Most people buy a ticket for a musical and go there once. Some people like it so much that they go again. But there are also fans who attend the same performance more than a hundred times. Such a person is Emma Hamaker (22) from Zoetermeer. “The cast members of Frozen always say at the artist exit: ‘Are you there again, Emma?’ against me.”
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Unlike the young fans of Princess Elsa, you won’t see Emma walking around in a blue princess dress during a visit to the Circustheater. She does know all the music numbers by heart: “In my mind I am participating on stage.”
Going out with mother
The very first time was with her mother in June last year. Emma bought two tickets for the musical in Scheveningen and she became infected with the Frozen virus. Since then she has even come to the Circustheater more than once a week. Both the doorman and the cloakroom ladies recognize her and always greet her upon arrival. “Sometimes afterwards I wait for the crew members at the artist entrance where they get on the bus to go home. ‘Why do you come so often?’ they say.”
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A large sum of money
Emma does it for the feeling of magic it evokes in her. She works very hard to buy all those expensive tickets. “I did the math. I think I have lost about 12,000 euros now.”
Emma still lives at home and she gives online singing lessons, among other things. Her dream is to one day be on stage. She knows all the songs and lyrics by heart and she notices when a sentence is said slightly differently. After every song and at the end of every performance, she stands up from her seat applauding loudly, as if it were the first show.
New friends
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Not only are her visits to the musical magical. Emma has also made two special friendships. “Thanks to Frozen, I met fans Koert Marcelissen and Roos van den Berg, who are now among my best friends. I met Koert at the artist exit at Frozen and since then we have become such good friends that we go to the musical together almost every time.”
Counting down the weeks
After a year and a half, the musical Frozen ends on Sunday, January 4. When Emma heard about the stop, she broke down in tears. “After the announcement at the beginning of this year, I had sixty visits. I am trying to reach a total of 178 shows and that means that I have to go about three times a week in the last weeks of this year. I am so sorry that it is stopping.”
I cried a lot at home
Bucket list
Don’t think that Emma will give up after January 4. In the meantime, she already has a new musical in mind; West Side Story. This performance can be seen throughout the Netherlands, so Emma travels the country to be enchanted again. “The musical has been on display since mid-November. In the meantime, I have been there five times.”
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Who is the next Zoetermeer of the week?
Do you also have a special story? Or do you know a Zoetermeer resident who we really should interview? Let us know via [email protected].