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54A (Mmttfota Itattatrlt !JiLiEPLJ7J969' Wed.,Sep*. ITJW^CoU-P- ***?? CitiwnJournal 9 Thrills, Chilh, Romance, T??@ 'Holiday On Ice Hard To Beat By ROSEMARY CURTIN Hill Citiien-Jaurnal Music Critic What a way to start a new season of live entertainment! My spine is chilled, my ankles ache, and my heart is in my mouth. I'm just back from opening night of the six-day run of Holiday on Ice and it will take quite a few shots of string quartets and flute sonatas before I'm back to normal. TUESDAY night's performance at the Coliseum in the Ohio Expositions Center proved again that for all-out fun and entertainment, Holiday on Ice is hard to beat. And that you'd better be in shape for some pretty strenuous watching! Take that Kossmayer's Mules act for instance ?╟÷ to start with the only act that's not on sfeates. TRAINED they are, but the half dozen amateurs trying to ride them in the ring kept coming too close to getting their brains kicked out for any blase kind of observing., The audience got as winded | as the mule-punchers be-j tween howls of laughter and; Shrieks of apprehension. AND FOR spine therapy, Ronnie Robertson's vision blurring spins and turns in Pagliacci and the Devil's Disciple sent the chills running up and down the spine. Not a warmly evocative skater, Robinson depends on unbelievable velocity and dazzling clarity to achieve impact. And achieve it he does with maximum power. BUT IT ISN'T all thrills and chills. There's the tender romanticism of Alice Quessy and Ray Balmer in To You with Love, the gaiety of Tommy Allen and Juanita Percella in the Rockin' Love- Ins, and the classic loveliness of Carol Johnson's Miss Funny Valentine. And for buffoonery and clowning acrobatics, Paul Andre and Johnny Leech as Cleopatra and Anthony, and again as The Kernel and the' Pearl, are screamingly funny. A Pas de Deux by Alfredo Mendoza and Darolyn Prior starts out with superb serious skating and ends up in a hilarious free-for-all. AND, OF COURSE, there is the sweetness of the five members of the Cook family. | Kim, especially, has become) a truly fine skater. Tying all these treats together is incredibly lavish and imaginative costuming. And the split-second production achieves perfection. 1 ?√ß HOLIDAY ON ICE IN 25TH YEAR Excellence Reignin; By SARA WISEHART Of The Dhpafch Staff Holiday on Ice marks its 25th anniversary this year and several thousand fans were on hand Tuesday night at the Coliseum t o o b - serve the festivities. Par excel- lence was the order of the from the silver glitter of the opening Miss Wisehart Lade to the cool, ?√ß shim- ing white of the brilliant finale. IN BETWEEN were all colors of the spectrum, exhibited in a dazzling display of artistry and costuming. Marei Langenbein was the gifted soloist in a least three production numbers and it was easy to see why she has been singled out as prima ballerina. Her every movement was sure, strong and seductive, attesting to a ballet background. RONNIE Robertson was, once again, stunning in his perfect execution of some ex- ; ceedingly difficult maneuv- [ ers and rightly deserves the title STAR. He seems intent on answer-1 ing the question, "How good can you get?" The obvious reply to this interrogation is! "Better" every year." 1"U drink to that, but If am rather curious to know why did he not make his scheduled appearance?√ßas Mr. Fifth Ave. in the Easter Parade production? Tommy Allen and Juanita Percelly make a great pair, both in private (as Mr. and Mrs.) and on the ice. The minute they glide onto the rink, the atmosphere is sparked with their intense enthusiasm. THIS ELAN is outranked only by their considerable ent. Things seemed to "com alive" with their appearance and professional precision was complemented by a con tagious warmth of communication. Ray Balmer and Grete Borgen are another duo to/watch. Miss Borgen is as talented as she is beautiful and Balmer is a slashing skater with the body of a weight-lifter and the grace of a fawn. A rare combination. The Cook Family were delightful and Mom and Dad have been working hard with Kim, Kris and Kelly. All three children have vastly improved their sense of showmanship and are much more at ease on the ice than last year. SISTER KIM, a mini-sized ten-year-old exhibited admirable aplomb and is definitely a promising young talent.' Alfredo Mendoza and Carolyn Prior were outstanding in i "That Perfect Pair." The; comic skater who joined them was not identified on the program, but what savior faire! As Miss Star Spangled Jazz, Alice Quessy need not hang up her skates 'til some far distant date in the future. ECCENTRIC skaters, Paul Andre and Johnny Leech, added much to the overall feeling of good humor which prevailed. The Mod World of Fools and the Autumn Holidays sequences were, to this re viewer, the least inspiring of a blockbuster lineup of pro duction numbers. The Mull ex's skating chimps will imbue you with the disturbing thought that perhaps this fella' Darwin knew whereof he spoke. I HAVE an inborn aversion to audience participation shows. Therefore any edm- ment as to the worth of the Kossmayer's Mules would be biased. Most enjoyed it Donn A r d e n created, staged and directed the performance. He, the chorus and the principals deserve more than honorable mention.