It all began with a special initiative by U.S. Ambassador William R. Timken and his wife Sue who collaborated with PluralArts and the Ernst-Schering Oberschule in the Berlin district Wedding to bring to the stage a multilingual musical production entitled "The Street of Wedding." Under the direction American choreographer and composer Todd Fletcher, students from some 27 countries developed this unique musical which features a wide variety of musical and dance styles and is a lively examination of life in Wedding as seen through the eyes of its young residents. After the overwhelming success of the premiere in Berlin, the Amerika Haus e.V. Nordrhein-Westfalen, in conjunction with the German Federal Interior Ministry, proudly presented this musical at the Theater am Tanzbrunnen in Cologne on March 12, 2008.