Munich
Premiere of musical: “We are thinking of Heinz Hoenig”
Composer Ralph Siegel gives an interview before the Munich premiere of his musical “A Little Peace”. photo
© Felix Hörhager/dpa
The actor was actually supposed to be on stage at the premiere of the musical “A Little Peace”. But then he became seriously ill.
Composer Ralph Siegel greeted the seriously ill actor at the Munich premiere of his musical “A Little Peace”. Heinz Hoenig sent. “We are thinking of Heinz Hoenig, we wish him all the best,” said Siegel late on Thursday evening at the premiere party. “We wish him that he gets better soon and that he has a long life.”
“We are incredibly sorry for the situation, it is of course a drama for him,” Siegel told the German Press Agency before the premiere. According to media reports, a bacterial infection damaged a stent in Hoenig’s heart and the aorta had to be replaced. In addition, the esophagus has a hole. “That’s a big concern,” Siegel said. “One can only hope and pray.”
Health condition is very serious
Hoenig (72), who starred in the 80s hit “Das Boot” and was most recently in the RTL “Jungle Camp”, should have been on stage at the premiere, but is currently being treated in a Berlin hospital. His health condition was very serious even after he woke up from the coma, as Siegel’s management told Siegelring, which also represents Hoenig.
Siegel was deeply moved – not only because of the actor’s fate, but also because his musical, which premiered in Füssen, has now made it to his hometown of Munich. On stage, the 78-year-old, who was also in poor health, had to fight back tears after the final applause. “It’s such a beautiful evening,” he said. “I’ll smooch you all.”
Alexander Kerbst takes over for Heinz Hoenig
Alexander Kerbst took over for Hoenig, who was already scheduled for several performances and who has already presented “A Bit of Peace” at the Neuschwanstein Festival Hall. Simone Ballack, the former wife of professional footballer Michael Ballack, was also there and received applause for her stage debut in a smaller supporting role.
There was a standing ovation for the musical production, which was very long and at times lengthy at more than three hours – even though not all the seats at the premiere were occupied.
“Transporting that to Munich is not that easy,” Siegel told dpa about his musical. Advance sales are not going “as I would have liked”. Hopefully that will change after a successful premiere.
So far, musicals have not been an exclusive success story for the composer. Because his production of “Zeppelin” had to be paused during the corona pandemic, he lost “a fortune,” said Siegel – “an insane amount of money.” But: “I can’t put my legs up because they hurt. And I don’t want to get bored in front of the TV either.” He has many more ideas – including for new musicals.