If there is a skating show more than worth flying over half a continent to see, that show is definitely Kristi Yamaguchi's Holiday Festival on Ice. Once again, Kristi proved that she really knows how to put on a show and once again, as was the case last year, she displayed great good sense and spot-on judgment by not only showcasing Todd but also choosing him to close the show.

In addition to Todd and Kristi, the show featured Kurt Browning, Brian Orser, Steven Cousins, Rosalynn Sumners, Angela Nikodinov, Roca/Sur, Brasseur/Eisler, Meno/Sand, and the Stieglers. It began with a brief opening number in which the 15 skaters appeared in groups of three. Looking quite dapper in his Les Miz II costume and emphasizing his showcase status, Todd came out as part of the first threesome in between Kristi and Roz ("Todd will never get any work in shows without an Olympic medal") Sumners. The three executed simultaneous double axels before clearing the way for the next threesomes.

Todd was the seventh to appear in Act I, skating to Michael Bolton's Silent Night in the Cabaret costume and with choreography by Igor Shpilband. It was a beautiful rendition of the number and was highlighted by his landing a huge triple axel right on a loud high note of the music--electrifying the audience in the process. Then, after thus executing one of the most awesome triple axels ever seen by man, he came around the rink and proceeded to wipe out on a triple toe loop attempt. The triple toe splat was as spectacular in its own way as the triple axel had been and elicited a huge groan of concern from the audience (and, I must admit, laughter from yours truly who was immensely amused by the irony of it all). He made a quick recovery, however, and soon made the audience forget all about the disaster by landing a gorgeous triple Lutz and a lovely double axel, as well as by executing the usual mind-boggling spins. There was a very loud reception from an appreciative audience.

Act II began with four Santa Clauses, complete with bags of treats, throwing their goodies (in this case candy) to the audience. One of the Santas was Todd (the other three were Orser, Browning and Cousins), and I quickly discovered that with white beard, Santa suit and padding, Todd is not as easy to recognize as one might think. The four Santas looked identical with only their eyes visible, but that's all it took. As Santa Todd skated by me in my on-ice seat, the twinkle in his eye gave him away. After emptying their bags, the four Santas were introduced by their real identities and, forming a chorus line, they executed an extended sequential spiral and skated off stage left.

At last year's Holiday Festival on Ice, Todd closed the show by bringing the house down with an awesome performance of O Holy Night. This year, Kristi scheduled him to perform the same function again, and he fully justified--and then some--her good sense in doing so. This time the show closed with The Glory, which not only brought the house down, but brought the audience out of their seats for the only full, sustained standing ovation of the night. In this performance Todd executed his second triple axel of the evening, along with a triple loop, triple toe (flawless this time), and a double axel. The only mistake was a doubled Lutz which certainly didn't affect the flow or impact of a performance which by itself was worth flying over half a continent to see.

After Todd came a brief group closing number to Calling All Angels, choreographed by Lea Ann Miller, in which the skaters were all attired in white. The eight ladies came out first and performed a number of moves together and singly, then Eisler, Sand, Sur and Stieglers came out to join their partners with some closing pairs/dance moves. The four solo men were last to appear, no doubt in order to give Todd time to change into his costume. The white costume in question consisted of white pants, with white shirt (not unlike the old black Cabaret costume he wore last year). After further group and single moves (featuring some snazzy spins by Mr. Eldredge), the show ended with the cast throwing Christmas ornaments (red balls) into the crowd--unbreakable ornaments, of course.

Since the show will be broadcast on TV (TBS), retakes were required--from Nikodinov, Yamaguchi, Sumners, Meno/Sand, Orser, Browning, and, of course, Todd. Todd, however, was the only skater to do two retakes. First, of course, a retake was required in order to erase the triple toe splat from Silent Night and, not surprisingly, this was achieved on the very first try. Then, while others were accomplishing their retakes, Todd went off to change costumes so he could fix the doubled Lutz in The Glory. Many skaters would have been perfectly happy to leave it as it was (especially as he had landed three other triples, including an axel, in the program), but not Todd, the Perfectionist. Indeed, the audience looked surprised when he came out again and the announcer said, "You probably didn't even notice this mistake amid all the other triples." The triple Lutz was executed in just one take, but I'm sure no one was disappointed to see the evening end with a repeat of a segment of The Glory.