CLEVELAND — It doesn’t matter if you called it Hannah hysterics or Miley mania, Thursday night’s show at the Quicken Loans Arena was every little girl’s fantasy come true.

The words “awesome” and “cool” were uttered time and time again by awestruck youngsters, some of whom were experiencing their first rock concerts. They came knowing they would have a good time and the Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana “Best of Both Worlds” show tried hard not too disappoint.

The excitement that swirled around the arena exploded into what seemed like one, long ear-piercing shriek when the curtain finally rose moments after 7 p.m. and the throng of fanatic fans eyed three sweet faces: The Jonas Brothers.

In one swift move, hundreds of screaming teenage girls adorned with ‘I (heart) Joe, Kevin or Nick’ T-shirts ran toward the stage with cell phones and cameras in hand. Soon, the entire crowd was singing along.

“I came for them,” said 16-year-old Lisa Carano of Akron. “They’re really cute, and I like their music.”

There was no time for long chitchat about why.

Carano and friend, Krysta Tuck, 15, also of Akron, were too busy singing along and declaring their undying love for the latest boy band.

They were not alone.

The hype surrounding the long ago sold-out concert has been unbelievable for weeks. Children begged for the tickets and parents went to extraordinary lengths to oblige.

It showed in the audience Thursday night.

“I probably came from the furthest away,” said Angela Hopkins, 61, of Wales in the United Kingdom. “But I had to come. My grandkids live, eat, sleep and dream everything Hannah Montana.”

For Hopkins, attending the show was not originally on her holiday travel agenda. But after learning that her grandchildren were adamant about going, a quest for tickets was started. It didn’t stop until just a few hours before the show when four tickets were purchased from a scalper standing outside the arena. The going rate for happy kids: $440 for all four tickets.

But if you ask others in the audience, the concert was worth any amount of money.

“I told my mother I would spend $1,000 just to be here or get a hug from Hannah Montana,” said 9-year-old Michaela Dornack.

OK, so Cyrus, first dressed as Hannah Montana, the character she plays on the hit Disney television show of the same name, didn’t have time to give Michaela a hug.

But what she did get was a show that she is surely bragging to all her friends about today that she got to witness.

Emerging out of a pink glowing box set off by pyrotechnic explosions, Cyrus really knew how to work her young crowd. For nearly an hour, she sang, danced and screamed right alongside her adoring fans. A stage full of musicians, back-up singers and dancers rounded out the high-octane performance.

She even delighted fans with a musical treat in the form of an energetic duet with the Jonas Brothers, which only added to the frenzy. And, just when the expressions on several young faces read ‘Could it get any better than this,” Cyrus disappeared and reemerged as “Miley” to sing some more.

Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers sent home a lot of happy kids Thursday.

“It was sooo good,” squealed 8-year-old Daisha Hawkins of Akron. “I mean, I have so much Hannah Montana stuff, I knew I had to come to this concert. I can’t wait to tell all my friends.”

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com .

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