Todd Eldredge and Friends featured Todd in a number of roles: co-director, host and Master of Ceremonies as well as star performer. And in each capacity he excelled with distinction.

The show opened with Todd on the ice, microphone in hand, welcoming the audience to the Palace of Auburn Hills, explaining that the proceeds of the event were to go to the City of Hope for cancer research and to the Skating Association for the Blind and Handicapped (SABAH) in Buffalo, NY, and thanking his Friends for having taken time out from their busy training schedules to participate in the evening's festivities. He also explained that for every triple he landed that evening, Cook's Champagne would donate an additional $1,000 to the City of Hope. He then left the ice while the rest of the cast came out to perform the opening ensemble number to the music Simply the Best.

The solo numbers began with Todd skating to I Love the Way You Love Me, the new program which he had debuted last month at the Trophée Lalique Gala. As I had had to view the number at that event from way up in the arena (20 rows back), I really appreciated the opportunity to see it again now from the vantage point of the front row. However, my initial impression remained unaltered - it's a simply wonderful program no matter what the vantage point! On this occasion he gave a solid performance, the only flaw being a doubling of the triple axel (but the double axel was huge). The performance also featured a gorgeous triple loop and a solid triple toe, as well as another double axel. This is a program that suits Todd very well and this evening it received a very enthusiastic response from the audience.

During the remainder of Act One, Todd (attired in tuxedo) reappeared on the ice, microphone in hand, to introduce a number of his special friends as they each took the ice to perform - specifically Scott Davis, Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow, Jenni Meno and Todd Sand, and finally, Tara Lipinski. This provided a really, really special touch that served to personalize the event very nicely. Especially noteworthy was his introduction of Scott. After informing the audience that between them he and Scott had won 6 National titles, he said that he (Todd) had been at the Olympics in 1992, that Scott had been at the Olympics in 1994, and that he was hoping that both of them would be able to represent the United States at Nagano in 1998.

The second half of the show opened with Todd skating to Close Every Door. Following a nicely executed triple flip, this time around the triple axel was nailed (albeit with a very low and kind of scary landing). A planned triple lutz was doubled, but the triple loop came off (albeit with a rather wonky landing), as did a solid triple toe, and the two double axels. The program also, of course, contained the usual phenomenal spins (not to mention that gorgeous spiral!) and met with the expected enthusiastic audience response (this program is a hard one to resist!).

During the second act, Todd took one more turn on the ice with microphone to introduce Paul Wylie's lone appearance in the show. Then when it was time for his final performance just prior to the finale, Tara took over the microphone to introduce the host and star of the show as "My friend, my mentor and the Best Skater in the World." A flawless rendition of Walk on the Wild Side ensued, with a gorgeous triple axel (his second that night!) and a perfect triple toe, along with a double axel, and the usual high-quality spins and footwork. It was an appropriate final solo act for the show, and brought a number of the highly appreciative audience to their feet.

Todd then joined the cast for a finale performed to Time to Say Goodbye, a really gorgeous piece of music he had discovered while in Germany last September performing in the ARD Gala on Ice. The ensemble performance to this piece provided a very uplifting way to end what had been an extremely enjoyable evening. Footnote: Todd's time on the ice this evening cost Cook's Champagne $8,000.

Todd Eldredge and Friends: Behind the Scenes In the middle of an extremely busy and naturally stressful Olympic season, a welcome respite was provided a number of Olympic hopefuls who gathered together in Auburn Hills, Michigan for the production of Todd Eldredge and Friends. Produced by Jefferson-Pilot Sports and Bill Graham Presents, sponsored by Cook's Champagne in association with Genuine Chevrolet and slated for broadcast on ESPN, the proceeds of the show were earmarked for the City of Hope for cancer research and for the Skating Association for the Blind and Handicapped (SABAH).

The event, the first skating show to bear Todd's name, was also conceived as an opportunity for Todd to thank the Detroit community for all the support it has given him during the years he has trained there, as well as to showcase the incredible amount of skating talent currently training at the Detroit Skating Club (DSC). In addition to Todd, the following DSC skaters were featured: 1997 World Champion Tara Lipinski; 4-time U.S National Ice Dance Champions Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow; 1997 World Junior Pairs Champions Danielle and Steve Hartsell; 1998 World Junior Ice Dance Champions Jessica Joseph and Charles Butler; 5-time Polish National Champion Zuzanna Szwed; 1997 U.S. National Novice Pairs Champions Stephanie Kalesavich and Amaan Archer; 1997 U.S. National Junior Silver Medalist Erin Pearl; 1997 U.S. National Ice Dance Silver Medalists Eve Chalom and Mathew Gates; 1997 U.S National Ice Dance Bronze Medalists Kate Robinson and Peter Breen; 1996 U.S. National Novice Ice Dance Champions Jamie Silverstein and Justin Pekarek; and senior National Ice Dance competitors Naomi Lang and Peter Tchernyshev and the Precision Team Elan. These skaters were joined by friends and colleagues of Todd's who had come to town especially for this occasion: Paul Wylie; Yuka Sato; Scott Davis; Jenni Meno and Todd Sand; and Tiffany and Johnnie Steigler, as well as two little girls from SABAH.

