Broadway Musicals

Jenny Kirk-Chicago
Sasha Cohen- Don't Rain on My Parade (I think)
I know someone has skated to Hey Big Spender
Courtney Hicks-Evita
Yuna Kim- Send in the Clowns

Savchenko and Szolkowy also skated to Send in the clowns.
Yan Han skates to If I were a rich man from Fiddler on the roof.
We desperately need some Wildhorn

Jennifer Kirk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAPqn71b5FY

Max Aaron-Footloose
Janet Lynn-Sound of Music (1981 World Pro)
Denny and partner-Lion King
Jesus Christ Superstar-Tot and Man(?) (Russian pair)
Impossible Dream-Pang and Tong

merrywidow said:

Read post # 9 for reference to Rent. Paul Wylie did an exhibition number to "I Can Do That" circa 1988 & Caryn Kadavy did a beautiful exhibition years ago to "Memory". Kristi & Rudi did an exhibition to a number from "Cats" as well. They were in their teens at the time.

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Yes, I saw that posting, but those were exhibition numbers. I am interested in a skater doing a competitive program to Rent or Wicked music.

heck, I'd like to see someone use the music from"Kinky Boots."

Meryl & Charlie used Phantom, Notre Dame de Paris, and My Fair Lady
Tessa & Scott used Funny Face, which started life as a musical in 1927
Chock & Zuerlein had a great Caberet FD
Weaver & Poje used Sound of Music ...and so did the Duchesnays
Coomes & Buckland The Lion King

Dr. Jenn said:

Yes, I saw that posting, but those were exhibition numbers. I am interested in a skater doing a competitive program to Rent or Wicked music.

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"Glory" from "Rent" would be cool for a SP!

This year:
Tina Garabedian & Alexandre Laliberte ARM
FD Once, the Musical, including Falling Slowly and The Chandler's Wife; choreo by Shae Zukiwsky

cheerknithanson said:

"Glory" from "Rent" would be cool for a SP!

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That's exactly what I was thinking! Now, who could pull that off? Maybe Jeremy Abbott?

gkelly said:

Todd Eldredge 1995 Skate America:

Short program The King and I


Or, as my friend attended the event with put it, Two Nights in Bangkok.

However, by the end of the season he had gone back to a different short program and replaced the freeskate with a newer one. Worked for him at Worlds, but I preferred the Chess music.

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I didn't dislike the Chess music, but I'm ultimately glad that he discovered the "First Knight" music.

Re: "The King & I," we saw Todd perform it in a pro-am in 12/93. For that performance, he wore a costume that was definitely evocative of the king's role in "The King of I" (elaborate by "Todd" standards, but fitting the program). His costume here is Wylie-esque (works for me too, I like understatement).

Moore-Towers-Moskovitch did a "Les Mis" program a few seasons back. Powerful!

iluvtodd said:

Re: "The King & I," we saw Todd perform it in a pro-am in 12/93. For that performance, he wore a costume that was definitely evocative of the king's role in "The King of I" (elaborate by "Todd" standards, but fitting the program). His costume here is Wylie-esque (works for me too, I like understatement).

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I remember hearing/reading that one(?) reason he brought back the King & I program in fall of 1995 was that he had spent "a fortune" on the costume and it had never been seen on TV. But then he didn't wear the costume at Skate America, and the SP from Nations Cup was never broadcast in the US, and then he switched programs again after all. I've seen videos of it from 1993 and from 1995 Nations Cup, but not from US TV.

Watching Todd's SP and LP (thanks for posting) from 1995 Skate America makes me long for the "old days" when spins were not so cluttered up with multiple ugly positions. I think Todd is still one of the best male spinners EVER.

What I find depressing about this thread is just little actual Broadway music has been used in relation to the sheer amount of music available. It seems like everyone goes back to the same pieces over and over and over. Yes, doris--Kinky Boots has some numbers that should be looked at as potential programs. You want Kander & Ebb? There's more to them than Chicago and Cabaret. City Lights from The Act, for instance, is a real rousing number, and Arthur in the Afternoon could make an amusing short program. Why has no one used Strike Up the Band or Babes in Arms? There's a great little number, Famous Feet, from a great little show called A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine. On the Twentieth Century has some numbers that would translate well to the ice. And on and on and on. But sigh--it's the SOS over and over. Why pay the money to see Chicago or PotO or Cabaret or Les Miz--you've already seen 2/3rds of them on the ice. It's a shame.

Also, the song "Rent" from "Rent" would be electrifying for a ladies' FP!

