Skate America: Mens Preview

Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN) is the lovechild of Daisuke Takahashi & Johnny Weir and this is going to be his breakout season. He is really the only person on the scene who has the big technical elements and actual unique artistry. I hope he sweeps every event this year.

Jeremy Abbott (USA) is one of my great loves of figure skating but he makes me too nervous when he competes. I want so badly for him not to be scared anymore and to light it up on the ice. He should do us all a favor and let his inner diva shine because that Patrick Chan-esque attempt at keeping all the emotion inside ain't working for me.

I had such high hopes for Takahiko Kozuka (JPN) after his World medal in 2011. His confidence took a nosedive last season, but maybe now that Hanyu is coming into his own as on one of the favorites, maybe Taka won't feel so much pressure. I love his clean style and I hope he makes a comeback.

Michal Brezina (CZE) is an oddball whom I've never particularly enjoyed. I'm sure he is a lovely young man, but I don't particularly enjoy his skating. He always looks rushed and never finishes his movements. I'd like to see some attempt at style before I give him my "Barbie Seal of Approval."

Douglas Razzano (USA) could be the surprise medalist of the bunch. He is a beautiful lyrical skater who also has a good quad. If he does his best, I sincerely believe he will be on the podium. I believe that he has a beautiful spirit and I am pulling for him to have a breakout season.

Podium Predictions:
Gold: Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN)
Silver: Jeremy Abbott (USA)
Bronze: Douglas Razzano (USA)

The Rest of the Field:
Tomas Verner (CZE)
Tatsuki Machida (JPN)
Konstantin Menshov (RUS)
Alexander Majorov (SWE)
Armin Mahbanoozadeh (USA)

Skate America: Ladies Preview

This should be Ashley Wagner's (USA) event to lose. She has the home ice advantage, and all the confidence in the world. Black Swan was such a statement piece for her last year and I'm very much looking forward to this year's programs. She's looking for her first Grand Prix gold medal.

Though Alena Leonova (RUS) medaled at the 2012 Worlds, I feel like she's a one-year-wonder. Her clunky, masculine approach cannot sit well with international judges much longer. She is usually quite clean, but a number of other ladies could pass her if they skate cleanly.

Adelina Sotnikova (RUS) was a highly publicized "Russian Baby" just a year ago. Though she didn't make the debut we had all hoped, she still did quite well on the 2011 Grand Prix, but she looked scared and timid. I pray that she unleashes her inner diva and swipes the silver.

Viktoria Helgesson (SWE) was the surprise bronze medalist at this event last year and even though she only medaled because other ladies failed spectacularly, she still has a legitimate shot this year if some of the "fragile competitors" meltdown. She has a very mature look on the ice that we do not see from the babies.

Rachael Flatt (USA) was once the darling of US Figure Skating. Last year we wondered if she could balance school and skating and the answer was clearly no. Has she gotten her insane schedule under control and stayed in good enough shape to return to a high level of competition? I've always had a soft spot for her so I hope so!

Will Christina Gao (USA) ever get it together and live up to her potential? She was once a lovely junior lady that we thought would be the future of US figure skating. Alas, her fragile competitive psyche would not allow that to happen and now that she is a Harvard student, will she become Rachael Flatt 2.0? She had a rough 2011 Grand Prix, so at least she has nowhere to go but up!


Podium Predictions
Gold: Ashley Wagner (USA)
Silver: Adelina Sotnikova (RUS)
Bronze: Alena Leonova (RUS)


The Rest of the Field:
Mae Berenice Meite (FRA)
Sarah Hecken (GER)
Valentina Marchei (ITA)
Haruka Imai (JPN)

Win a Nice Work If You Can Get It cast album!

Nice Work If You Can Get It, one of the biggest hits of the 2011-2012 Broadway season has recently release a cast album!

To win, answer the following question along with your email address in the comments section below. Please reply by Saturday 10/20 at 11:59 pm.

NICE WORK star Kelli O'Hara is a 3-time TONY nominee. For which shows has she been nominated?

Win a pair of tickets to The Heiress on Broadway!

THE HEIRESS

THE HEIRESS is the story of Catherine Sloper (Chastain), the shy and sheltered daughter of a prominent New Yorker (Strathairn). Caught between the demands of a controlling father and the attentions of a passionate young suitor (Stevens), Catherine must navigate the terrain of love and regret, desire and duty, a chance for happiness and the burden of fortune…as only an heiress can.

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Actress Jessica Chastain received an Academy Award nomination for which movie?

Win a pair of tickets to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf on Broadway!

EDWARD ALBEE’S WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?

Directed by Tony Award® nominee Pam MacKinnon(Clybourne Park), the critically acclaimed Steppenwolf Theatre Company production of EDWARD ALBEE’S WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? will open on Broadway on Saturday, October 13, 2012, exactly 50 years to the day after the play’s original Broadway opening on Saturday, October 13, 1962.

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To enter, answer the following question along with your email address in the comments section below this post by Saturday 10/20 at 11:59 pm. Playwright Edward Albee was awarded a Lifetime Achievement TONY Award in which year?

Win a pair of tickets to SCANDALOUS on Broadway!

 Two-time Tony Award® nominee Carolee Carmello stars as Aimee Semple McPherson, the trailblazing media superstar whose passion for saving souls was matched by her passion for making headlines.

Set in 1920s Los Angeles, holiness collides with Hollywood in the extraordinary tale of one woman's charismatic rise to fame. But as her popularity grows, so do her enemies, until her sermons, her celebrity and her past combine to put everything she believes in on trial. Two-time Tony Award® winner George Hearn leads a remarkable cast of 20 in this new musical about one woman's incredible rise to glory…and fall from grace.

To enter, please answer the following question in the comments section below along with your email address by Saturday October 20th at 11:59 pm. Book writer and lyricist Kathie Lee Gifford made her Broadway debut in which revue?

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For your chance to win a pair of tickets to the Off-Broadway hit Old Jews Telling Jokes, answer the following question in the comments section below by Sunday October 7th at midnight.

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Lenny Wolpe, who plays the role of Morty, has performed in many Broadway shows. Can you name 2 of them?