Seattle, Saturday, Jan 3, 1998
From Lorraine
Hi All:
Well, I got to SOI Seattle this weekend. I'm happy to report that the show is MUCH better live than it appeared from the TBS broadcast, however it isn't as good as last years show. Part of the problem, I felt, was the choice of music. Perhaps as a response to criticism about too much heavy-duty classical music last year, the show's producers seem to have banged a U-ee, and chosen way too much heavy rock. I found it much to loud and grating, for my tastes at least.
Attendance was WAY off from last year. In 1997, the place was literally packed to the rafters, with people outside begging for tickets. This year,one end of the arena had been curtained off, and nobody was sitting in that section. I'd say at least 1/4 of the seats were empty. The sections that were sold looked pretty full, but I noticed as the performance was starting, that there were at least 10 rows of centre ice seats completely empty. Presumably these were VIP seats that hadn't been used, but I was amazed that there were no last minute takers. However, as the performance went on, people began moving down to these choice seat - who can blame them!
Since T&D weren't there, I decided not to get the most expensive seat. I requested a seat in the middle-price range. When my ticket arrived a week ago, I didn't look at it all that closely. When I got to the arena, I realized that the ticket said Row 2. That had to be a mistake, because no way had I paid for a seat that close to the ice, but the usher confirmed that I wasn't imagining things. Believe me, I didn't argue any further, I just went to my mysteriously-upgraded seat and enjoyed the show from the second row. I know some of you have had trouble getting the seats you wanted, so I AM trying hard not to smirk - really!! ;-)
I arrived an hour early, hoping to hit the merchandise stand before the hordes arrived. Unfortunately, it seemed that everybody else had the same idea, it was a mob scene. I finally made it to the front, where I picked up a program, a T-shirt and a SOI fridge magnet. No pictures of T&D were available, I'll guess we'll have to wait for the East Coast for that. I didn't like this years program as much as last years. I didn't think the pictures of the cast in the biography section were that nice. Most appeared to be candid photos taken during rehearsal. T&D's picture isn't that good - Jayne is standing directly in front of Chris, blocking half his head. Katya G. looks positively haggard, and Rosalyn Sumners has hair straggling over her face. But Katarina Witt looked fabulous! Instead of short biographies like last year, each skater wrote a short blurb.
Jayne said:
Your appreciation of our skating has always been special to me.
Chris said:
It's good to be back in my second home.
and Elena Bechke said: When I was fourteen years old, I was lucky enough to see a pair of World and Olympic Champions in my home city of Leningrad. They were so beautiful and athletic that I dreamed that I could one day join them on the ice. Those skaters were Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean,and today I'm so honoured to be skating alongside them.
(Well, I just KNEW there was a reason B&P are my favorite pair!!!!)
Anyway, on to the show itself. It opened with 5 different Led Zeppelin numbers. First was a group number involving everybody except Scott Hamilton. OK, but nothing special. Then Scott enters, to a HUGE standing O from the crowd. I don't think he tried anything harder than a 3-toe, and he fell on that, but who cares? Scottie is back on the ice!!!! Kurt Browning (in hockey skates!), Paul Wylie & B&P also skated solos in this section. Elena B. seems to have recovered from her injury. They were attempting all their jumps, throws, etc. She had a couple of stumbles, but looked much stronger than she did a few weeks ago.
After the Led Zeppelin numbers were finished (and not before time!), the first Muse appeared. I suspect this was T&D's contribution. The skaters dress all in black (black shirts & trousers, black fedoras and dark glasses). For the rest of the show, one or more Muses would come out before each cold sport and do a little introductory dance. These numbers ranged from just a few seconds to a couple of minutes. One Muse was spotted on the roof of the skater's entrance! It was a VERY unique and original idea, and just quirky enough to have come from one source! :-)
Of all the cold spots, I like Katya G's the best. She skated to 3 Preludes by Gershwin. She tried a 3-toe, 2-footed the landing, but did a great 3-salchow later on, as well as a couple of very solid double axels. But the nicest thing was the obvious joy with which she skated. She really looked happy again, and was obviously truly enjoying herself again. It was so nice to see. Kristi, Paul, Scott and Katarina also skated cold spots during this half.