How come no one uses songs from "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat?" It's AWESOME!

Or "Little Shop of Horrors?"

I don't know how you access music. Said differently, when you're going to use a piece of music for an elite skater's program, one that will be shown on national television and internationally, what is the process for acquiring the right to use it? Somehow I don't think you can just download it from iTunes or buy a CD. Could it be possible that some of the people or companys that own the copyrights to these musicals don't want someone skating to them? I know if a singer is going to cover a song that's been recorded before, OR when a television singing realty show wants to use a piece they have to have permission. Can't be that different. Just a thought.

noskates said:

I don't know how you access music. Said differently, when you're going to use a piece of music for an elite skater's program, one that will be shown on national television and internationally, what is the process for acquiring the right to use it? Somehow I don't think you can just download it from iTunes or buy a CD. Could it be possible that some of the people or companys that own the copyrights to these musicals don't want someone skating to them? I know if a singer is going to cover a song that's been recorded before, OR when a television singing realty show wants to use a piece they have to have permission. Can't be that different. Just a thought.

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Call me naive, but I don't understand how some people would get offended if someone uses their music to skate to for competition. They're not claiming ownership of the song. They're not going to do something evil.

Some people need to let loose when a skater is going to compete using that song. Like they didn't do anything bad! Like come on!!!

WeakAnkles said:

What I find depressing about this thread is just little actual Broadway music has been used in relation to the sheer amount of music available. It seems like everyone goes back to the same pieces over and over and over. Yes, doris--Kinky Boots has some numbers that should be looked at as potential programs. You want Kander & Ebb? There's more to them than Chicago and Cabaret. City Lights from The Act, for instance, is a real rousing number, and Arthur in the Afternoon could make an amusing short program. Why has no one used Strike Up the Band or Babes in Arms? There's a great little number, Famous Feet, from a great little show called A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine. On the Twentieth Century has some numbers that would translate well to the ice. And on and on and on. But sigh--it's the SOS over and over. Why pay the money to see Chicago or PotO or Cabaret or Les Miz--you've already seen 2/3rds of them on the ice. It's a shame.

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Blame the skaters(coaches/choreographers) reasons:
*They're not familiar with musical theatre in general and don't make an effort to see lots of shows or listen to lots of recordings thereof, they just choose something that they've heard other skaters using at the rink or on TV that sounds nice or has been successful for other skaters in the past
*Even if they do have firsthand familiarity with a wider range of shows, they stick with the tried and true for fear that taking a risk will fail to engage judges
*Even if they do have firsthand familiarity with a wider range of shows, they stick with easily accessible melodies that skaters without much musical training can understand and interpret easily

Don't blame the skaters(coaches/choreographers) reasons:
They are familiar with less well known shows and have seriously considered/attempted making programs from some of that music, but

*They had trouble finding instrumental recordings of the most engaging songs that lived up to the vocal versions
*The most danceable/skatable passages of dance numbers as performed on stage are often left off the recordings
*They had trouble editing usable instrumental-only sections of available recordings into sections that retained musical coherence

Now that lyrics are allowed, finding instrumental recordings will be less of an issue, but editing songs with lyrics for effective use in skating will present different challenges

*Passages that were great to listen to, or even to watch stage dance to, proved rhythmically incompatible with the technical demands of skating programs, or too challenging for the average skater without outside music and dance training

I'm sure that all of the above apply.

And then there may be some music snobs who consider musical theatre corny and old-fashioned, possibly overused at lower levels, and prefer to look for music, common or lesser known, in other genres. Of course, many of the same reasons from both categories above to those genres as well.

Yuzuru's Music of the Night which is from the Phantom of the Opera would've been even better if it has no lyrics. It would've been a much more dramatic and felt program.

iceberg said:

Yuzuru's Music of the Night which is from the Phantom of the Opera would've been even better if it has no lyrics. It would've been a much more dramatic and felt program.

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I agree.

TBH, I think all those Japanese skaters saw Akiko's jaw-dropping performance at nationals and wanted to emulate it by using the same music! Kind of a joke, but that's really the only guess I can bring up to so many Japanese people using that music!

But, yes. I nice cello would probably suit Hanyu best! When he hits, he doesn't need lyrics to sell his program!

Some older examples:

Mack and Mabel

Barnum

Irma La Douce (first selection)

Fiddler on the Roof

My Fair Lady

No No, Nanette

Sirtaki from Zorba the Greek


Recent program to music from Sweet Charity

Gershwin medleys have been very popular over the years