November 29, 1997
Lake Placid, NY
Review by Sharon
Our second year attending the opening night of SOI, a four hour drive and well worth it. Our seats were center ice 5 rows up. The first thrill?
We found ourselves seated amongst the skating contingent which included Steven Cousins, Daria Grinkova, and friends and supporters of Scott, Kurt & Brian Orser. We were in hog heaven. We really enjoyed listening to their behind the scenes observations but I could kick myself for not working up the nerve to talk to Steven. I'm usually a big mouth but I didn't want to intrude and instead giggled like a 13 year old instead of acting like a mature 40 year old woman, must have been his dark, sparkling eyes.
"The cast crew and Staff honor the memory of our friend Bobby Preston with tonight's performance."
Act I
-Get the Led Out- The show started to Led Zeppelin, the whole cast (minus Scott) attired in black leather pants with red tops. Very exciting, good sound. I'm not sure the older members of the audience were impressed with the music but it rang fine with me. After the introductions and group moves, voile, our hero Scott appeared solo, white lights, and what a moment! He blew his opening jump but we were all so thrilled to see him and he quickly completed 2 jumps in succession. (In the re-takes he said he got an adrenalin rush from the crowd.) He received a joyful welcome with many signs in the audience (you would have been pleased Joelle).
In this opener, special mention of Kurt skating in hockey skates and Bechke and Petrov in "Whole Lotta Love." Elena was injured before the Equal Challenge of Champions and the couple pulled out of the competition before it started. I noted that one of her thighs was bandaged under her hose. I hope she recuperates quickly, they seemed a little shaky and they bring so much to pairs skating, they were missed.
One of cool things about this year's show are "The Muses." Cast members are dressed identically in black pants, black shirts, black fedoras and
black sunglasses. They act as interludes or links between the numbers,
sometimes dramatic, sometimes humorous but an excellent theatrical
device. It's such fun to guess which is which, and who is who.
- 3 Preludes/George Gershwin - Choreographed by Zueva, Katya wore a white
unitard with a black lace vest, very delicate, very clean lines, very
feminine. These numbers were perfect for her quiet style on the ice. The words delicate, charming, and sweet come to mind.
- SWAK/Louis Armstrong - Kristi wore a black sleeveless halter dress with a tiny line of gold trim and delicate sequins. The lighting effects were very successful in her number, big red lips and she ended with a big, smacky kiss. She popped one jump which was rectified in the re-takes. She's a professional. A confident performance in spite of the boo-boo. (choreog. Bezic)
- Sleepers/John Williams -
No doubt most of you have seen this on tv, it was choreographed by Mary Scotvold. Better in person. We've all said it before but it is worth saying again, dramatic lighting, good sound, seeing a number in person beats tv any day, if you love skating, get tickets, GO! This number was a good contrast to the previous light hearted piece from Kristi. The triple lutz was successful
- Man of La Mancha/Linda Eder -
Choreographed by Lea Ann Miller, this also plays better in person than on tv. The green lighting on the ice contrasts nicely with Katarina's costume. Double axel was solid and she covered the ice beautifully.
- Fun & Games - The close to act one was a hoot. I'm not sure most of the audience got this comedic segment but it was a riot, and to me, was one of highlights of the show. The cast sets up a mini skating competition with Scott situated on the ice at a desk as a reporter named "Swifty." He narrates the race for the "big enchilada over 17 days of competition." Kurt played Cyril Lutz who arrives as a klutz but who goes on to win big. There is a skating rivalry between Kristi and Katya with Rosalynn as the meddling skate-mom. Roca and Sur do a horror of a dance competition that is absolutely hysterical, Pasha-esque comes to mind.
There are judges, Witt, Orser, Bechke & Petrov wearing black judges robes and grey British judiciary wigs. The dialog is witty, the music taken from such diverse sources as Chorus Line, My Fair Lady, ragtime tunes, 2001, Strike up the Band, and even a western movie theme. If you follow skating, you will laugh 'til your sides ache. Right on!