The first half closed with Fun & Games, the Olympic spoof. This is really a very clever piece, with writer EM Swift getting in a more than a few good zingers. A couple of bits were cut from the TBS broadcast. One was the judges entrance - they actually have a funny little dance of their own, and can be seen deal making and trying to intimidate the skaters. Also, there's a bit of off-stage drama involving Annie Neeragain (Kristi). While shopping for a costume, she is "accidentally" injured by somebody's spiked heel. Nobody knows who did it, but Ivana Medal (Roz) skates out looking pleased about something & strangely enough, HER daughter (Katya) goes on to win! The ice dance spoof is even funnier that it was on TV, and after all the different explanations we've got regarding G&P's free dance, I thought that it hit pretty close to home. All in all, this was a most enjoyable group number, but nowhere near as good as Red Hat or Shameless from last year.
The 2nd half opened with 8 or 9 Muses walking out of the skater's entrance, around the rink,up one of the aisles, around part of the concourse, back down another aisles and finally across the ice. There was a bench there were all their skaters and everybody proceeded to lace up. Really a neat way to start this half. After their number, Roca & Sur skated their cold sport. This was a beautiful number, with some very unique moves. Brian
Orser skated "The Story of my Life" next. This went over well - I suspect I wasn't the ONLY Canadian who'd made the trip to Seattle! :-) I also really enjoyed Kurt's number "Antares" Sandra Bezic isn't my favorite choreographer, but she's done a fabulous job here. That spread eagle down one side of the rink and back the other side is just too cool for words.
B&P did a great pairs number and Paul Wylie skated to "Go the Distance" by Michael Bolton. He really seems to be having a lot of trouble with his jumps these days. BTW, Paul & Gorsha Sur had very similar costumes - what I call Bolero purple. Incidentally, so does Evgeny Platov. Are these guys trying to channel Chris Dean?!
I wasn't that impressed by the Elvis medley. Actually Katya & Kurt were fine, but Kristi's number to Trouble didn't do a thing for me. The last solo of the night was Scott H's Wizard of Oz number. Actually, the REAL star of this number is Scottie's costume, an awesome concoction, with props stuffed ingeniously in and popping out miraculously - tails, several fake fronts, glasses, etc. It's a marvel!!
The show closed with "Stairway to Heaven". Since this is my choice for the worst song ever written, you may be able to guess that I didn't care too much for it. No choreographer was credited (actually, none of the group numbers were credited to anybody). I didn't think this was anything special, but I dislike that song so much anyway, that I may have been a bit prejudiced!
Although I don't feel that this show is the equal of last years, it is still a most enjoyable evening and well worth seeing even without T&D. The group numbers, as well as the obvious camaraderie among the skaters really make SOI something special and elevate it far above the level of any other ice show. It'll be just that much better when T&D join after the Olympics.
Lorraine
From Leslie:
The show was wonderful. When Scott made his appearance the crowd applause was deafening. His performance of the Wizard of Oz improves each time I see it. My grand-daughter was especially tickled when he re-appeared from under the witches hat with red sequined shoes.
Paul Wylie skated well and it was moving knowing that this is probably the last time we will see him skate in person.
Brian Orser's skate to "The Story of My Life" was very moving.
Kurt did his usual skating which was superb. The rest of the show was also a lot of fun to watch.
From Becky:
Not being one of the lucky ones at rinkside, I settled for a bird's eye view from Row 27 in the corner. Actually I could see all of the ice, even f I missed some details. The sound system was LOUD, perhaps appropriate for opening with Led Zeppelin. The skaters looked in great form, with good unison throughout these pieces. Naturally everything came to a halt when you-know-who came out on the ice. ; )
Scott looked great. I believe the beard was missing again, though it's hard to tell from my vantage point. He really sent the ice chips flying with his footwork and that smile reached the rafters!
Elena Bechke and Denis Petrov shone in "Whole Lotta Love". They did everything cleanly and the audience went nuts with their lifts. They truly get better with each performance and the fact that they love what they're doing always shows.
Katia Gordeeva was her usual cute self in the Gershwin number. She is still unsteady with those pesky triples, but she doesn't really need them. The audience responded very warmly whenever she was on the ice. I'd say that next to Scott, she was probably the favorite of the evening
My only real beef with the show is that most of the skater's numbers were oriented to the other end of the rink. The seats filled were in a pattern that left a section above the lighting and entrance empty, with only a line of chairs rinkside. A good portion of the time they were doing their most interesting jumps and spins in this area, away from most of the audience. We saw a lot of backsides (not that I mind looking at Scott's backside - shame on me). I wished that this could have been changed.
