Legends on Ice!

I can’t wait to tell you about this week’s show and this time, I get to tell you about it from a whole new perspective… as an assistant stage manager! When Todd, the stage manager, asked me if I’d like to help him out for “Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons Tribute on Ice,” my answer was a nonchalant, “sure – whatever you need.” Excited because it would be something new to try, but a little nervous because I wasn’t sure I knew what the heck a stage manager even does, I masked it all with nonchalance. But I vowed to do my best and see what happened!

I arrived at the Sears Center donned in black (so the cameras and audience couldn’t see me behind the performers) Todd handed me a headset and showed me how to use it. A voice, fuzzy with static, came across his walkie-talkie and he quickly turned and said...”15 minutes ‘til Act One… call 15 mins.” Uhhh – call who? How? On the headset? Wait, where did Todd go? I thought, okay – who would need to know… the performers, duh. So, I headed to Frankie’s headquarters to let them know we’d be rehearsing in 15 minutes followed by the skaters’ dressing rooms. Rehearsal went great – choreographer Lea Ann Miller kept a close eye on the details and directed everyone over the headset. My job was pretty easy – do whatever Todd tells me to do. This included hunting down skaters if they weren’t in their places, getting the zamboni ready for intermission and helping skaters on and off the ice before and after their routines. The bonus part of my job was seeing how a show comes together. Between choreography, lights, cameras, sound, cueing, performing, the band, Frankie, the Four Seasons and hosts Peggy Fleming and Craig Hummer, it’s amazing the shows come together at all – that’s a lot of people that have to be on the same page!

But the show came together beautifully. Before the band and singers went on stage, they all circled up for a prayer. And although Frankie’s getting up there in years, he was still witty and when he cracked jokes and I could imagine the decades of charisma and talent that made him the legend he is today. The crowd showed up and seemed to know every word to every song that played. I was astonished that Lea Ann could run a whole show over a headset from whatever booth she was in.

It was a toss up who the crowd loved more – Frankie or Brian Boitano. Every time he slid onto the ice, fans went wild for Brian. Watching him skate to one of Frankie’s biggest hits “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” I looked around me and the beaming fans and couldn’t help but lean over to Frankie’s assistant tour manager and say with a smile, “Brian Boitano skating to ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You?’ There are a lot of dreams coming true in that audience right now.” He laughed with me. It’s been 20 years since Brian took home his Olympic medal, but you’d think it was yesterday by the cheering from fans.

Michael Weiss also delivered an unstoppable performance – eliciting a standing ovation from the crowd more than once. As I ran back and forth from dressing room to dressing room, letting people know when and where they needed to be, I noticed Michael diligently practicing his routine on foot, stretching and warming up to whatever he was listening to on his IPHONE. My next goal is to find out what he listens to as he warms up. Other skaters like Yuka Sato, Silvia Fontana, Shae-Lynn Bourne, Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon, Naomi Lang & Peter Tchernyshev, Steven Cousins and more were incredible and I can’t wait to see how it turns out on NBC. The show will be aired Sunday, Nov. 2 from 4 – 6 p.m. EST – don’t miss it!

The show wrapped up and everyone headed to the after party in the club section of the arena. Fleming Jenkins Winery supplied some amazing wine and fans took the opportunity to get their favorite skaters’ autographs. A couple of ladies even stopped me and asked for my autograph and I laughed out loud as I told them I wasn’t a skater. Two didn’t believe me and thought I was lying just so I wouldn’t have to sign autographs. That’s even funnier – I’ve never been asked to sign an autograph and if I was, I certainly wouldn’t say no.  It was another unbelievable show!