I figured since I attended two shows back to back, it was just easier to combine a review of both shows!
Having attended SOI for quite a few years now, I must say this is one of the best shows I have seen in a long time. For the first time in a few years, there is really nothing in the show that I truly didn't like! The show has really improved so much since I first saw it in Baltimore and DC a few weeks ago. Plus you can really tell how much fun the cast is having together! I would have to say that Anaheim was the better of the two shows but both were great. The LA show was full in the lower bowl but not many people up top and Anaheim was completely full in the lower bowl and had quite a crowd up top. I was concerned that after last years show that many people weren't going to come back, but it looks like I was wrong!
For other sightings, Steven Cousins was at the Anaheim show and I must say, he was looking really good considering he had surgery not that long ago. He walked right in front of my section and looked to be walking really well. I hope this bodes well for seeing him in the Canadian version. Jef Billings was also in the audience in Anaheim as was Sylvia Fontana!
I really like the opening of the show this year. I think it shows just how great the skaters are in the cast. Todd got a huge applause at both shows when he came out. He landed a really low triple axel at the LA show but landed a beautiful triple axel in Anaheim. I'm always surprised when he can pull that jump off after a very limited warm-up. What really surprised me in LA was that Scott Hamilton was added to the opening. Kurt and Todd do their crossing double axels and then they both stopped at opposite sides of the rink and out skates Scott. He gets a few minutes on the ice alone and then out skates the entire cast for the introductions. Unfortunately, they announced prior to the Anaheim show that Scott would not be skating due to illness so I had a chance to figure out what part of the opening was removed for Scott!
Todd skated his first number to Buddy Rich well at both shows. He landed his triple sal and triple toe but he doubled his axel in LA but landed everything the next night in Anaheim. This has to be one of my favorite Todd programs. It has really been fun to watch this program grow in the last few months. When I first saw it live at the Canadian Open, I really liked it but you could tell Todd was still think about the steps as he skated it. By the time I saw it at Hallmark, he was so much more comfortable with it and could work on selling it to the audience. I really didn't think it could get much better until I saw it in these shows. Maybe it just works better in show lights, but Todd was really connecting with the audience and skating very fast. From what I could tell, the audience really seemed to be enjoying it too! Anaheim and LA are never known for standing ovations (unless you are Scott Hamilton) but the applause was very loud!
I think I am one of the few people who actually really likes the "Power Play" number. I didn't really mind it the first time I saw it and I seem to like it more every time I see it. I guess part of me is just happy to see that Todd got to do a group number and I would rather have him do this than nothing! I still don't understand how they think Todd could do the narration live with all the skating he does so I will be curious to see if they eventually change it. In some ways, I think this was a good number for Todd to do since he really has to play to the crowd more than he normally has to do. He did have one weird landing on a jump in LA. He almost looked like he got lost in the air and landed the wrong direction, but otherwise everything else went well. The crowd reaction seemed strong in both performances and I think that people really understood the point SOI was trying to make!
Misere has now been added to my list of favorite Todd numbers. As much as I love to see Todd stretch himself and try new things, I still love to see Todd do what he does best. He landed all of his jumps both nights but the triple axel in LA was a little low and scary looking and the one in Anaheim was much better. The one thing I did noticed it that Todd has rearranged the order of the jumps in this program since the last time I saw the show. He has moved the triple axel to be the first jump instead of being so late in the program and has added a triple lutz instead of a triple toe. Todd got a great response both nights for this program. The funniest thing though was after he skated in Anaheim and was skating off, someone from the audience yelled, 'You should have one Nationals Todd!" and then you could hear other people clapping and saying "Yeah!" I wish I could have seen his reaction! After how well Todd skated last night, maybe they should have just given him another National title!
The finale this year is a really fun number and boy does that song get stuck in your head. Unfortunately, it doesn't look good on all the skaters. Some are great dancers and some are not! I was a bit worried about Todd when I first heard about this, and when I saw the show in DC, you could tell he had the steps down but still looked a little uncomfortable. I was pleasantly surprised at how far he has come in just a few weeks, but Todd looks so much better and it really now getting into it. Todd and Alexei seem to be having a lot of fun out there because both nights they seemed to be cracking each other up. When they took their bows in LA, I saw Todd wave at an older lady who had ice seats and he skated over and gave her a hug. I happened to also be looking in Todd Sand's direction at the same time and all of a sudden he realized where Todd had gone. He laughed and then skated over to that same lady. Come to find out it was Todd Sand's mom and she had yelled out to her Todd, so the wrong Todd decided to go over there instead! It was very funny. Todd Sand and Todd were also hamming it up pretending to run down the ice before the last bow in Anaheim. Some of the guys decided to once again rip open the leather shirts again before leaving the ice but this time Todd and Alexei decided not to join them!
Other than Todd, I really enjoyed both of Jamie and David's number and I'm so impressed that she has landed her throw jumps in all the shows that I have seen. I really like Jenni and Todd's number this year. It really shows off Todd Sand's great personality and it is not the same sappy love number we normally see from them. Kurt's Tony Bennett number was awesome both nights and his jumps were really on which is always good to see. I still think the highlight of the show is Rocha and Sur's 'The Prayer." As sad I was to see Steven Cousins not in the show, I'm sure glad that they were added to the cast. Scott Hamilton was great in LA and I was sorry to see him not skate the next night. The one thing I did notice was that the show is really good with or without a guest star. It is a nice bonus to have someone like Scott or Katia, but I think the show is also fine without them!
My only gripe this year would have to be the really bad cast pictures. I didn't think the entire cast picture was one of the better ones and I wasn't too thrilled with the individual ones either. Todd's picture is from the ending pose of Misere and it is from such a distance, unless you are really looking, you may not notice that is his picture. I do have to say though, it was really nice to go to the show where the pictures were my biggest issue and not the skating. I'm already looking forward to the Toronto CSOI show in a couple of months!
--Leanne
LeanneY@aol.com
