer Curran is a magnificent singer. Her own style to lip singing here. Bravo!
NO Tuxedos—did you hear me??? NO TUXEDOS---yes, yes, yes! They are so out of place on stage (yes I know our guys are sooo handsome in them—hey they are handsome anyway)—our bad guys just wore black tee shirts as should be—don’t really understand why they just don’t wear their warrior uniforms—that what is called for---HEY, OKAY I hear you—this is what I wanted and have been waiting for. NO SLIDING DOWN THE STUPID FIREMAN’S POLE for the lord. THANK YOU, MARIE DUFFY or whomever finally got this right. But I did not like the LONG, LONG, wait until Planet Ireland---way, way, way, tooooooooooooooooooo long. Some people had to be told to sit back down—they were leaving. GOOD GRIEF don’t you know you do not leave till the lights come back up???????????????????????--------------------OH, God, let me apologize for not having more troupe pictures than I do—my fingers were numb—even with gloves on---some of the problem were some of the folks who tried very hard to take pictures were not familiar with my camera and I think 20 degrees, snowing and ice cold wind made the camera malfunction—but I am going to put all the troupe photos first and then my new “family” of friends and then pictures of Frankfurt—and as I get the promised copies of pictures I will put them up.
Second Show: The Prince and Princess!!! Bernie and Damien. I was worried because the night before Damien had thought Damien Doerthy was going to be in lead—but NOPE---my beautiful, flawless Princess Bernie Flynn and her handsome, wonderful, best engagement ring picker in the world, Prince Damien O’Kane. Nope there is no breathing when you watch these two—you sit there and your breathing stops—your heart races, and you are in total awe—this must be what nirvana is. You might chuckle at the Royal title before their names—but they are the epitome of Irish Dance, of how the Lord and Saoirse should be presented. Donny (you knew I had to get his name in one more time) and Tracy are a close, close second. But Damien and Bernie have a oneness that is not easily duplicated. They are each other’s life and it shows. Neither has to think about where he or she is on the floor—they know, they just know. GOD it is flawless—truly perfectly flawless! This little girl born on my birthday, August 1st—is every bit Jackie-O, Princess Diana and GRACE KELLY come to life. Brendan McCarron is a wonderful compliment to Damien. Just as tall, a littler heavy built—held his ground and was the most “Lordly” of all the dark Lords I have ever seen! Not just a “bad guy” but he knows he is the lead, and dark lord and in total command of his troupe of warriors. Lee Anne McKenna was our Cleopatra from FOF and she still is the best there is!! Gorgeous, talented, sexy, sensuous----she had the audience in the palm of her hand the minute she started in the splits position. She goes in and out of the Splits like there is nothing to doing it. Her eyes talk to you and her gestures pull you on stage with her—GOD she is wonderful!! Brendan and Lee Anne are a fantastic couple to watch together—right instep with each other—just perfect.
Oh this is the part I love to hate cause I will probably leave someone out but here goes:
I was sooo happy to get hugs or kisses from my Epcot kids: Mark Mullholland—such a handsome man now—fabulous dancer—he “growled” at me during warriors. Sean McNickols and Angela O’Connor, is just beautiful and a leader on stage she has really become one of the best female dancers onstage—Sean kinda worried me—didn’t recognize me at first—in his defense he didn’t know to look for me but a couple of hugs later I knew he remembered!! He is still a perfect dancer—I loved watching him soooo much. Two more Epcot kids: Shaun Boyle and Dawn Terinan, Shaun is always gona be a favorite—eyes to die for, smile that just makes the world light up makes you feel sooo good to be around him. Dawn is a flawless beauty—another star on stage. Another favorite Paul O’Brien had not got to talk to him in sooo long—he is fabulous, so handsome and a joy to be around. One cute thing happened Brendan “introduced” to Thomas Martin yep the same Thomas I have known since FOF in Miami—cute because I didn’t meet Brendan the year after I met Thomas!! Those McCarron boys are such gentle-men!!!!! Ger Hayes and Brendan also—I mentioned them—but still am sooo very excited by both of their performances, but gotta tell ya the talent is second to the kindness and politeness you are shown by these two handsome men. And as I was congratulating Brendan, Heike called to me that Bernie and Damien were waiting for me—WAITING FOR ME---I could not believe that!! Lots of hugs—I just did not want to let the Princess go( who knows if/when I will ever see her again)—a lady of this statue does not come along but once in a lifetime!! Damien did picked out a flawless engagement ring—just gorgeous, perfect, becoming a princess!! THANK YOU BERNIE, DAMIEN AND T1.
My German friends and I did not stay with the troupe so we only saw them at the venue. We were at the IBIS on the Main River—it was beautiful. After the first show we went to O’Reilly’s Irish Pub—fantastic time!! After the second show we just went back to the hotel for a drink cause everyone knew I had to be back at the airport early.
Now back to the flight home---you guessed it—there was a sick lady Continental Airlines let board—come to find out, she was shot down in a helicopter over Afghanistan a few weeks prior and had surgery and was trying to get back home. We were just passed Ireland when the message came over the intercom that we were turning back to London—she had got worse. Another 2 hours down the drain. So we got back to Newark 3 ½ hours late—missed our connections—the people at Newark were horrible rude mean—“the airline people would only help 1st class: they paid for it, coach people did not”, direct quote from Continental Newark personnel—I will never fly Continental again!! I had to stay over night at Howard Johnson’s—they did give me $10 towards dinner and $8 towards breakfast—but the final rub was there was a Delta flight leaving from Newark in an hour and the lady would not put me on it. GOOD GRIEF!!
Next up: Charlotte at the end of April. Welcome home Tracy!! Can’t wait to see T2!! ONE LAST TIME:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::BRAVO T1 BRAVO!!! May the Good Lord keep each and everyone of you in the palms of His Hands and Angels carry you across the stage until we meet again. GOD BLESS JoeJoe
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