- Ice Capades
The Ice Capades was a traveling entertainment show featuring theatrical performances involving
ice skating .Ice Capades was founded in 1940 in
Hershey, Pennsylvania byJohn H. Harris , who noted the popularity of ice skating displays during the intermissions between periods of hockey games. In the early days, Ice Capades shows were highly theatrical, withvaudeville elements, including scantily-clad showgirls.Ice Capades shows were extremely popular for several decades—virtually a household name—although criticized by some as
kitsch . Shows would often feature former Olympic figure skaters who had retired from amateur competition.Harris sold the company in 1963 for $5.5 million; in 1986 then-owner
Metromedia sold Ice Capades and theHarlem Globetrotters as a package toInternational Broadcasting Corporation for $30 million. However, a decline in popularity began in the 1980s and the parent company went bankrupt in 1991. In 1993Dorothy Hamill bought Ice Capades assets in a bankruptcy sale and attempted to revive the company with the critically acclaimed "Frozen in Time: Cinderella on Ice", but attendance figures remained stagnant. In February 1995 she sold the company for $10 million to television evangelistPat Robertson 'sInternational Family Entertainment Inc. , but they announced plans to sell in August 1995, and Ice Capades went out of business a short time later.Analysts believe that on the one hand, the increasing popularity of the sport of
figure skating meant that more sophisticated audiences came to prefer straightforward Olympic-style ice-skating competitions, or skating shows for adults (i.e., without cartoon characters) such asStars on Ice ; and on the other hand, shows such asDisney on Ice (featuring Disney cartoon characters) successfully competed for the child audience.Similar traditional ice-skating entertainment shows included the
Ice Follies andHoliday on Ice .Revivals
In the fall of 2000, Ice Capades was resurrected by Garden Entertainment in its original format with a large cast of skaters. The new show was conceived, directed and choreographed by the former German pair skating champion Almut Lehmann Peyper. The show was not a financial success and closed in November 2000, canceling the remaining tour dates.
Another attempt to revive Ice Capades was made in the spring of 2008 with plans for a tent show production called "Mystika", billed as "Cirque Meets Ice". However, the previously announced2008 tour dates were cancelled and no future shows have been announced.
In mid-August 2008, auditions were held in Lake Placid, New York for the all new Ice Capades. Developed by Entertainment Holdings and Red Brick Entertainment, Ice Capades will be produced as live skating shows, television specials, episodic series, and web content. Three-time U.S. pairs champion and two-time Olympian JoJo Starbuck has been named as Artistic Director. [ [http://icecapades.tv/ IceCapades.tv, August 16, 2008] ]
Ice Capades in popular culture
Curiously,
sitcom episodes with a plot involving tickets to the Ice Capades were still being written years after the demise of the company, including episodes of "The Drew Carey Show ", "Friends ", "Everybody Loves Raymond ", and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". The show has also been widely parodied, for example by cartoonistGary Larson with comics captioned "Ice Crusades" and "Dirt Capades". In the cartoon series,Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends it is spoofed as the "Ice Charades".The Ice Capades were also lampooned in the
Robot Chicken Star Wars special, appearing as the fictitious "Empire On Ice!" (June 2007)The Ice Capades franchise was also successfully used for a while to manage ice rinks around North America, starting in Santa Monica in a converted bowing alley and in other venues such as the Galleria Mall in Houston, Texas; Costa Mesa California; Topanga Plaza (Los Angeles area) and San Diego among others.Fact|date=August 2008Among the executives who ran the chalet franchise were Michael Kirby, and Ron Priestley, (both former ice show stars) and George Eby. Acclaimed U.S. Olympic trainer, John Nicks, was their National Figure Skating director.Fact|date=August 2008The concept of using ice rinks in the center of shopping malls was successfully applied by Ice Capades. The rinks were developed and funded by the real estate developer with Ice Capades working on a monthly management fee plus a percentage of takings.Fact|date=August 2008Ice Capades Chalets also sold the concept of professional ice rink management to a major shopping mall in Johannesburg, South Africa (Carlton Center), and trained staff. It was to be their only international franchise.Fact|date=August 2008South African ice skating champion, Terry Meyer, was among those trained by Ice Capades at their Santa Monica Boulevard headquarters where costumes for the ice shows were also manufactured.Fact|date=August 2008 With its expertise in making ice show costumes, Ice Capades were also tasked with making costumes for some of the top entertainers such as Elvis Presley and Liberace.Fact|date=August 2008
References
External links
* [http://www.slate.com/id/2114927/ Slate.com: The Ice Capades: Requiem for the ice carnival]
* http://www.billcasselman.com/wintergram_archive/ice_capades.htm
* [http://www.pacpubserver.com/new/enter/10-9-00/icecapades.html 2000 Ice Capades revival feature story]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20001204190100/http://www.icecapadesonline.com/ Archived web site of 2000 Ice Capades revival]
* [http://www.icecapades.net Website of the 2008 Ice Capades revival.]
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