BWW Reviews: Dutch Musical Theatre Community Welcomes New King

The Dutch musical theatre community participated actively today in the festive ceremony with which HRH Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands passed the torch to her son, Willem Alexander.

After the formal part of the ceremony, the new King and his wife, HRH Queen Maxima, set sail on the Amsterdam IJ, passing by various ships dedicated to themes such as ballet, music and gay pride.

One of these boats was packed with musical theatre actors, performing a 7-minute medley of musicals of Dutch origin. These included SOLDAAT VAN ORANJE, DE JANTJES, CISKE DE RAT, CYRANO (featuring Bill Van Dijk who also performed the title role of this production on Broadway), EN NU NAAR BED, 3 MUSKETIERS and revuesicals dedicated to Ramses Shaffy and Wim Sonneveld.

Joop Van Den Ende, founder of Stage Entertainment, was part of the inauguration committee.

On the 30th of April, being a national holiday, theatres in the Netherlands were dark.

Both Beatrix and her son and various members of the Dutch royal family have visited premieres of Dutch musicals in the past, most notably CISKE DE RAT and SOLDAAT VAN ORANJE.

Photo: Then-HRH Queen Beatrix posing with the opening night cast of CISKE DE RAT (2007).

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