It was a lively and enthusiastic group of Todd fans who gathered in First Union Center on Wednesday night for Scott Hamilton and Friends; in fact, there were nine of us (Hoo, Jen, Carol, Betsy, Diane, Bonnie, Alexi, me and Kellie) sitting in a row, first row on-ice, with a couple more in the same row to our right (Janet and Maureen) and a bunch behind us (hi, Gail!). Needless to say, a number of Todd pennants were in evidence during the course of the night .

The evening started with an ensemble number that not only got the show off to a lively start, but which also got some extra mileage out of the red leather pants Stars on Ice used in its opening number this past season. It was as intricate and elaborate a number as anyone might see in SOI and it was difficult to believe that it was the end product of just three days of rehearsals. In fact, considering that the entire show was performed to live music with quite a few totally new solo programs it was hard to believe that they were able to put it all together so well with just three days worth of rehearsals (even if they were 10 hour days).

The opening number segued into the first solo performance, Steven Cousins skating to I Just Can't Help Myself, a piece of music that suited his style perfectly. It was well done, and featured a triple salchow, double lutz and triple toe.

Steven was followed by a welcoming speech from Scott Hamilton, who then introduced Susan Anton who in turn sang "How Sweet It Is" while walking around in front of the on-ice seats. My only actual complaint about this show - which qua ice show was one of the best I've ever seen - was the overabundance of non-skating performances (read: solo performances from the singers and musicians present) which I can only hope don't totally dominate the TV broadcast. I expect there was no help for this, as it was no doubt probably a condition of their appearing in this show (namely, that they be allowed to do at least one solo number without any skaters to take attention away from them and their performances).

After her non-skating attached solo, Anton introduced Yuka Sato who then skated to Anton's Color of Roses. IIRC, Scott Hamilton suggested this piece of music to Yuka last year for the Cleveland Clinic show that featured Yuka skating to live Anton music, and it has since become virtually a signature piece for her. So with both Yuka and Anton appearing in this show, it was practically guaranteed that we'd see a repeat performance of this number. It was totally mesmerizing, as usual, and featured a gorgeous triple salchow and a couple of double axels.

Renee Roca and Gorsha Sur followed, skating to a kind of jazzy Jack Mack medley consisting in part of their I've Never Loved a Man program. It may just be me and my total lack of dance knowledge, but it just seems to me that this couple keeps on getting better and better. I found them just as enjoyable in this show as I did the previous week in Kristi Yamaguchi's Salute to Gold show.

Rory Flack-Burghart followed Roca/Sur and especially coming after Yuka Sato, this was a performance I could have done without. I will admit that over the years I've never been a fan of this skater, but I think now a combination of age and lack of practice is making it increasingly difficult to watch her. Skating to a piece called Temptation, she frankly didn't do much out there but just skate around on flats (no edges that I could see). She did one double axel, and even her trademark Russian splits and backflip seemed off. I really don't understand what she was doing in this show.

Scott Hamilton reappeared at this point for another speech, this one a lengthy introduction of Gary Morris and a description of how and why he came to skate to Morris' With One Look (his own cancer remission and return to the ice and as a tribute to his mother who died of that disease). This was followed by Scott's skating to Morris' live performance of this piece. Both performed well, with Scott demonstrating how well he can do a lyrical skate, landing in the process a gorgeous delayed split axel, a triple toe, a triple salchow, and back-to-back double axels.

This was followed by Morris' solo performance (that is, the one without a skater to distract the audience).

Jenni Meno/Todd Sand followed, skating to a lively Jack Mack version of You Can Leave Your Hat On, a saucy number that suited them nicely and which they skated very, very well.

With a brief introduction from Scott, it was finally time for Todd and the roar that greeted his name only increased tenfold when his fans saw what he was wearing.............the black leather pants we haven't seen since Who Let the Dogs Out - almost two years ago now! With it he was wearing a bronze buttondown top. Skating to a Jack Mack version of A Whiter Shade of Pale, he opened the program slowly, with the execution of a school figure, and then proceeded to interpret the music with an introspective assurance that left the audience mesmerized. During the course of the performance he landed a triple loop, a triple toe, and a double axel (which looked like an intended triple) but this performance really wasn't about the jumps, it was about basic skating - edges, spins and footwork. A bravura performance that brought on a partial standing ovation from the arena and a total SO from the nine of us front and center . There is a really good possibility (or so a lot of us hope) that this might become an Eldredge signature piece.

Speaking of footwork, following an introduction and a bit of skating banter with Scott, Kurt Browning treated us to a lively Jack Mack version of Sex Machine that still featured a triple toe attempt (a 2 footed double here, corrected into a triple in a later retake) and a number of double axels. A fitting conclusion to the First Act as after this illustration of speed and precision we were all in need of a chance to catch our collective breaths.

Act Two began with Jack Mack and the Heart Attack's obligatory solo without benefit of distracting skaters. While Jack Mack & Co. were busy doing their thing, my eyes were seeking for something to look at other than mad musicians, and thus it was that they happened to catch and stick on to Todd waiting at one of the skater's entrances directly across from my seat. This because he was wearing a lime green T-shirt; a color I can't really imagine anyone wearing, let alone Todd. I was just wondering what had possessed him to put on such a thing, when I realized the group was skating out for a group number featuring everyone in black leather pants and the guys in different colored T-shirts (a couple of us speculated later that there must have been a drawing of some kind for the lime green one and that Todd had drawn the short straw ). This was another lively and well executed ensemble number, showing again how well Sara Kawahara can choreograph for a group.