I give kudos to the lighting director and his crew for this whole show. From Kristi's "red lips" to the "yellow brick road", they did an awesome job setting the mood for each piece and also for being able to follow each skater despite the speeds at which they travel across the ice! Not an easy task for sure and I'm certain it's one that is taken for granted by most people who see the shows.
Joelle, the "Fun and Games" program is one that you will definitely enjoy, no matter how many people tell you about it. "Swifty's" dialogue is altered slightly to reflect the city he's in. Instead of comparing the excitement to a "midnight one-on-one with Katarina Witt", he mentioned a "Sonics game in the NBA championship" (an inside joke as the Sonic usually play ball on the surface where they were skating). Instead of the dog biting Kristi, it was a "sharp step by a mysterious spiked heel at the shopping mall" that did her in. Since I don't know what's most mentionable in your neck of the woods, I can't predict what they'll come up with. The skating is first rate for this. The dance number has to be seen to be believed and Kurt's routine is priceless. Not to mention skated perfectly! : )
Scott did do "With One More Look.." and he did it beautifully except for the triple toe loop, which he fell on again. The audience applauded anyway and he finished it to a standing ovation.
The Muses were an interesting and effective touch to the show. The opening for the second half was kind of "amusing" in more ways than one. The six of them came down along the ice and up though the audience as people were still going to their seats. They walked right past some people who didn't even appear to notice them! It became a guessing game trying to figure out where they were going to come in. As they did enter, everyone immediately started clapping in unison to the music.This continued until all had their skates on and had begun the next piece. You have fun trying to guess who is who and end up watching for signature moves to clue you in. When a lone Muse does a backflip, then goes sliding across the ice on his knees playing an air guitar, it's a pretty good guess as to who that *is*.
Renee Roca and Gorsha Sur did a lovely piece to "Time to Say Goodbye". I had a personal quibble with some of the choreography, though. Renee spent a lot of time with her legs in the air, spread wide apart and legs bent in peculiar angles. I don't find that the most elegant of positions. I prefer more dancing and actual skating, which they do very well.
Brian Orser had a Canadian cheering squad in the section across from me. They were very vocal all evening. His number was right on, with every move clean and smooth. I was disappointed that he only had the one number. His talent needs to be
showcased more in the U.S., than it is.
The "air guitar" led into the next section with Roz's fun number by Sheryl Crow. Hometown girl does not disappoint! A different piece for her and it looked like a winner. I hope she doesn't leave soon. Looks good for a few more tours.
Kurt's number was...different. Sort of like the Joe Santriani "snake" number. He missed two jumps near the end (couldn't tell what they were). He finished, sitting on the ice and looking somewhat sheepishly at the crowd. Kurt was obviously displeased with his performance, but he grinned and shrugged, and the crowd applauded him off the ice anyway.
Katarina's numbers were nice and fairly clean. I don't have much to say about them except that they reminded me of others that she's done. Always a crowd pleaser, especially among the guys.
Elena and Denis again. A fun number to "Joue Jusqu' au Matin". Elena fell on a throw jump, other than that, they skated cleanly. Some really nice lifts and side-by-side work.
I felt that Paul Wylie deserved a standing O at the the end of "Go the Distance" for the sheer fact that this was his last number in this arena. I don't believe a lot of people realize that he's not coming back next year. It was not his best performance. He popped the triple lutz and doubled another jump. Paul's spins and his split jumps will be sorely missed by this skating fan and this fan's mother (Paul is her favorite skater). Sigh. I wish him well.
I'll skip "Fever" as I'm not an Elvis fan and his music doesn't do anything for me regardless of who skates to it.
I'll simply say that "The Show Must Go On". Scott Hamilton is totally nuts for doing this number, something he has admitted to. It is fast, furious and absolutely brilliant! *Kudos* to Jef Billings for the costume and Sarah Kawahara for the choreography.
It is another of those "must be seen to be believed" numbers. The audience was laughing throughout the whole thing.
More Zeppelin, lots of sequins and color. Standing ovations and the lights come up again. I'll definitely be back next year.
Sorry for the length of this review and the lack of technical jargon. I don't have the expertise in this field. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did. Even my husband liked it and he isn't a skating fan. Root for Todd this week!
Nagano is not far away.
Becky Kane
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