Nashville, March 24, 1998
Stars on Ice was in Nashville, Tennessee, last night - March 24 - for another wonderful performance, even if it was a LITTLE less than perfect.
I was disappointed in the size of the crowd - probably only 3/4 capacity -but those that were there were enthusiastic. Katarina Witt is elsewhere this time of year, and Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean were there.
Paul Wylie was not up to form - line and footwork and artistry were as good as we have come to expect, but his jumps were way below par - not one triple in the bunch, and only a single axel.
Scott's triple lutz may be back, but it didn't come to Nashville - its single cousin was there.
People are RIGHT!! Trying to identify the Muses is fun. I think the first is Brian, the second group (of five) are Gorsha & Renee, Brian, Rosalyn, and .... The single guitar Muse is none other than the Master (who else plays that guitar so well?)
During Get the Led Out, the people on the front row got a little extra excitement when Kurt nearly ended up in their laps - hockey skates apparently are not as agile as figure skates, because Kurt wouldn't fall -- would he? No way! Must have been the skates!
I'm still not too crazy about Ekaterina's 3 Preludes - she did it well except for a fall on her first jump - and I must assume that she likes it since nobody forced it on her - but it seems stark to me.
The Smooch was perfect - Kristi just doesn't miss, does she?
Scott's With One More Look at You was heart-filling, even with that single lutz. He got a couple of triples in, and his series of double axels. Gary Morris (who sings One More Look) was on the front row, and Scott went over to acknowledge him at the end of the number. I mean - we were in Nashville, after all - one would expect a singing star or two to be there. Especially one who contributed to the show!
Torvill & Dean did Tango (maybe the Last Tango in Paris ?) which involves a large trunk and a newspaper. She's always taking his STUFF!
In Fun & Games, Cyril Lutz took two falls at the hands of Swifty - one that everyone has seen on TV, and another just as he got back to the top of the platform. The judges got a little riff at the beginning which wasn't shown on TV, either.
ACT II began with great pathos - Time to Say Goodbye (Roca & Sur) and The Story of My Life (Brian Orser). Both were up to par, though there were still too few triples. And it didn't help that my seat was on the "Back" of the program - got to see a lot of behinds. Maybe next time I'll get front-side seats.
Mr. Air-GuitarMan was the Muse for the transition out of that segment - as I noted bofore - Scott himself!
Rosalynn's Sweet Rosalyn was flawed only by a spinout on one jump otherwise her usual energetic performance.
Kurt was really on in Antares - he is definitely the Heir Apparent (assuming Scott is King of the Ice) - it all looked so spur-of-the-moment, yet I know it couldn't possibly be. Just skate along, kick up your heels a bit here and there, toss in a triple jump or two whenever the spirit moves you. Amazing!
Joue Jusqu'au Matin (Bechke & Petrov) The y have some innovative and intriguing lifts and carries (for lack of a better word) in this number.
In one, he was on one foot, with her foot resting on his other outstretched one, and her upper half supported by their holding hands. It formed kind-of an upside-down "t" Don't recall ever seeing that one before. And they opened with his just picking her up and tossing her over his head, like she weighs about 5 pounds.
The Elvis Presley FEVER medley (which has been well-covered in previous reviews and went well last night) was followed by Torvill & Dean's Still Crazy After All These Years. Lady Pretzel and Lord of the Dance were just perfect - so what else is new?
And of course, THE SHOW MUST GO ON, even if there is only one "cast-member" to do it all. Maybe Scott should go into the movies, should he ever (re-)"tire" of skating. All the special effects worked - kudos to the technical staff.
Could have used about 20% more light on Stairway to Heaven's early section - skaters in black in the dark are a little hard to see, especially when the cloud machines have been at work. But that's nit-picking.
As anyone can tell you - Stars on Ice is THE BEST! And it's the only place you can see real star-ensemble skating that tells some kind of story. Not that I would miss a Champions on Ice show if it came around, but there is no cohesiveness in that kind of show - everybody just does = his/her/their own thing with no regard for the overall tenor of the show.
Wish I could go again tonight - guess I'll just have to watch my tapes from when they were on TV. And wait for my pictures to come back from processing.
Jo Stermer, Huntsville, Alabama
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