Act II
-Amusing - This act does not begin on the ice. There is a bench on center ice with pairs of skates. The muses appeared on the sidelines in street shoes, walked up one aisle and up top amongst the audience to a rhythmic beat that had us all clapping along. They walked back down and out on the ice, all in black, hats and shades as in Act I. They each take a seat on the bench and proceed to lace up their skates. Katarina won by finishing first. I can envision a little behind the scenes thing going like last year's fine for dropping the hat, the fastest lace on the tour.
- Time to Say Goodbye/Andrea Bocelli & Sarah Brightman - Shanti Ruchpaul choreographed this number for Roca and Sur (who performed it at the Equal Challenge of Champions and got 9.7's and 9.8's). I have to be up front and say that I blow hot and cold on this couple but I enjoyed this performance very much. The deep purple costumes were very rich looking and they skated with much emotion to this vocal. They got a very warm response from the crowd and it was well deserved.
- Story of My Life/Neil Diamond - Brian Orser skated this perfectly. The jumps were clean, strong and the performance heart felt. I was particularly impressed by the footwork into one of his jumps, and a delayed axel that was super high. The crowd gave him a standing ovation.
- Sweet Rosalyn/Cheryl Crow - This is such a happy number for Roz, choreographed by Lea Ann Miller. Multi-colored lights on the ice are worthy of special comment. Roz had trouble with a jump that was fixed in the retakes. Fun to see Roz dancing. She is just electrical, full of energy in this.
- Antares/The Tragically Hip - For me, this was the skating highlight of the show. Kurt was truly amazing in this piece, choreographed by Sandra Bezic. He wore a long sleeved, tie dyed shirt with bright electric pink spots. Footwork which was interrupted by effortless jumps, deep edges into jumps that appeared out of nowhere. Two cross overs--pow!-- he was airborn. I just shook my head in amazement, respect, and awe. One of the skating people behind me summed it up best saying Kurt "skates better as a professional then he did as an amateur." A tour de force of pure skating. Speed and flight on ice. If Kurt takes this to D.C. next month and skates it clean, he wins hands down. I can't wait to have this number on tape to watch again and again. It is a wonder.
- It's a Man's Man's Man's World/Cher -
I much preferred Katarina's costume in the show to the pants she wore on tv recently. Delicate spaghetti strap, halter-top black dress with a fishnet texture with sequins, similar to the costume worn by Kristi in SMAK. Kat's 2 axel was solid and she did a double-double combo. Confidence, steam, and contact with the audience were her strong points.
- Joue Jusqu'au Matin/Traditional - This was listed in the program for Beechke and Petrov but I must have missed it because I have no notes. My friend and I surmise that the number was cut.
- Go the Distance-Michael Bolton -
Now Bolton is not one of my favorite vocalists but I think Paul did him proud. Choreographed by Scotvold, Paul wore purple and skated, to borrow from Scotty, a "well constructed program" that was short, sharp and very sweet. The triple lutz was rock solid and the audience was brought to it's feet. Perfection.
- Fever/Elvis Presley - Choreographed by Bezic and Seibert, this number featured Kristi, Kurt and Katya. The ladies wore ice blue, short skirts with soft fuzzy tops. Kurt wore black and they skated to an Elvis medley. Katya stumbled through her jumps in Can't Help Falling in Love With You, but I thought she beautifully portrayed fresh faced, youthful love. Kurt once again performed jumps that came out of nowhere without set-up or effort, practically from a standstill. One jump, a sort of axel-split-crouch was breath-taking even though he bobbled the landing (fixed in the re-takes). Kristi did a sort of a sensual bump and grind to Trouble and they finished with Kurt skating with both women, even lifting each gracefully. The interaction between the three was the most interesting part of this segment.
- The Show Must Go On - Choreographed by Sarah Kawahara the skate crew behind us commented that Scott skated for 5-6 minutes for this number "a long number for anyone." Dialog starts up about the show having to go on "even if I have to play all the parts" and Scott proceeded to take us through a 6 minute version of The Wizard of Oz skating all the roles.
