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NEW YORK POST, SATURDAY; AUGUST 31, !%8 oi.vv::;-^::v;:::v^.;. :,,, m, V'. ":";- ?√ß "The new Madison Square Garden turned info a super-glamorous ice cube for 'Holiday on Ice'... it was the best ice extravaganza yet... lots of zip and feathers. ..and so much fun... go there... and bring tlie kidS . . ." ?╟÷Raidy, Newhouse Papers NOW thru SEPT. 15 Created, Staged and Directed by Donn Arden EVGS. Wed. & Thurs. 7:30 ?╟≤ Fri. & Sat. 8:30 , . MATS Sat Sun. & Labor Day 2 PM (no evg. perf. Sun. Mon. or Tues.i F??╜=<5 ?╟≤ $7 50 6 50, 5.50, 4.50, 3.50 CHILDREN (under'12 years) HALF-PRICE SAT. MATS. * LABOR DAY MAT. MAIL ORDERS PROMPTLY FILLED Add 25c per order for handling Enclose self-addre ! m^qPH :.::... 44 'Holiday on Ice' at Garden Chalf en's Production Is Flashy and Colorful By DAN SULLIVAN THE 24th edition of Morris Chalfen's "Holiday on Ice" swirled into Madison Square Garden last night with flashing skates, brilliant costumes and?╟÷oh, you know. Ice shows. What is there about them that sends one's attention-meter to "off" by the third number (last night entitled "Pooch Parade") and one's feet to the nearest exit as soon after the intermission as politeness allows? The finesse of the individual skating stars is generally admirable (this show has Ronnie Robertson, Alice Quessy and Anna Galmarini, among others) and the production numbers are always sumptuous (costumes here by Freddy Wittop). But for all their movement and color, ice shows as currently constituted seem to me so static and monotonous that I could no more watch one for two and a half hours than I could eat a Popsicle for that long. Those who disagree?╟÷as millions must, or "Holiday on Ice," "The Ice Follies" and "The Ice-capades" would no longer be in business?╟÷are hereby dismissed toward the Garden box office with the grudging admission that this "Holiday on Ice" is a good The Program HOLIDAY ON ICE, ice revue. Created, staged and, directed by Donn Arden; production director, John Finley; musical director and arranger, Ben Stabler; costumes by Freddy Wittop; sotting by Glenn Holse; vocal arrangements by Chuck Cassey; lighting by Dorothy Morris. Presented by Morris Chalfen, executive producer. At Madison Square Garden, Seventh Avenue at 34th Street. PRINCIPALS: Ronnie Robertson, Anna Galmarini, Tommy Allen, Juanita Per- celly, Alice Quessy and Jorge and Helga Valle, Marei Langenbein, Grete Borgen, Paul Andre, "Jungalero," a voodoo routine (Cotton Club '31) about a Cat Girl, White Hunter, Voodoo Princess and Witch Doctor, with attendant tribal chiefs and "native savages," all skating through the jungle as merrily as if it were the Rockefeller Center rink on New Year's Day. Now how could the out- and-out clowns in "Holiday on Ice" top that? Actually, the clowns come closest to using the ice as ice and not just as a glassy dance floor?╟÷ Alfredo Mendoza and Daro- lyn Prior in an irreverent parody of a haughty pair of adagio skaters, and Paul Andre and Johnny Leech in a "Bonny and Clyde" parody with an exploding car. ?╟≤ The top act in "Holiday on Ice" is quite simple?╟÷three little people skating around the arena with moderate speed but great aplomb and eventually leaping over three or four barricades in a kind of steeplechase effect. It would not be remarkable if they were human, but they are young chimpanzees, and their "Big Daddy" (Werner Muller) is around only to oversee. This bit of novelty started me wondering what ice shows of the future might be like. Could you train a robot to skate, and if you could would it be more interesting watch a chorus of them han it is to watch the "Holi- iay on Ice" ensemble? Auto- lation on Ice"?╟÷at least it ould be different. Or would it? F3RST N1GHTER by William A/Raidy Best 'Holiday on Ice' Yet The new Madison Square Garden turned into a super glamorous ice cube last night for the 24th edition (what a lot of frozen water under the bridge) of "Holi- . day on Ice." There was everything but an Eskimo number and it was the best - ice extravaganza yet. Nostalgia is the theme for this year's big show, directed and staged by Donn . Arden, and the 1930s make a perfect backdrop for a really lavish production, l dripping in sequins and maribou. There was a tribute to Fred Astaire, a jungle i voodoo affair that only needed Dorothy Lamour on ice skates, a salute to Bonnie and Clyde, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Jean Harlow and the "We're in the Money" girls. ... The whole thing comes off like a frozen Roxy production of the late 30's. Lots of .zip and feathers ... .and so much fun. * . * * THERE'S MORE than a dash of old fashioned vaudeville as Harrigan's Hooligans, Cal and Dori Cook and their three toddlers, Kim, Kris and Kelly, put on a?