Re: Something Happy....my Cincy SOI Review! LOL =)
Great review, Heather. I'm so glad to see somebody else who enjoys writing a full and detailed review. I used to--and still do--get teased no end about my "Rgirl-length" commentaries and reviews. But I think you and I know they are just complete
I saw SOI two weeks ago in NYC and thought it was another great SOI production. BTW, Madison Square Garden was quite full, with all but the highest nosebleed seats sold out. Of cours in NY there are a lot of show/theater groups, which helps. Plus Scott performed, which I'm sure was a last minute draw. Whatever the reason, I was glad to see it.
Anyway, I loved "Power Play (Sing Sing Sing)" with Jamie & David, Elena & Anton, and Todd. I thought the way the two pairs were used contrasting with Todd and his creative narration from "Fosse" was superbly conceived and executed. I'd seen it on the TV broadcast and liked it, but live it was fantastic. I thought it was a wonderfully creative use of pairs and singles skating. And I almost wouldn't have recognized that they were using that old skating warhorse "Sing Sing Sing." My favorite piece.
They had done a show the night before, so no 3/3s from Yags and Todd missed one of his 3Axels (hit two out of three). Man, SOI skaters work hard for their money. I'd say they do the equivalent of a competitive short and long program every performance, just spread out over the two hours, plus doing five and six shows without a break. They do very physically demanding moves and it shows. Did you notice (I'm sure you did
) how pumped David, Anton, and John Z. are in their upper bodies? They look more muscular now than they did at the Olympics. And boy, did Jamie and David ever have great chemistry for the "Huggin' Touchin' Squeezin'" number. Woo! Hot! They have a wonderful rapport with the audience. I liked them okey as eligibles, but they didn't really do it for me. But as pros, I think they're really in their element. Great technical skills and great personalitiees. Very impressive.
I loved Elena and Anton too, and I agree that the Elvis/Marilyn program works much better live than it does on TV. My only wish is that Elena & Anton would have done a more lyrical number or something like "The Kid" that would have introduced them to SOI audiences showing them performing in a style that is more natural to them.
I went with someone who isn't familiar with figure skating except from the Olympics. She's from the Dominican Republic and has only been in the US for about 15 years. She was so impressed with Alexei's "Over Come"--as was I. I mention her background only because I think it demonstrates how great skating transcends familiarity, culture, everything. Communication of the human spirit is what matters. Yags had the entire arena absolutely transfixed. I think this piece really means a lot to him, that it's really his story. He performed this piece on a whole other level.
I won't add my review:lol: but one thing in yours made me laugh: Annoying audience members. We had this group of four behind us that was the stereotypical loud, heavy Lawn Guyland accented, obnoxious New Yorkers. It was a mother who seemed about 60, her grown daughter, and two cousins. The mother and daughter were separated by the cousins so in order to talk to each other, they had to talk across the cousins in their two seats. All night it was, "IS THAT TAAHHDDD???!!!"
"NO, MA!!! THAT'S JAMIE AND DAVID!!! OH MY GAWD, THEY'RE SO AWESOME!!!"
"WHO'S SO AWESOME?"
"MA!!! JAMIE AND DAVID!!!"
"OH. ARE WE GONNA GET ICE CREAM? I WANNA GET ICE CREAM SO WE GOT TO GET OUT OF OUR SEATS RIGHT AWAY SO WE CAN GET ICE CREAM!"
"MA-AH!!! WE'RE GONNA GET ICE CREAM!!!"
"YEAH BUT I DON'T WANNA WAIT ON LINE AND IF WE DON'T GO RIGHT AWAY WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT ON LINE!!!"
You get the idea. Fortunatey, they were just excited at first and calmed down for most of the show.
Thanks again for your review, Heather. I thought it was the perfect length
Rgirl
Anyway, you can check it out at this link: heatherc.easyjournal.com 
