MV.info meets Don Johnson (English)

[Ell.a]

saturday, march 3rd 200705:30 h MEZthe alarm clock rings. it's too early but the excitement wakes me up. checking suitcase. checking papers. do i have all things in my bag? no fluids in the hand luggage (because of the new security rules)? after having a tiny breakfast i start my journey with a train to the berlin schoenefeld aiport.08:15 h MEZmeeting artemis in the main terminal. ckeck in. security check. our gate is the very last one in the most far away part of the newly arranged wing. special service for no-frills airlines. ;-)09.15 h MEZanother two passport checks. then we arrive in the waiting area and watch our plane arrive, people and baggage leaving the plane. artemis explained that though we have a boarding pass we've not reserved a special seat. according to this people behave ... when the gate opens the whole mass of "grown-ups" moves toward the plane, jostling and barging. we take our time and the rear stairs and get two fine seats near the bar and the exit :-)09.35 h MEZfinally the plane moves. though it lasts more that 30 minutes till the plane arrives at its starting position and the engines howl. then the 737 takes off. THE JOURNEY STARTS!10.30 am GMTthe flight proceeds without any incidents, the landing in stansted is fine as well. since we preordered the stansted express tickets via internet we follow the signs to the trains into the basement to print out our tickets at the ticket machines. there the first emergency awaits us: because of track repairs there is a replacement traffic by bus between the airport and the next station. :-( but fortunately everything is well organised, there are railway employees all around to help the helpless tourists. :wink: 12.15 pm GMTonly about 15 minutes later than planned we arrive at liverpool street. first we have a small diner in a fast food restaurant at the station. then we look for the underground - in london it's called "tube". we buy tickets and ride to the hotel. as citizens of berlin we are well trained in riding trains and finding our way. so we don't get lost in the tube's maze initially. ;-)01.15 pm GMTwe achieve our hotel. check in. the chambers are mere closets. artemis' room is upstairs - just right below the roof. in contrast my room is located in the basement. with some efforts and a twisted neck i can see a small piece of the sky. there is just one disadvantage: from the street you have a perfect view onto my bed. :shock: thank god - the curtains are opaque ;-) but the hotel is economically priced compared with other london hotel prices. each room has its own "bathroom" .. uhm ... bath "cell", and the house is located only three tube stations away from piccadilly circus where we will see don johnson live on stage in less than 6 hours. we get a little excited now ...05.30 pm GMTprior to the show we will meet some friends at piccadilly circus to have a drink together in a nearby pub. when we arrive at our tube station near the hotel we discover puzzled and a bit scared that the police closed the station right in front of our noses. i understand something about "signal failure". nonetheless the view of the resolute and not very friendly police men reminds us of the london terror attacks in 2005. we move on afoot to find the next underground station. the turmoil on the streets is indescribably. streets and sidewalks brim over with cars, busses and people. i always thought that i'm used to a kind of "metropolitan chaos", but compared to london berlin seems to be a sleepy village :-) we arrive at the next station and have to learn that the tube line we wanted to use - and with which piccadilly circus is only two more stations away - is closed completely for the whole evening. so we have to change our route because it looks like walking would take even longer than riding the tube plus detouring.but we were wrong - we thought that the streets were crowded. but this is far away from what we'll experience in the tube now. the tracks and the small and narrow corridors are crowded with people as well. you can not walk or even stand there without hitting somebody or stepping on some toes. this evening we caught many more ellbows and knees than we would catch in berlin during a whole year ;-) with half an hour delay we find our friends at the also crowded piccadilly circus.07:10 pm GMTafter a glass of water and coke in the pub right across the theater we're standing right in front of the entrance. by asking the door guards (very friendly!) we make sure where to go after the show to have an opportunity for an autograph. then we move in and find our seats. row 5 middle. eye to eye with the actors! finally our adrenaline reach a mountain's height.07.30 pm GMTthe lights turn off on time. the orchestra plays the "overture". the curtain raises. IT STARTS! when don johnson enters the stage after the first songs he gets an extra applause from the audience. oh my god! it's such a funny feeling to experience the man live on stage who has been an idol for a whole generation. but it's also a blast. i have the impression that he has as much as fun being on stage as we have seeing him there. his sassy grin, all his facial expression, his gestures really remind me of sonny crockett!in fact i am not a fan of musicals. in fact i have seen only two before. but i have to say that - even without don johnson (*shame on me*) - this musical is well worth seeing! the scenery is very impressive, the music sweeping and all the actors and dancers seem to have waited for this special evening to dance and sing from the bottom of their hearts and souls. don johnson plays one of the main characters but in fact he's less than half the time on stage. but he sings two really nice songs solo and in duett with his lady partner. like others reported before: the wild and crowded dance scenes take place without him - after all the dancers are about 30 years younger than him. ;-)10.45 pm GMTafter the last scene all the actors leave the stage. then they come back in reverse order: first the dancers, then the supporting actors - at last the four main characters are on the stage together: don johnson (nathan detroit), his lady partner claire sweeny (adelaide), ben richards (sky masterson) and lisa stokke (sara). they bow three or four times. a sturdy applause, whistles and cheers can be heard. when the group leaves the stage don johnson remains for a short moment, turns back to the audience and waves before he finally leaves the stage. the lights turn on again and while the orchestra plays the main theme the audience already leaves the theater. artemis and i can not believe that! in germany you clap the actors "back on the stage" at least two or three times. we're a little disappointed that this is the very end already ... ok. so lets move on for the final part of the evening! we were smart enough to keep our coats with us. so only a few minutes later we're standing right in front of the stage entrance and wait for the man.11.05 pm GMTmost of the actors and musicians already left the theater when he comes out of the famous door finally. even closer and in color :-) i read in some posts that sometimes he didn't even have the time to give more than three or four autographs or pose for a few photos. so artemis and i stand in row two of a group of about thirty people ... awaiting and trembling ...after the first row already left the place with autographed programm brochures a british teenie asks don to sign her t-shirt. "oh, i can't do that." he replies. but he does it though without any further comment (right below the neckline). sudddenly a thought comes into my mind: 'if you dilly-dally one moment longer the chance will be gone.' so i hold the dvd out to him (i'll explain later what kind of dvd that was!) saying: "this is a present for you!". he looks a little puzzled and asked "what's that?" though just in the same moment my complete english vocabulary left my brain i manage to splutter: "it's a videoclip made by fans of a german website." (or something like that, i can't remember cleary the words i spoke in that moment :-) )he thanks and signs a second dvd i took with me. artemis manages to shoot two pics while the whole scene takes place!then it's artemis' turn. she whispers: "take photos!" but then all happens too fast (or was i too lame??). before i can move back some steps to get the right distance for a nice and sharp photo don already signed her programm brochure. he asks: "anybody else?" since nobody answers he turns around and goes back into the theater. while struggling with my cheap camera :-(( and hopping mad because i didn't asked for a second autograph i can clearly watch don looking on the dvd cover before he disappeared behind the door. ok. it looks like we caught his attention ...of course i could write that artemis and i made some sightseeing the next day and spend a rainy afternoon in a very friendly and nice italian bistro, but in comparison to the day before it was a calm and relaxing day. there is only one thing left: when we entered the replacement bus which was sent to bring us back to the airport the 80ies song "drive" was in the radio ... "who's gonna drive you home tonight?"... but we came home safe. ;-)epilog:i guess you all like to know about the dvd. after reading glorias report about the audio cd he gave don i got the idea to create a video clip. thus i invented the "DON JOHNSON alphabet". the file can be seen (sorry, for registered users only) here. and now the big surprise: i will auction this dvd during the next days here on mv.info. with the - hopefully high - result i will contact don johnson again to ask him for an interview (again). so please stay tuned, together we're maybe able to make this interview come true here.at last all my thanks and thoughts go to all of you who kept their fingers crossed for my journey. all your support and good wishes made this encounter possible!!! thanks you! many thanks also to artemis who managed to make the photos.

