The question is whether this is possible again. Does everyone stand up again because Lent preacher Maximilian Schafroth verbally inspires them to such an extent that the guests at the Nockherberg only want to applaud while standing? The answer is yes. Even if he composes his speech a little differently this time.
The evening begins as usual. The guests stream into the hall on Wednesday evening, it smells of meatballs and women’s perfume, and you can mainly hear loud male voices. The various trades are distributed among their traditional positions. At the back right of the stage is the actors’ guild, at the front right there is beer and balls, i.e. the representatives of FC Bayern and Munich restaurateurs, and in the middle is politics. When the guests rose in large numbers for the first time shortly before 7 p.m., it had less to do with awe and recognition than with curiosity about how the Prime Minister would walk into the hall for the parade march this year.
A first special moment follows, namely a very long applause for the long-standing Paulaner boss Andreas Steinfatt, who now invites Markus Söder on stage for the last time after 28 years for the first strong beer mass. And before that, find a few successful farewell words. The temperature in the hall rises and the first bald men’s heads begin to shine. Schafroth hasn’t said a single sentence yet. His parents sit in the actor’s corner, his mother Gabriele explains beforehand: “When he puts his foot up and leans forward, he is relaxed and in.”
Schafroth comes on stage with a drum troupe and safety vest as a protest procession, gets going and puts his foot up after four sentences as he verbally beats his favorite opponent Hubert Aiwanger for the first time. Jan-Christian Dreesen is shaking with laughter. The Bayern chairman will spend the next hour mostly giggling. Early on, Schafroth interrupts his high-frequency cabaret peaks with serious moments, short sermons between sustained bursts of punchlines. In the end, the seriousness and his calm appeal to reason and togetherness prevail.
The prominent guests included Charlotte Knobloch, President of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria, and the American Consul General Timothy Liston.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
Hoeneß says when he sits back down after the long final applause: “Great, I only thought one thing wasn’t quite successful: he took Aiwanger far too seriously. He’s not that important.” And Dreesen, still visibly affected by laughter, adds how often Schafroth hit the nail on the head verbally. Michaela May, two tables away, goes even further: “He has a great ability to easily come up with pithy things and tell people straight to the point where the deficits are.” She has “experienced every Lenten preacher since Walter Sedlmayr in the eighties,” that is, nine speakers, “but Schafroth is the best.” And Rosalie Thomass is already completely exhausted: “It’s just wonderful how he seriously gives everyone an enema between the bursts of laughter.”
What then continues in the Singspiel in a very melodic and harmonious way. Gerhard Wittmann as Dieter Reiter as Maya the Bee has the most acclaimed appearance. Michael Brandner says afterwards: “Wonderful, they always hit the right note, nice and sharp.” Apparently many people see it that way, because even after the Singspiel the guests stand again and applaud while standing. Could become a new tradition.