Wearing a black costume with a sort of bib that flipped back and forth to emphasize the particular character (Dorothy's checked dress, the Munchkin
Mayor's vest, etc.) Scott raced throughout the movie helped along by good musical editing, super lighting effects (tornado complete with the twirling house, witch and chair, the yellow brick road), and a classic Scott Hamilton engineered costume. You need flappy scarecrow arms you got 'em. A tail for the Lion, no problem. Soldier sash, it's in here someplace. A big witches hat came down from the ceiling covering Scott while he doffed the costume remnants. He re-appeared wearing ruby skates.
The man IS a tornado. He was frenzied. Name a theme from the movie, he did it. Two back flips, the audience couldn't catch it's breath, I can't imagine how Scott had any breath left. I think this number can only improve as it becomes second nature for the man of small stature with the big heart. Aren't we all glad that Scott returned from Oz, home, home to the fans who appreciate his hard work and courage. Courage and heart that he had all along. Standing O!
-Stairway to Heaven/Led Zep - The muses open the finale with group moves and they whip off one of the black costumes revealing Kristi in a blood red sparkling tight short dress enhanced with red lights, super contrast to the muses all in black. Each female skater arrived on the ice wearing an identically styled costume but of yet another rich jewel color, magenta, teal, royal blue, and purple. The men wore solid colors matching the women but without the metallic flash. My whole impression of the finale was waves of color washing over the ice as each skater would be pushed out of the group to perform a solo move. The finale was a breath taking amalgam of color, movement and music, a triumph over the dark mysterious muses.
Hugs and kisses amongst the skaters during the ovation.
- Retakes - Scott came out immediately afterwards, panting like crazy. I wanted to get him a chair and a drink of water. I tried to write down his comments as best as I could. "Great and marvelous things have happened to me in the past 8 and a half months and I could not have done it without YOU!" Applause. "Thank you for all the cards, letters, gifts, prayer groups, everything...but I don't want to think about that anymore." Mucho applause and cheering. "You people gave me such an adrenalin rush before my triple toe that you almost made me cry. All those beautiful signs...but now I'm ready to move on with clean living, perseverance...Hah!...We're not perfect so we do re-takes."
Next Ted Blazer, president of the Lake Placid Olympic Authority came out and read a speech noting that "miracles on ice" have taken place in that very building and that Scott is an example for "children and athletes... always a champ and bigger than I am."(He was taller than Scott.) He then presented Scott with a huge Adirondack Gift basket. Scott said "Cool" and then noted all the gifts, "N.Y.S. Maple Syrup, pine cones, a blanket, a warm hat" and then Kurt came out and grabbed the syrup and they tossed that around.
Kurt went on to banter with the crowd while preparing for his retake which was alot of fun. He sat in the audience with a little girl while they were trying to cue the music and when Sandra tried to get him to the ice Kurt said "Can't you see I'm busy?" Ekatarina, Kristi, Kurt, Roz, and Scott all needed re-takes. Scott thanked us all for staying.
- Side notes -
I'll always laugh when remembering Scott skating with a tail.
Had a chance to chat with little Daria Grinkov, who speaks English w/o an accent and who is absolutely adorable. As she sat behind us I told her how pretty she was in Snowdon and she said "Do you know who that man was?" I said the one with the mustache and she said "Yah." I said no and she giggled and told me "That was Scott." I told her I couldn't believe it. What a charmer she is.
Super three hours. I hope those of you with tickets for the tour enjoy the show as much as I did. I'll be curious to read your comments and see how the performances and running orders develop as they travel and as the cast changes.
Sharon
Review by Heather
The lights in the show were outstanding. They were almost used as props throughout the show. They added a lot and were absolutely fantastic! Scott's Wizard of Oz skit was helped a lot with the lights, providing a yellow brick road for him to follow in the beginning.
A section of the show titled "The Hip" was full of colorful rainbow colored lights and dots on the ice, and during another number by Kristi to Louis' Armstrong's 'Gimme Your Kisses,' the ice was covered with 'kiss' marks.
Overall (on a scale of 1-10), I'd give this years' show a 9. It was full of energy and really displayed the skaters' talents. (Especially's Scott's with 4 back flips total during his two numbers.)