╜n outrageous "It's a Great Day for the Irish" number full of frozen blarney. The Cooks are superb performers and add a . delicious bit of old-fashioned hokum to the show. Would you believe a family of chimps ' making like Sonja Henie? You'll just have to go yourself. Three chimps, known as the Banana Brigade, go through an incredible ice routine, including a hockey game, under the direction of their trainer, Werne Muller. The chimps run away with the show. I was fractured by their antics and amazed by their intelligence. While we're at it, hear me out on the subject of ice shows. I think if you're sophisticated, an iceshow falls into the category of super-camp. You can't help but have a good time. If you're an average television viewer, you're bound to be impressed by the dazzle and fun of the thing. If you're a sports fan, you'll enjoy the superb skills of the skaters. In other words, a good ice show is the most delicious corn you can find. "Holiday on Ice 1969" outdoes them all. . * * * FREDDY WITTOP has come forth with some real Follies-type costumes. He's done them not only with a sense of style but a sense of humor. (Liberace will turn - green when he sees some ^f those spangles). All the skaters in Morris Chalfen's show including the "Glamour-leers" and the "Ice-Squirers," Anna Galmarini ("That Petite Bundle of Femininity from Sunny Italy"), Helga and George Vallee, Ronnie Robertson and Grete Borgen ("That Norwegian Lovely") are thrilling. I only wish I knew the chimps' names, for they deserve a very big hand, too. Come to think of it, seeing they did a jungle number, a Spanish affair called "Gates of Granada" and "Hello, New York," why didn't they do "Nanook of the North?". That was the 30's, too. Can't huskies ice skate? Anyway, "Holiday on Ice" is the best j frozen frolic I've ever seen. Go there and cool your anxieties ... and bring the kids, they'll have even a better time than you do. Ice Show at Garden The biggest show around last night could be seen on television coming from Chicago. The second biggest was jat Madison Square Garden, where Morris Chalfen's "Holi- | day on Ice" began its accustomed, late summer, 19-day run. It was the first ice skating re vue in the arena at Pennsylvania Plaza and Chalfen and his production staff should be pleased ;with their new surroundings. Everything in the show looks brighter and more cheerful here than in the drab, cold vacated barn 16 blocks up Eighth Ave. and each number seems to play Ibetter. The general setup is more like a theater and less like a temporarily decomted Ihockey rink and director Donn Arden made all the production numbers and specialty acts look as attractive and move with the fluency of the lavish Las Vegas and Latin Quarter revues for which he has become famous. His cast is beautifully costumed by Freddy Wittop. The scenery by Glenn Holse provides an appropriately ornate backdrop to the proceedings. Heading the cast once again is Ronnie Robertson, the Fred Astaire of the hard water stage. With him are a number of beauties who carry out their athletic balletics with feminine grace and great family act (including three little kids) and a wonderful chimpanzee act. Among the beauties are Helga Valle (partnered with Jorge Valle), Alice Quessy, Grete Borgen, Anna Galmarini and Marei Langenbein. The clowns are Paul Andre, Johnny Leech and Little Lito, the family act is Cal, Dori, Kim, Kris and Kelly Cook and the three chimps are handled by Werner Muller. ?╟÷Lee Silver Royal Joker Singer-comediene Kaye Stevens arrives at the Royal Box in the American Hotel next Thursday night for a two-week run. * STARTS 'i O MORROW ?╟≤?╟≤+ Contin. ISHOVJS1 J 125th nr.81h Ave.N.Y.C. Ris-ncn^o* '| SMmVMBWSQH ?√ß ANDTHEMIRACLES * *i/?·/JSf/0J?WALKER ** * THE ALL STARS * / THE MONITORS/* SHORTY LONG' sjuad panful uioij asm? auj ssajj :a"ba<. sup saoS %i NmSeduimp asad a^Eui o^ mo\[ savour oijm "S"5TS 'SiM ^ pa-*3AiSUB U3acI I sevi sjBad uioji aSBJ3Aaq e Suureui joj adpaJ e aoi gQS .unQ I JOBJ ?·0 JfMUa V ""imrT'gtinr