Another summer, another summer night in Dinslaken. Once more Ethan, his colleagues, his friends, his fans and us (Stacy and Jörn), in the Ruhrgebiet area. Actually, we should be used to this already, but this time some things were different:

This was the first time it was on a Saturday, not a Sunday. This was the first time it was in July, not August. And this was the first time we had serious worries about the weather. Although some rain drops were falling, the skies reconciled with the audience and those on stage. So after the first drops, it turned out to be wonderful weather and just as wonderful was the performance on stage.

The program for the evening was varied, with something to suit everyone's taste. There were a lot of new songs which hadn't been heard in Dinslaken before. Such as Ethan's wonderfully softly-sung love declaration to "Maria" from West Side Story, which he sang spontaneously instead of Andy Bieber, who was absent. Next to Ethan, a powerful leader of the male cast, we were mostly impressed by the women. For example, on one side there was the fantastic Maya Hakvoort with "Gold von den Sternen", as well as Peti van der Velde on the other side who had one hot performance after another. Of course Ethan was seen in his well-known roles as the Beast with "Wie kann ich sie lieben" and next to Colby Thomas as the "Phantom of the Opera". Also, Maya was back in the role of her life as Elisabeth with "Ich gehör nur mir", and also she gave a taste of her Lucy from Jekyll & Hyde with the lovely "Jemand wie du". Speaking of Jekyll & Hyde, YES, ETHAN STILL CAN DO IT! His "Dies ist die Stunde" was sung as powerfully and intense as ever (and even more!). And so it was understandable that some fans just couldn't dare to stay seated after that amazing performance. Anyway, Ethan was in great voice. The time off after Mozart was evidently good for him. And he was obviously having fun singing in Dinslaken again, as was seen in the ensemble parts "We go together", "Seasons of Love", "Night Fever", and "Ich wollte erwachasen sein", where he sang as all the others with much joy and motivation. It was great that they even rehearsed the African chorus for the songs "They Live in You" and the amazing finale "Shadowland" from The Lion King.

But after all, the highlight of this evening was the Vampires, just as last year. Ethan and Maya stepped into roles they have never played before and amazed the audience as Krolock and Sarah with a breathtaking rendition of "Totale Finsterniss" which will stay in the memories of everyone for a long time. Vocally this was the highlight - visually, it was surely the fireworks at the finale.

Very funny were also the comedy parts by the bandleader Bertram Ernst and the producer Thomas Brauchowitz who entertained the audience spontaneously and gave away tickets for Dinslaken's next musical event, Musical on Ice (want to know more? Click here). The nicest were the spontaneous performance by musical student Stefan and of guest star Jeff (whatever his last name is). What else is there to say? It was an unforgettable evening, and we are looking forward to the 5th anniversary of the Summernight next year. P.S. Some random information: compared to the first Summernight in 1999, the cost of producing the show is 3 times as high, and it's worth it. So next to the artist, we would like to pay our compliments to the producers. The sound was perfect, the background singers and the guest instrumentalists were great and the lighting design made it the best Summernight ever - not to mention the fireworks! See you next year!

Songliste: (Musical-Show-Trio): Wenn ich tanzen will Javerts Selbstmord Nur für mich Der Regen We Go Together (All) Summertime (Colby Thomas) Wenn ich einmal reich wär (Reinhard Brussmann) Mack the Knife(Jeff Cascaro) You're the one that I want (All) Maria (Ethan Freeman) Tonight (Maya Hakvoort, Jeff Cascaro) Gold von den Sternen (Maya Hakvoort) Beauty and the beast (Colby Thomas) Wie kann ich sie lieben? (Ethan Freeman) Out Tonight (Peti van der Velde) Seasons of love (All) PAUSE Night Fever (All) Totale Finsternis (Maya Hakvoort, Ethan Freeman) Sterne (Reinhard Brussmann) Suddenly Seymour (Peti van der Velde, Stefan) Little Shor of Horrors (Stefan und zwei Mädels) They live in you (Jeff Cascaro) Memory (Colby Thomas) Jemand wie Du (Maya Hakvoort) Dies ist die Stunde (Ethan Freeman) Ich gehör nur mir (Maya Hakvoort) Denk an mich (Colby Thomas) Phantom der Oper (Colby Thomas, Ethan Freeman) Shadowland (All) Ich wollte nie erwachsen sein (All) We Go Together (All)

Pictures by Jörn and Kirsten Dannemann