[Pia]

RE: MV.info meets Don Johnson (English)Hey E.llaSound like you had a wonderfull time in London.How was the show? - Did you have good seats? I´m going next weekend. I can not wait to three days of relaxing and theatre.I work at one of the big theatres in Copenhagen. Right now I working 60 hours a week because of oure big big succes.So when the pressure gets to to much this weekend , I will enjoy reading your London story again and dream away.Have geat day/Pia

[miamijimf]

RE: MV.info meets Don Johnson (English)Hey Ell.a,Wow, that's quite a story. Thanks for posting it in English. Glad you had a good time. What a neat idea, to give DJ a CD. I'm curious about what was on it. I hope when I reach 20 posts on this site I'll be able to open the link in your story to see what was on it. He's quite a character. I like the fact that he doesn't live in the past but on the other hand I want him to know that he has many fans around the world, probably more than he realizes. Giving him a CD may have accomplished that.Regards,Jim

[Flagler]

I think that no one of us will seriously expect any reaction about that CD. But it would be nice when it doesn't end in his agent's waste basket... *hope*

[Accipippi]

RE: MV.info meets Don Johnson (English)Hy E.lla i've just finished to read your post and oh my good , you' ve seen him and spoken to him, it' s just marvelous =)And what a great idea to give Don a CD, and even better the idea of an auction to realize an interview with Don, i'd like to partecipate to that auction. I'll scatter the voice on my forum, hoping a lot of peple will partecipate.Have great time.

