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wm I Des Moines Register - r Thurs., Nov. 28, I9&8^ rfoUSa^on Ice' Funny, Spectacular The twenty-fourth edition of Holiday on Ice, which opened here Wednesday night before a Veterans Memorial Auditorium crowd of 6,342, is a spectacular, often funny, thoroughly professional show. Ice revues are famous for their elaborate staging, costumes and lights, and Holiday on Ice is no exception. Dazzling Stars The total effect is so overwhelming, in fact, that at times one almost overlooks the main reason for the whole thing ?╟÷ graceful, precision skating. But the two stars ?╟÷ Ronnie Robertson and Anna Galmarini ?╟÷ came through with some dazzling performances Wednesday night. Best of all, the comedy and clown acts ?╟÷ which in some! shows are pure corn ?╟÷ were done so well that they pleased the adults in the crowd almost as much as the youngsters. Staged and directed by Donn Arden, Holiday on Ice has something of everything, from patriotic numbers to skating chimpanzees, and pretty skaters of both sexes. The flashy opener, entitled "Hello, New York," had the entire cast dressed in royal blue gowns and tuxedos, with blue lights illuminating the ice. Helga Valle as Lillian Russell and Jorge Valle as Diamond Jim Brady skated beautifully together. Following a sexy, fast and acrobatic performance by Alice Quessy as Eva (the I Don't Care Girl) Tanguay, the opener closed with the entire cast ?╟÷ this time in red, white and blue ?╟÷ skating to such All-American tunes as "It's a Grand Old Flag." Irish Number Cal and Dori Cook and their three small children did an Irish number, including a sprightly Irish jig, that was a big crowd- pleaser. Their small daughter, Kim, already is a graceful and accomplished skater and definitely was the hit of the act. For the kids, there was a "Pooch Parade," in which lovely Norwegian blonde Grete Borgen led a parade of skaters dressed as dogs of various countries. That was followed by a "Connie and Glyde" act, with the two famed bank robbers upstaged by their getaway car which fell apart, exploded and generally disintegrated before limping off the ice. Actually, the human clowns weren't nearly as funny as the three skating chimpanzees directed by their trainer, Werner Muller. They twirled, did handstands, jumped over hurdles and were spun at high speed at the end of a long rope. The three chimpanzees then teamed up for a game of hockey and had a much easier time scoring goals than have the Des Moines Oak Leafs. They even got into a typical fight and had to be separated by the "referee." Big Numbers A couple of the big production numbers ?╟÷ particularly Jungalero,, complete with great, white hunter and beautiful princess ?╟÷ while spectacular in their staging seemed somehow unimaginative in concept. On the whole, though, the show was a thoroughly rewarding experience f o r skating lovers, and the grand finale was a colossal review of the Hollywood movies. There will be seven more performances of Holiday on Ice at the auditorium in the next four days. Today's shows are at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. There will be a single performance on Friday at 8 p.m. There are shows at 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday, and" at 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. Prices range from $2.50 to $4. ?╟÷James Eisner