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Stars On Ice Holiday Tour Review - Cedar Park, TX - Dec. 15, 2021
written by Tina, Brit, and Debi
It was SO GOOD to be back in the arena, watching a Stars on Ice show
again. It seemed like the skaters felt the same way, because they all
seemed fully committed to their performance and skating for the
audience. It wasn't a particularly full arena, but it still had that
buzz. There were some really good programs, too. Even the holiday
numbers didn't feel like throwaway one-offs, or generic programs. This
was a cast full of performers, happy to be on the ice performing
again.
The spotlights were absolutely awful, especially in the group
numbers. Half the skaters were in the dark, including whoever actually
should have been spotlighted. This was even true for the two dance
teams - one of the skaters would be lit, while the other was in the
dark! This was terrible as a photographer, but wasn't great for the
skaters' jumps or the audience watching either. We still had a great
time watching the show, despite these difficulties. It felt like it
went by super quickly because it never lagged.
The show was directed and choreographed by Charlie White.
Opening - The Christmas Song/Let It Snow
The opening number kicked off with the skaters coming out in pairs in
red tops and black pants. I don't remember a great deal of detail
about this number, partly because I was so distracted by the spotlight
situation, but there were some cute moments. The funniest one was when
Alissa gave Ryan a kiss on the cheek (I think), which Kurt reacted to
with outrage, threatened to punch Ryan, and ended up being scooped up
by Ryan like a bride going over the threshold and spun around. I may
not remember much detail, but I remember thinking it was a nice way to
kick off the show.
Believe - Ilia Kulik
The first solo of the night was Ilia skating to "Believe" by Josh
Groban. This was a very moody program for Ilia, with long held edges
and less fast footwork than we've come to expect from him.
A Christmas Tango - Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje
Kaitlyn and Andrew's first number was a fun, very different Christmas
program than what we usually get. It was much more sexy and cute with
the tango theme, with flirtatious touches. Kurt told us that he
actually worked with them a bit on this number to add some humorous
moments, because they wanted it to be more playful. I liked how it
wasn't a traditional Christmas song or Christmas program.
Man of La Mancha - Alissa Czisny
Alissa brought out the number that Kurt choreographed for her 15 years
ago, to "Man of La Mancha" by Linda Eder. She really sold the number,
absolutely committing to the choreography and the character. It was
powerful and dynamic, and we loved it. We also loved her costume,
which was pretty and very apropros.
Warriors/Nat Growing Up - Mirai Nagasu
Mirai Nagasu absolutely blew all of us away. This first number, which
featured music from a video game (League of Legends), was incredible
and very different than most programs we've seen before. Brit says
that this program was probably one of the most complete packages she's
seen in a very long time, bringing together choreography, music,
costume, acting, and mood. It was dramatic and powerful and layered,
with really interesting choreography and beautiful jumps.
7 Years - Ryan Bradley
I really liked this program by Ryan. I feel like he's matured a lot,
and his movements were crisp and quick. There were a lot of little
choreographic touches in the footwork and subtleties in the body
language that I really appreciated, a lot of attention to detail that
I don't feel like he used to have as much. His jumps were for the most
part quite on, and his backflip always brings the house down. It's the
craziest looking thing, but he always lands it to great
applause.
Groove is in the Heart - Ashley Wagner
Ashley Wagner throws herself into her performances 150%. This program
was super fun and charismatic. It was flirtatious and full of audience
interaction and eye contact, and never stopped moving. The music is
super energetic and she completely matched, or possibly exceeded, the
level of energy it was bringing. It noticeably ratcheted up the
engagement of the audience from Ryan's subdued program, and changed
the mood in the arena.
Peanut Butter Jelly - Jeremy Abbott
Jeremy kept up the energy level with his 70s disco themed "Peanut
Butter Jelly." His costume fit both the 70s theme and the peanut
butter jelly with its purple and pink color scheme. His choreography
even incorporated miming spreading peanut butter and jelly on his
hand. It sounds cheesy, but somehow it worked. Actually, the entire
program was entirely cheesy, but as Brit says, it was "Grade A
cheese," and he totally pulled it off.
I Won't Give Up - Meryl Davis & Charlie White
We now enter the Jason Mraz portion of our evening, with Meryl and
Charlie skating a regal program to "I Won't Give Up." These two are
just beautiful together, and the program was really sweet and
sentimental. It just flowed from move to move and their lifts were
exquisite. We just really enjoyed it.
I'm Yours - Kurt Browning
We love this program. It's so cute and charming, and he pulls it off
so well. Unfortunately, this wasn't the best night for him,
jump-wise. He took some seriously nasty spills on two of his jumps,
like full body impact to the ice, which he couldn't recover from very
quickly. They looked like they hurt, and threw off the timing of the
program. He did manage to squeak out his last couple jumps, to the
audience's palpable relief, but none of them were clean. He had told
us that the ice was kind of soft, and he wasn't the only one with jump
problems, but I think he had the hardest falls. I hope his knees are
ok, because apparently he also took a hard fall in this number in
Frisco earlier this week, and his knees were very bruised already. He
still pulled together a charming performance, despite some challenges
with his costume as well, and, typical Kurt-style, acknowledged his
issues self-deprecatingly and drew in the audience's sympathy as he
bowed and got off the ice.
Act II
Winter Wonderland - Cast
Act II opened with a small group number to "Winter Wonderland," which
honestly wasn't the most memorable thing in the world. It was a cute
way to get the audience back into the show, though, and one of the few
traditional Christmas songs they used.