Review by Susan
Please forgive my late posting of this. We stayed longer in LP than we thought we would today.
First of all, the show and cast were warmly received by the crowd. The place was quite sold out, right to the rafters and there was enthusiastic applause and standing ovations during the final bows. This audience clearly felt the evening had solid entertainment value.
I was surprised that the program did not give choreographic credit to Torvill and Dean, who we know spent a lot of time on this show. The only uncredited numbers were the group spoof of the Olympics, Stairway to Heaven (the finale) and the introductions to Led Zeppelin.
This is a very different show from last year. Hats off to them all for not trying to keep to some tried and true formula. Anyone who wants same old, same old, should watch TV reruns or go to the Collins show. The concept and execution are original and very clever. Skating fans at all levels will see inside jokes. Non skating insiders will just enjoy the comedy, the music and an exceptionally high level of skating.
Get The Led Out - Opening introductions and some small group numbers all to Led Zeppelin. Perhaps the skaters were nervous but they seemed a bit hesitant, just not all that comfortable during the initial opening. The music was high energy but the lights were being shown right in the eyes of the 20% of us seated in the end by the skater’s entrance. Perhaps my reaction is based on the fact that it was somewhat hard to see what they were doing. I think there is a lot of great lighting in this show, but during this particular number, it did not enhance what the skaters were doing--it competed with it.
When Scott came out, everything, of course, came to a halt in order to welcome him back. I am sure this will continue for much, if not all, of the tour.
The costumes throughout are great.
My notes credit the strongest performances in the group numbers that are part of the Zeppelin opening section to Browning, Wylie, Roca and Sur, and Orser.
In the first act there were three top solo spots, in my opinion:
Whole Lotta Lovin- Bechke and Petrov were just great and we were sorry to learn that she is injured. They did not do their second act solo, which is too bad. They did some of their wonderful lifts but no throws.
Sleepers - Wylie was just great and the audience gave him a warm reaction.
Man of LaMancha - Witt also skated very well, hit all her jumps and was well received. Katarina has the ability to connect with the audience in a way that few other single women do.
Fun and Games - Like Red Hat and Shameless, this will be one of the big hits of the tour. People will talk on and on about who was imitating who. Clever writing, pacing, use of music and costumes. They executed this very well an opening night. Strong performances all the way around, especially:
Roca and Sur as Gorky and Park (really wicked) Their two Olympic ice dance take-offs were very funny indeed.. They clearly enjoyed the spoof. Great costumes and dancing and those in the audience who see this on tour will cherish the revenge.
Browning as Cyril Lutz-- no one was spared the satire on the state of men’s singles skating. Kurt did the comedy in this very very well, building on his Red Hat repertoire of looks and changes of pace.
Sumners as Ivana Medal- - Her smaller bit as an oppressive stage mother is classic. She also had fun.
Wylie as Evian Merry, a charismatic coach, also spared no one, especially his own
The Judges...hmmmm... who selected their costumes? Black robes and white wigs...rather like those British jurists we see in movies. Unfortunately, about half the arena could not see their expressions and this is a shame.
Scotty - of course really hammed it up as a hard bitten reporter covering the action. His narration really kept the interest up as the 20 minute number flew by. A trick ending (reminiscent of the ending of Red Hat), I won't give away unless you e-mail me.
It seemed the cast really hit their stride in this group number in the first act.
If you want news about the rest of the first act, let me know and I'll post it although you've probably read about these from others by now.
Top sections from the second act:
Time to Say Good-bye - Roca and Sur-- what a beautifully skated number.
Story of My Life - I was glad to see that the audience knew Brian Orser; perhaps many Canadians in the audience. He was very well received and skated beautifully.
Antares - Browning was (according to my 12 year old son Ben) too cool. Another highly original and entertaining solo. Very different from Sonia....
The Show Must Go On - Hamilton really is a tour de force in this send up of the Wizard of Oz, in which Scotty plays every character with costume changes . The audience loved every moment as the music and theme appeal across all age groups. This piece will get a lot of attention.
Go the Distance - Wylie could do no wrong last night. He again had a great performance.