[Ell.a]

you're all very welcome.yeah, it was indeed a fine experience. the show was great, and seeing don johnson on the stage was very special as well. his voice is still in a great condition. i love the song "sue me" he sang with claire sweeny. he got down on his knees and sang for adelaide. great!accipippi, it would be great if you would promote the auction in your forum! thanks so much for your assistance! i'll let you know! 8)

[Accipippi]

Thanks E.lla :blumen: it would be great to read Don's interview!! So we are all hoping that the auction's result would be very high

[donmar]

RE: MV.info meets Don Johnson (English)Hello Ell.aI met Don also in London.It was on the 10th of February. It also was my birthday.I met Don twice that day. In the afternoon he kissed me on the cheek and wished me a happy birthday. He signed the programm-book en wrote also Happy Birthday on it.That evening I met him again. I had a picture of him I brought from home. He signed it to and wrote To Marjan and Feb 10.It was a remarkeble birthday and I never will forget it.I will send some pics later.

[miamijimf]

CD AuctionEll.a,Just wondering if you plan to anounce the auction on Miami-Vice.Org and Miami-Vice.Nl? This should generate some bids. I know there are folks on these sites who collect DJ stuff. I didn't realize he appeared in so many movies etc before watching this CDJim

[KaeptnCaipi]

RE: CD AuctionHi Jim,I think it's a little bit difficult if we place ONE auction on three boards, because nobody knows how much he had to bid.But we can post links on these boards to our auction here.

[Ell.a]

RE: CD Auctionhi donmar, welcome to miamivice.info.you really had a nice encounter with don johnson. hey, kisses from THE man ... that's what many women dream of. i'm looking forward to your pics.

Original von MiamiJimFJust wondering if you plan to anounce the auction on Miami-Vice.Org and Miami-Vice.Nl?

i already sent a mail to the admin of mv.nl and also to goldfish on don-johnson.be because before posting and promoting an auction on other sites i would like to get their admin's permission.goldfish already posted a great announcement on his news page and sent a newsletter to all registered members. thanks so much, goldfish!also harold from miami-vice.nl gave his permission to post an announcement. he also offered to post the info on the main page of his site! also my thanks to you, harold!i will contact ferrariman as well tonight and ask for his permission.

[donmar]

RE: CD AuctionI have put some pictures of my stay in London and meeting Don on the gallery as I promised.Hope you like them.loveDonmar

[Ell.a]

i like them indeed, thanks for posting, donmar! reminds me of my own visit at the stage entrance!

[Accipippi]

E.lla congratulation :blumen:you are the auction winner :klatsch:

[Ell.a]

thanks accipippi, though it's a really funny thing to purchase my own dvd. :Dbut i'm happy it's back to me. 8)

[Accipippi]

This is right, i'm happy for you too, really :blumen:

[Flagler]

A pretty way for supporting business: Anyone buys his own creations... :D

[Carlo]

Ja, von mir an dieser Stelle auch nochmal "Glückwunsch zu dem schönen Teil!!!":radio: :radio:

[Scorpio]

gratuliere auch von meiner stelle aus liebe ela vor allem danke für den ausführlichen bericht der mich vor neid erblassen ließnatürlich auch herzlichen dank an alle die diese seite am leben erhalten.ich weiss wieviel zeit man da reinstecken muss.GRACIAS

[Ell.a]

danke für die glückwünsche. ich freu mich auch

[Ell.a]

Original written by Ell.a:i will auction this dvd during the next days here on mv.info. with the - hopefully high - result i will contact don johnson again to ask him for an interview (again). so please stay tuned, together we're maybe able to make this interview come true here.

I wrote this on March 5th 2007. After finishing the auction I sent the report about the auction together with a(nother) friendly request for an interview or at least a refusal to DJ. This was two months ago. I revcieved no answer, no denial, no reaction at all. Sad!