SKIMMING TALENT : Olympic Medalists Take Encore Star Turns on a Touring Bill That Showcases Skill

Stars on Ice, which skates into Orange County for the first time Friday night, is in its ninth year of presenting luminaries of the frozen stage. But it actually got its start on a Florida beach.

That was where Scott Hamilton, the 1984 Olympic champion, happened to be one day in 1986 when his agent delivered some discouraging news: Ice Capades, with which Hamilton had been performing, was being sold to an owner who preferred the drawing power of female skaters. The good news was that the agent’s company, International Management Group, was interested in getting into the ice show touring business.

Together, Hamilton and IMG came up with a production that, unlike variety shows such as Ice Capades, would exist solely to showcase skaters’ artistry and athleticism.

The current edition, which hits The Pond of Anaheim as part of its November-to-April tour of 48 cities, lives up to its name. Besides Hamilton, who also co-produces, the 14-member cast includes 1992 Olympic champion Kristi Yamaguchi, two-time Olympic gold medalist pair Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov, and another repeat Olympic champion, Katarina Witt.

Also featured are Olympic silver medalists Paul Wylie and Rosalynn Sumners and four-time world champion Kurt Browning.

They perform together in a New Age-style opening number and a finale set to Rolling Stones music. In between are solo turns in varying moods and styles: Hamilton’s comic “Cuban Pete” from “The Mask”; Gordeeva and Grinkov’s romantic “The Man That I Love” sung by Ella Fitzgerald; Yamaguchi’s Japanese-dance-influenced “Madame Butterfly,” and Sumners’ steamy romp to Pat Benatar’s “True Love.”

Yamaguchi and Witt share the ice in one number; another finds Hamilton, Wylie and Browning, accompanied occasionally by percussion and drums, emphasizing an array of sounds made by blades on ice.

The repertoire was determined after a company meeting in July.

“This is a star-driven show,” says Sandra Bezic, a five-time Canadian pairs champion who is in her third season as Stars on Ice director. She also choreographs some numbers. “I don’t pick special themes--I direct the skaters to pick something, because each has their own style, and it wouldn’t be fair to them. But I also want them to stretch in different directions.”

Says Hamilton: “Each year we’ve become more of a theatrical event, rather than skating presented in a theatrical way. We have state-of-the art lighting and the best sound system we’ve ever had. We can do more with live sounds than we’ve ever done before.”

Such advances benefit both skaters and audience, says Wylie, who lives and trains in Massachusetts while his parents live in Yorba Linda.

“It makes all the difference in the world to have a creative setting when you skate out,” he says. “For ‘Schindler’s List,’ I called up lighting designer Ken Billington and asked him to create a special gobo (a device that produces a pattern on the ice) that would look like barbed wire. I wanted to create a sense of being enclosed, to give the number the element it needs. It’s like being an actor--you’re in a scene, rather than having to create the scene for the audience.”

A less tangible element also heightens the audience experience.

“As cliche as it sounds, this group is family,” says Sumners, who performs nightly with Witt, to whom she lost the Olympic gold medal in 1984. “The love we have for each other shows on the ice and feeds out to the audience. You can feel the closeness.”

It is perhaps a measure of the show’s level of talent that even the skaters are impressed by their cast mates.

Says Yamaguchi, who succeeded Witt as Olympic champion, “Sometimes I still think, ‘Wow. It’s pretty neat to skate with her.’ It’s not too often that you have two female Olympic champions together, so it’s an honor.”

What

Stars on Ice.

When

Friday, Jan. 20, at 8 p.m.

Where

The Pond of Anaheim, 2695 E. Katella Ave.

Whereabouts

From the Orange (57) Freeway, exit at Ball Road and drive east. Turn right on Auto Center Drive to parking lots.

Wherewithal

$37.50 and $22.50.

Where to call

(714) 704-2500 (box office) or (714) 740-2000 (Ticketmaster).

MORE KID STUFF

IN LONG BEACH: ‘THE THREE MUSKETEERS’

The Carpenter Performing Arts Center at Cal State Long Beach (6200 Atherton St.) kicks off its first family series Sunday, Jan. 22, at 2 p.m. with a bite-size version of the Alexandre Dumas classic that mixes live action with puppets and special effects. $4 to $6. (310) 985-7000.

IN LAKE FOREST: LUNCH WITH THE ‘PIED PIPER’

Audiences at this Paper Bag Players production can BYOBL (Bring Your Own Bag Lunch) and eat it as they watch the cast prepare for the show, Saturday and Sunday through Feb. 5 at Rancho Canada School, 21801 Winding Way. House opens at noon; show starts at 12:30 p.m. $5. (714) 581-5402.

IN BREA: GETTING A GRIP ON PUPPETS

Children can learn about the role puppets and marionettes play in cultures around the world in a new exhibit opening Saturday, Jan. 21, and continuing through March 17 at the Brea Gallery, 1 Civic Center Circle. $1 for adults, free to ages 18 and under. (714) 990-7730.

* CHILDREN’S LISTINGS, Page 22