Fever -the Elvis medley may need a little time to ripen. The concept and choreography are fine. I believe Browning, Gordeeva and Yamaguchi all had trouble with jumps which interfered with the flow of the story. This will come along in time.
Stairway to Heaven -Gorgeous costumes, the lights are up and the skaters are dancing in a real ensemble number. Very strong and a credit to them for executing this at the end of a long night. And very, very well received by the audience. I liked it. Sophisticated is the word.
I thought overall the second act moved faster and had more energy than the first, although we missed not seeing Bechke and Petrov again.
It will be fascinating to see what roles Jayne and Chris take in this during the second half of the tour.
There are "muses" dressed in black pants, shirt, hats, and sunglasses who appear and reappear throughout---the only thread running through the program. I did not understand their purpose although once or twice they did act as inspiration for the skaters, as you would expect a muse to do. But not always.
Retakes by Browning, Hamilton, Yamaguchi, Gordeeva, Sumners.
This will be aired 21/14 and 12/25 on TBS.
I did spend time this weekend with Barry Mittan and his wife Jayne. Barry is a terrific photographer as you must know if you visit Pam's T&D web site. Some of you know Barry as well. His wife is intelligent and gracious and so nice to be with. Also met Dr. Rob at a pre-show party. He was sitting behind us and we compared notes at the first intermission. It seemed that I had embarrassed my children with my out of control laughter at the Olympic spoof and he received lots of strange looks from the folks sitting around him too.
Again sorry to get this up so late.
Susan
Review by Annabel:
My favorite part of the show was Scott's program in the 2nd half. I must mention that the night before I saw Scott and Karen in the bar at the hotel and he was as sweet as ever. I also met and spoke with the man who does the costumes. He told me Scott's program was a full 6 1/2 minutes long and was something I had "never seen done on the ice before". And he was right!
An announcement was made just before his program to this effect: "Ladies and Gentlemen due to circumstance beyond our control all parts in the play will be performed by Scott Hamilton." And Scott came out wearing a plain shirt and pair of pants. As the music started he became EVERY character in the Wizard of Oz and his costume held all the props and things he needed. He was the Good Witch of the North, the Mayor of Munchkinland as well as the dying Witch of the West and Dorothy complete with ruby slippers. He pulled props out of pockets and made velcro costume changes and even grew a tail and held it in his teeth as the lion while he did a jump! It was utterly fantastic-hats off to both Scott and Sarah Kawahara but especially to the costume-maker who I believe is Jef Billings.
My other favorite part was the performance by Bechke and Petrov to Led Zeppelins Whole Lotta Love. So different from their usual classical programs yet as entertaining. It was fun to hear 8000 people gasp at the same time as they performed their lifts.
Roca and Sur are a wonderful part of the show. Their solo brought tears to my eyes with the music of Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman singing "TIme to Say Goodbye."
Brian Orser received a wonderful round of applause as the music to his Neil Diamond program came on and it was recognized. He skated flawlessly and was also give a standing ovation by much of the crowd. You could hear many sniffles from people who were moved by his performance, who knew the story behind the song etc
I was confused and not terribly impressed with the use of character(s) called "muse(s). They were dressed all in black and wore sunglasses and Spanish type cowboy hats? and seemed to introduce the next number throughout the night but I was confounded by their significance. They did have one interesting part at the beginning of the 2nd half with a bench on the ice with 6 pair of skates. They marched around the inside of the arena and descended the stairs onto the ice and took off shoes and put on the skates and then skated off. ??????
I enjoyed the show very much-especially the way Scott talked to the crowd before the reskates for the tv coverage. He was genuinely affected by the ovations and specifically mentioned how great the signs were and how they "touched his heart". He has that special ability to make each individual feel that they somehow helped him get well and to make them feel appreciated.
I especially enjoyed the costumes worn in the finale. The bright jewel tones of the women matching the simpler color of the men. And was it my imagination or were those the Olympic colors?!
From Annabelle
Review by Rob Moes:
Some comments about the show last night.