Santa's Got a Brand New Bag - Ashley Wagner
Ashley's second number was cute and fun, and she fully committed to
the performance, as usual, but it didn't quite have the energy of her
first number. It was still a good program, and definitely not a
typical Christmas number. We enjoyed it.
White Christmas - Ryan Bradley
The version of White Christmas that Ryan Bradley used was by the
Drifters, and was almost the traditional song, but with a doo wop
twist. While his first number felt well-developed with nuance, this
one felt much more like a generic holiday number, probably the most of
all the programs in the show. It still was very charming, and Ryan
skated it well.
River - Alissa Czisny
Alissa had an ethereal floating quality to her in this number, which
was just gorgeous. Her costume was lovely and her blades seemed
whisper-quiet, at least from up in the stands, which really added to
that feeling of floating. When Sarah McLachlan sang "I would teach my
feet to fly," Alissa seemed to literally sail across the ice with a
gorgeous long held spiral that just kept going. Her expression evoked
the pure joy of finding the river to skate away on that the song is
about. It was just sublime. It's a real shame that this number wasn't
recorded for TV or anywhere else, because I'd love to watch it
again.
You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch - Mirai Nagasu
Mirai's second number was a completely different animal than the
first, and really showcased her range. She used a really interesting
version of the number by Lindsey Sterling, featuring Sabrina
Carpenter. For those who don't know Lindsay Sterling, she's a
violinist who does really interesting covers of a whole variety of
songs, and that violin added a unique dimension to the music which
Mirai took full advantage of. She also played into the theatricality
of the Grinch lyrics, and just really brought the program to
life.
I'll Be Home for Christmas - Jeremy Abbott
Jeremy portrayed a businessman in an airport, complete with face mask,
rolling a case behind him. An announcement came on over the
"loudspeaker" that his flight had been canceled due to bad weather,
leading him to skate a melancholy program to "I'll Be Home For
Christmas." The program was fairly traditional, except the
incorporation of a prop - a Christmas tree that he extended from his
suitcase, and then put away before the end of the program. He played
the character well, and really evoked the mood.
Hicktown - Ilia Kulik
Ilia unexpectedly came out with a high energy country number to
"Hicktown" by Jason Aldean. The number started off well, with fast
footwork and energy to match the high tempo of the music. He has great
feet and awesome high hitch kicks, and the number promised to be
really exciting until he basically repeated the same choreography over
and over and over. The hitch kicks and tricks were great, but we
didn't really need to see them so many times. The momentum of the
program really stalled and then it just kept going. He even had a
false end where he went into the tunnel, only to come back out and
just do the same stuff again. It really is a shame, because it seemed
like he had a good 1/3 of a program, and if he could have just come up
with another 2/3 to match, it would have been a really fun
program.
Tennessee Whiskey - Katilyn Weaver & Andrew Poje
Continuing the country theme, Kaitlyn and Andrew came out with a much
more interesting number to "Tennessee Whiskey" by Chris Stapleton. It
was an interesting blend of ballroom and country that somehow
worked. These two always commit fully to their choreography and are
always exciting to watch.
Hallelujah - Kurt Browning
Kurt took his segment to Hallelujah from IDI's "Revival" and turned it
into a full solo, incorporating some hat choreography that was
somewhat successful but not entirely necessary. Hat choreography
aside, though, this is just a beautiful number. The song is
beautiful. The choreography is beautiful. He emotes gorgeously, and
even his jumps (mostly) came together for him. This particular version
of the song has a wistful feeling more than a melancholy or dramatic
feeling, and he really evokes that in his expressions and body
language. We just love this program and wish it were longer.
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Meryl Davis & Charlie
White
Meryl and Charlie capped off the night with by far the most
traditional Christmas song and performance, but it really worked to
end the evening and send the audience into the finale with a lovely
sentiment and a strong Christmas feeling. The program was technically
interesting, with an intricate series of lifts and great step
sequences. It was a more deeply sentimental than lighthearted version
of the song and they really seemed to connect with each other and the
audience while skating to it.
All I Want for Christmas - Cast
The program opened with Meryl and Charlie gesturing towards Ashley
Wagner, who came out of the tunnel by herself and instantly changed
the mood of the arena by energetically starting to skate to "All I
Want For Christmas." She was eventually joined on the ice by most of
the other skaters, though not Kurt. I don't remember everything
everyone did, but Kurt got especially highlighted when he came out,
interacting with every skater on his way down the ice. He went under
the legs of the first skater, and then popped up to leapfrog over the
next skater. He high-fived with another skater, and basically did
something different and fun with each one before reaching Alissa at
the end. At another point, some of the skaters were doing some move at
center ice while the rest of the group, including Kurt, were dancing
in place at the end of the ice, and he started what looked like
improvising some dancing and then got Jeremy to do a kickline with
him. I think it was in this number where Kurt and two other skaters
(not sure which of Jeremy, Ilia, and Ryan they were) did simultaneous
jumps, and later, Ryan and Jeremy did near-simultaneous backflips. The
skaters just seemed like they were having a great time and just
enjoying being with each other in front of an audience. It was a
really fun way to end the night, although when they lined up for a
bow, Kurt was in total darkness, since once again, the spotlights
failed to light everyone up. That wasn't a problem later, though, when
the skaters came out to do the traditional Stars on Ice kickline bow
to "Jingle Bell Rock." Ashley Wagner was having so much fun that
Jeremy Abbott had to come and pull her off the ice when everyone bowed
and left, and she kept waving and bouncing until she went in the
tunnel, which was just a cute way to end the show.
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