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View Full Version : "Scott Hamilton and Friends" in Philly


Debbie S
10-25-2002, 12:22 PM
My mom and I decided to make the trek from Baltimore to Philly for this event - we stayed overnight - as we figured we couldn't pass up a chance to see Scott. The show was wonderful! It featured live music from Jack Mack and the Heart Attack, Susan Anton, and Gary Morris. Skaters were Scott (of course!), Todd E., Steven C., Kurt B., Lucinda Ruh, Meno/Sand, Roca/Sur, Rory Flack-Burghart, and Yuka Sato (solo and w/ Jason Dungjen). Scott, Todd, Steven, and Kurt skated in each act, Yuka once solo and once w/ Jason, and the rest appeared just once, except M/S and R/S appeared again together in a number. Of course, there was the intro and the finale that featured the whole cast. Every skater skated to live music.

We were treated to another performance by Scott to "With One More Look at You," sung live by Gary Morris. Before the number, Scott talked to the audience about its significance, and mentioned that this week is the 5th anniversary of his return to the ice as a cancer survivor. No matter how many times I've seen this number (SOI, Skating Tribute), I never get tired of seeing it. And he performed perfectly - no mistakes - I think he did a 3toe, 3 sal, and 2A. His second act performance was to a song called "Chuckie's in Love" sung by Susan Anton - Scott basically performed this for his fiance, Tracy, who for most of the night sat two rows in front of us (we were in the 3rd row, middle section) - the only exception was for this number, where she moved to the front row on the opposite side - I guess maybe b/c Scott could find her more easily from the ice - he gave her a rose after he skated.

Todd skated to Jack Mack's version of "Whiter Shade of Pale" and he was fabulous. The second number was an instrumental piece where he did a lot of FAST footwork, a combo spin that got progressively slower along with the music. and a couple split jumps. In the finale, he did a 3axel - the only skater to do one. I think he was going for one in the first number, but ended up doing a double. And he looked quite nice in his leather pants, I might add. :)

I was glad to see Kurt perform to "Bring Him Home" from Les Miz, another live song from Gary Morris. After seeing it on TV, I can definitely say that this number has much more "effect" live - and Kurt skated it very well. Another highlight was Yuka Sato's performance to Susan Anton's "Color of Roses." I'm sure everyone's seen this before, but it was amazing to watch live. The more I watch Yuka, the more I feel she's been underrated as a skater - her technique is perfect, just as good as Kristi Y. or MK.

Everyone else did a great job. There were only a few errors, so only a couple of retakes were necessary, one by Kurt, one by Scott, and one by M/S and R/S from the number the 2 teams did together.

Scott was his usual hilarious self when he asked the audience to stay for retakes, saying that some of the skaters added "unplanned choreography" to their programs. He also talked about his mistake (in "Chuckie's in Love") being the result of his skating for his bride-to-be and being overwhelmed with love for her that he lost concentration on his skating. Awww...

My mom and I both enjoyed the show very much and it was refreshing to see something a bit different than the standard ice show stuff. Don't get me wrong, we love COI and SOI, but the live music added an exciting dimension.

I think the show will be aired Dec. 15 - definitely watch it.

jcspkbfan
10-25-2002, 01:52 PM
Thanks for posting that great review, Debbie S! I've been looking for reviews of this show since yesterday and yours is probably the most detailed one I've seen so far. I hope nobody minds if I post some more details from other reviews I've seen:

...the guys all wore red leather pants (the same ones they wore during last year's SOI opening number?) during the opening number :)
...the other number Kurt skated in this show was a new program to the song "Sex Machine" while wearing an all-black outfit. Should be interesting to see...

Another reviewer also said Scott asked the audience if they'd like to see him take this show out on the road someday. Of course, everyone answered "Yes!" I remember Scott also said something along the same lines when he skated at the other Scott Hamilton and Friends show in Cleveland a few weeks ago--I didn't think these two shows were connected in any way (other than having very similar names!) because the Cleveland show had an entirely different cast and wasn't taped for TV. But it would be interesting if Scott does wind up taking this show on the road someday--maybe it could play a similar role in the States that STN does in Canada (tour smaller cities that don't get SOI). It might also sound very attractive to former SOI cast members (Katia, Kristi, R&S, etc.) who miss performing on a regular basis, but no longer want to commit to a large 70-plus city tour.

jcspkbfan
10-26-2002, 09:52 AM
Another nice, long, detailed review of this show from Skatefans:

http://www.frogsonice.com/gateway/skatefans/msg11108.html