Yuka Sato and Jason Dungjen followed, skating to a Jack Mack version of Since I Fell for You. Extremely enjoyable to watch, it featured a throw double sal and a demonstration that these two keep getting better and better the longer they skate together.

Scott Hamilton followed, skating a number directed to and at his fiancee Tracy who sat in the first row center directly across from us with a spotlight on her throughout the performance. I couldn't for the life of me make out what the music was exactly, but the theme seemed to be "That's My Girl" or something like that. It was lively and cute and featured a failed triple salchow attempt that Scott made look like it had been purposely choreographed that way (it was later corrected in a retake so you won't see this ad lib on TV).

Scott then proceeded to introduce Gary Morris' son Matt(who plays the piano) who then had an obligatory non-skater contaminated solo before playing for Steven Cousins. I either didn't recognize or didn't take note of what exactly the music was (other than played by Matt Morris) but Steven gave a nice performance to it that included a couple of triple toes, a double axel and a double flip.

Next came Lucinda Ruh in a purple body suit skating to a Jack Mack version of Without You. I assume the purpose of the distinctly unflattering purple body suit was so that a real costume wouldn't interfere with watching her spins. Unfortunately, with nothing like a real costume to distract one what I saw was that her spins are nowhere near as awesome as they used to be. Now, mind you, Ruh's less than awesome spins are still spectacular compared with most other skaters that are or ever were; they only suffer in comparison with what she used to be able to do. This was another performance/skater that frankly I thought the show could have done without.

Following Ruh was a really fun number featuring Roca/Sur and Meno/Sand, skating to Proud Mary and really mixing it up (in that we had a lot of Roca skating with Sand, and Sur with Meno) quite nicely. It was choreographed brilliantly (I suspect by Kawahara) and if you didn't know that one couple were ice dancers and the other couple pairs skaters, well, you would have assumed both couples were one or the other. Very, very well done.

Next came a real treat. Among Gary Morris' many accomplishments (other than starring on daytime's Another World about 20 odd years ago ) is a stint on Broadway as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables. Among Kurt Browning's many accomplishments is a signature program to a piece of music from that show - Bring Him Home - that was and is nothing short of brilliant. What more natural, since both gentleman were appearing in the same show, to put their talents and Les Miserables experience together? And Voila - Kurt skating to Gary Morris singing Bring Him Home. I've never had the privilege of seeing Kurt skate to this program live and it was certainly an experience worth waiting for. It was wonderful and demonstrated to me yet again how well Kurt does lyrical numbers and brought home to me that we just don't get to see enough of these kinds of numbers from him these days. This performance received a well earned standing ovation, including from most of the Todd fans who were front row and center .

Following Kurt's skating the kind of lyrical number Todd is often known to do, it was ironic that the next performance featured Todd doing the kind of number Kurt is known for. Skating to what sounded for all the world like the band engaged in rhythmic improvisation, Todd treated us to a demonstration of footwork, spins, and speed that illustrated exactly how good he can be in the pure skating department in general and at the "in-betweens" in particular. The band relied heavily on the its percussion section and Todd got the audience to help by clapping with the rhythm; meanwhile the band in turn virtually presented a challenge to Todd by varying the speed of their playing and forcing him to speed up or slow down accordingly (with especially interesting results when he was spinning - and especially when this required slowing down his spins ). It was a virtuoso performance, showing a difference side to Todd and his skating than we are accustomed to seeing and the audience ate it up. For this performance, Todd was attired in the complete Who Let the Dogs Out? outfit (in other words, with the same shirt as well as the leather pants).

After he'd finished (or the band stopped) Todd remained at center ice and was joined by Steven Cousins holding a microphone. This was probably not the best time to conduct an interview, with a skater who'd just completed the kind of vigorous number Todd did, when said skater was not surprisingly gasping for breath ). But the reason for it quickly became apparent when it was realized that this was an elaborate way of introducing Scott Hamilton for his final (and the final solo) performance of the evening. Steven mentioned that Todd and Scott had two things in common - they both had trained for a while in Philadelphia and they both shared a birthday (with Todd hastening to point out that Scott was a "few" years older than he was), and Todd talked about when he first met Scott - at 1984 Nationals when he (Todd) was just a kid and Scott was on his way to win the Olympics. And they talked about what it was like to be skating in a show now with someone they had idolized way back then. A nice touch.

Then came Scott, skating to music I either didn't recognize or didn't write down, but the performance consisted of a bunch of double jumps and not one, not two but *three* backflips. Scott's performance then led into the finale, a very lively number to Land of 1000 Dances that not only consisted of the usual solo elements (including Todd's landing of a gorgeous triple axel - leave it to Todd to find a way to get at least one of those into a show!) but also had the skaters encouraging the audience to get up and dance at their seats. Most of them did, including the Todd fans up front .

Thus ended an absolutely fabulous show in which a great time seemed to have been had by all!!

Fran
FranBuhman@aol.com

P.S. It was terrific getting to see so many Edgers at the show!!