Altogether, this was quite a large cast to pull together into a coherent show, but all proved more than adequate to the task. Most of the cast assembled for the first time at the DSC the evening before the show to learn and then to practice the opening and closing ensemble numbers. Todd and Richard Callaghan had worked up the skating order for the show, as well as the choreography for the ensemble numbers, and now it was a matter of explaining to the skaters what was required of them and then of seeing what they had conceived translated onto the ice. Richard assumed the role of chief director and was ably assisted in this endeavor by Todd, Igor Shpilband and Craig Maurizi. The atmosphere was relaxed, even jovial, but when it was time to get down to work, the skaters were all business, showing themselves to be real troupers, one and all.

The opening number, Simply the Best, was tackled first, with several run-throughs to the music so that the skaters could learn the order of and cues for their individual introductory cold spots and so that they could accustom themselves to skating as a group. As Todd was not a part of this opening number, he was able to assist the coaches with providing the skaters with their cues. It was totally fascinating to see a coherent program develop out of what had initially looked like total chaos! This whole process was repeated for the closing number, Time to Say Goodbye. For this, the skaters needed to learn a new set of cold spot orders and cues, as well as how to come together in formation at the very end, prior to the final bows - a complicated bit that involved the ensemble skating up to join Todd on either side as he completed a solo move. Once again, from seeming confusion, order began to emerge and after just a few run-throughs, a clear program had taken shape. Then, after returning to Simply the Best for another run-through of that number, the company adjourned for the evening.

The skaters reassembled at the Palace of Auburn Hills the following afternoon at 2 p.m. and from then until the doors opened to the public at 6:30 p.m., the ice was available to them for practice and for the final pulling together of the show. To some extent, the procedure for the first part of the afternoon resembled practice sessions at competitions in that the skaters took the ice by discipline for warm-ups and then for runthroughs of their individual programs. Most of the skaters were performing more than one number in the show and it was largely left up to them whether to do a run-through of each of their programs, or to concentrate strictly on one of them. Repeat runthroughs were also allowed, provided only that each of the skaters would have the opportunity for an equal number of runthroughs during the 45 minutes made available to them in their session. The ESPN television crew was also in attendance and used the practice session run-throughs as an opportunity to plan camera angles and to familiarize themselves with what they would be seeing (and televising) in the show.

The four pair teams were the first to take the ice for practice and, following an ice resurfacing, were succeeded at 3 p.m. by the four dance teams present at the time (two of the teams, Joseph/Butler and Silverstein/Pekarek were returning from the recent Junior World competition and had not as yet arrived at the Palace). For a short while at the beginning of this session, Todd also took to the ice, checking it out for the sake of his guests, and in the process, presenting onlookers with the decidedly unusual sight of triple jumps landing in the midst of a dance program run-through. The dance session ended with the couples practicing the killian waltz ensemble number they were to do in the show, a practice that was made a bit difficult due to the absence of two of the teams. At 4 p.m. the four ladies and seven men had their turn on the ice. Todd was doing three numbers in the show, but chose to do only a choreographic, jumpless run-through of one of them (the newer, I Love the Way You Love Me program). Throughout, the skaters evidenced a great deal of camaraderie and all appeared to be having a thoroughly good time as they readied themselves for the show.

By 5 p.m, (2 and 1/2 hours before show time) the missing dance couples had finally arrived and it was time for the company to practice the opening and closing numbers. This session began with the skaters who'd missed the previous evening's session being quickly briefed by Richard on what they'd missed and what they needed to do. They seemed to catch on quickly as to what was expected of them and then the company was off and skating, first with a run-through of the Simply the Best opening number. It went fairly well, but by no means perfectly ("C+!," the announcer called out from the control booth), so Richard called for a repeat. The second effort was much better (B+ in the opinion of the announcer). Then it was on to the closing Time to Say Goodbye number. Two fairly successful run-throughs of this was followed by work on the final bows. Finally, Richard announced that he was satisfied and the company was dismissed, most of them to rest and snatch a quick bite to eat. It was now 5:30 and one hour until attendees were to be admitted to the building, an hour that was filled with some last minute bits of practice. As at one corner of the rink Todd was familiarizing himself with the microphone he would use during the show, the dancers took over the rest of the ice. Now that the two missing teams had arrived, the killian waltz number could finally be rehearsed with the full complement of its participants. The first run-through of the number came off without apparent hitch, but Dance director (and coach of all six teams) Igor Shpilband called for a repeat anyway. The repeat went equally well, but Igor (proclaiming himself a perfectionist) asked for a third round before a scheduled ice resurfacing forced everyone to vacate the ice. That accomplished, first the little girls from SABAH and then the Precision Team Elan, came out for warm-up and run-throughs, while Todd in a corner of the rink worked on his opening speech. At 6:30 p.m. a loudspeaker announcement throughout the arena informed ushers to assume their positions as the doors were about to be opened for public admission.

Finally, it was show time! And while the skaters seemed to having fun on the ice and Todd appeared to enjoy his unaccustomed role as Master of Ceremonies, it was also apparent that all the pre-planning and the hours of rehearsal had really paid off with a skating event that was received enthusiastically by the approximately 5,000 people in attendance.

The evening ended with a post-show reception for the skaters, sponsors and all those who had contributed in making the event such a success. It was a time for everyone finally to relax, to have a bit of fun (and food!) and to congratulate themselves on a job singularly well-done.