At the latest since the enormous success of the ABBA musical "Mamma Mia" there have been repeated attempts to make a musical out of the songs of a band or an artist. Sometimes this works very well - as in the case of "Jersey Boys" or "Hinterm Horizont" - or quickly falls into oblivion. A real exception in the mass of such musicals is undoubtedly "Ich war noch niemals in New York", which is based on the songs of Udo Jürgens. So far, over 4 million viewers in Germany have seen the musical. And also in Austria, Switzerland and even in Japan, the play has thrilled audiences en masse. After ten years at a few permanent venues in Hamburg or even Berlin, the Stage Entertainment production is now going on tour with the help of concert promoter Semmel Concerts, which means that the number of visitors is heading towards the 4.5 million mark in leaps and bounds. From 16.12. to 07.01. the tour will also make a stop in Frankfurt!
Today the cast members Sarah Schütz (Lisa Wartberg), Karim Khawatmi (Axel Staudach), Uli Scherbel (Fred Hoffmann) and Gianni Meuer (Costa Antonidis) together with Stephan Jaekel from Stage Entertainment were at the Alte Oper Frankfurt to present a small sample from the musical to the press here. The four performers performed six songs, with the title track being an absolute highlight. But also "Was wichtig ist", very strongly and soulfully sung by Sarah Schütz, could convince with its high goose bumps factor. A very special position not only in the presentation, but in the musical itself takes "Ein ehrenwertes Haus", which was slightly modified for the play. For Udo Jürgens himself, this song was the perfect proof of what the musical should be: Not simply a stringing together of his songs, but an independent story in which his songs are suitably integrated.
Following this musical taster, the performers went on to talk about personal encounters with Udo Jürgens and which songs meant a lot to them personally. Ginanni Meuer then also reminisced about the guest performance of "Grease" at the Alte Oper, where he had already been on stage here. He always remembers the wave of applause that poured over him. For all the others, "I've Never Been to New York" is their first engagement in the Main metropolis.
That people love the music of Udo Jürgens, but also the story of the musical, is also shown by the excellent advance booking figures for the Frankfurt guest performance. There are still a few tickets available. But if you want to see the play at the Alte Oper, you should hurry and secure tickets quickly!
<link http: www.eventim.de _blank>Tickets are available HERE
<link https: www.frankfurt-tipp.de events s event ich-war-noch-niemals-in-new-york.html _blank>You can find more info about the musical and the seasons in Frankfurt HERE in our events calendar