For the Led Zeppelin opener, the entire cast came out in tight red t-shirts and black latex pants, leaving not much to the imagination! 8)
In a smart move, Scott Hamilton did not appear until a couple of minutes into the group number--he joined the cast coasting around the rink, and the audience went nuts. The lights went up, and he got an instant standing ovation.
He immediately went into his first number, "Heartbreaker" by Led Z. He packed it to the rafters with fast edgy footwork. He attempted only one triple, a triple toe,which had to be re-shot at the end. Later he said that the audience almost made him cry while he was trying to set up that jump: there were signs everywhere around the arena, with words of support and encouragement.
The best part of the opener for me was Bechke & Petrov skating a Lee Ann Miller number to "Whole Lotta Love." I could tell that she had scaled back her difficulty--she was obviously protecting her landing leg, which I guess is injured. Anyway, the lifts and spins and footwork were amazing: very powerful, very high voltage. Sometimes the pairs get sort of lost in the cast, but not these two.
I have to tell everyone that this night and probably the whole tour this season belongs to Paul Wylie. His opener to John Williams' "Sleepers" was the best performance I have seen him do in two years. He hit all of his jumps and did not have to do a single re-take. He seems determined to go out with a bang, and the audience gave him the only other standing ovation of the whole night after "Go the Distance."
Katarina gave the other sensational performance of the first half with "Man of La Mancha," and also hit all her jumps last night. I was very impressed to see that the skaters who have really been struggling with injuries are fighting back. Brian Orser was another one--he was flawless.
Disappointingly, Kurt, Kristi, and Ekaterina were all a bit flat--just before the closer they do an ensemble to dreamy Elvis Presley songs, and it was my least favorite part of the whole show. All of them had re-takes to do!
Everybody probably wondered what Roca & Sur were going to be like on this tour. They were great!! There's a spoof of skating that closes the first half--the preparation, the catfights, the skate-mom, the judges (in powdered wigs!) with dialogue by sports writer E.M. Swift, who co-wrote Gordeeva's book, and read by Scott Hamilton.
As the slightly misunderstood pair of Gorky and Park, Roca & Sur did a spoof on the plight of the South American red ant which was hysterical, in all red costumes with several ant-like poses. Of course the judges didn't get it, so they went to plan B--Roca striped down to glitter bra and barely-there ruffled red skirt, while Sur put on cha-cha ruffled top. I was laughing so hard! Some people thought it looked like a spoof of Pasha & Platov, but all the wiggling and sexy moves looked like a point-blank hit on Moniotte & Lavanchy.
I have to wonder how much of a hand that Torvill & Dean (uncredited for ANY of the numbers) had in this and all the choreography.
Kurt's number was also a scream, as the skater Cyril Lutz who has the skate of a lifetime--every move is soooo over-choreographed, all the bad music like "Sabre Dance," and the BIG tricks like triple axel and 3toe-3toe combo.
Paul Wylie was very animated as the coach Evian Merry and
Roz Sumners made a wonderfully nasty skate-mom as Ivana Medal.
A very cute number--I hope it makes the telecast, but we all know how the boring cold spots have to get in first....
Kurt has a new rock instrumental number called "Antares" which was done by Sandra Bezic. A few too many moves that look like Boitano, but still that edginess and intensity that only Browning can pull off. I liked it, but not as well as his Zhulin number from Ice Wars.
For me, the real finale was not the boring "Stairway to Heaven," but rather Scott's new number where he does a 3-minute solo version of the "Wizard of Oz!" Has to be seen to be believed--the costume changes were incredible, including the ruby slippers!
Rob Moes
If you would like me to post your review of Stars on Ice when it comes to your town--just email me!
Tips for a Good Review
You don't have to be able to tell a lutz from a salchow or a triple from a double...but if you can...please share who landed what jumps...folks like to know how their favorites are doing along the tour.
Reviews that just say "It was a great show, I liked it" will not be posted. Tell me what was great about it....what did you like? Are there some parts of a program that struck you that others of us haven't noticed? Share that.
Share things that are particular to that show....Scott's off the cuff remarks...anything unusual that took place.
Naturally if you saw the cast outside the show or actually got to MEET them..we want to hear about that.
Enjoy the show!
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