Win a pair of tickets to CHAPLIN on Broadway!

Chaplin, the man who changed the way America went to the movies, is now the musical Broadway can't stop talking about!

Featuring a book by three-time Tony Award® winner Thomas Meehan (Hairspray, The Producers, Annie) and Christopher Curtis, and music and lyrics by Christopher Curtis, CHAPLIN is the showbiz Broadway musical that takes you from the workhouses of London to the heights of Hollywood.
Along the way, this 22-person musical reveals the truth behind the headlines and the man behind the legend, the undeniable genius who re-invented motion pictures.

This big musical about the little tramp marks the remarkable Broadway debut of Rob McClure as the legendary silent film star, and is choreographed and directed by Warren Carlyle (Follies, Hugh Jackman—Back on Broadway). Join us as America falls in love with CHAPLIN all over again.

http://chaplinbroadway.com/

For your chance to win tickets, answer the following question along with your email address in the comments section below. Please replay by Thursday November 1st. The winner will be notified on Friday November 2nd.

Christiane Noll, one of the leading players in Chaplin was recently nominated for a Tony award for Ragtime. Where did that production of Ragtime originate?

My Favorite Program of the Season!

This is the best new program of the figure skating season in my opinion. It is so effortless and dreamy. It is so smooth! When I watch it, I feel as though they are floating through snowflakes and feathers.

2012 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Schedule (EST)

Hi guys, I've converted all of the Grand Prix Event Schedules into Eastern Standard Time. Happy watching!

SKATE CANADA
Friday October 26th
2:05pm-Ladies Short Program
3:45pm-Pairs Short Program
7:30pm-Men's Short Program
9:10pm-Short Dance

Saturday October 27th
10:45am-Ladies Free Skate
1:05am-Pairs Free Skate
4:40pm-Free Dance
7:10pm-Men's Free Program

CUP OF CHINA
Friday November 2nd
4:00am-Short Dance
5:30am-Ladies Short Program
7:30am-Men's Short Program
9:15am-Pairs Short Program

Saturday November 3rd
3:00am-Free Dance
4:40am-Ladies Free Skate
6:35am-Mens Free Skate
8:35am-Pairs Free Skate

ROSTELECOM CUP
Friday November 9th
6:00am-Ladies Short Program
7:40am-Pairs Short Program
9:45am-Mens Short Program
11:25am-Short Dance
Saturday November 10th
5:00am-Ladies Free Skate
6:50am-Pairs Free Skate
8:30am-Mens Free Skate
10:30am-Free Dance

TROPHEE ERIC BOMPARD
Friday November 16th-Sunday November 18th
*Full Schedule Coming Soon

NHK TROPHY
Friday November 23rd-Sunday November 25th
*Full Schedule Coming Soon

GRAND PRIX FINAL
Thursday December 6th-Sunday December 9th
*Ful Schedule Coming Soon

Skate Canada: Ice Dance Preview

Friday October 26th at 9:10pm-Short Dance
Saturday October 27th at 4:40pm-Free Dance
I should be Live Blogging both of these events!

Every year we have this debate. Will it be the year of Davis & White or Virtue & Moir (CAN)? My question is this, is a sport like ice dance that is all about innovation, should you really win a World title skating to Carmen? We'll see, but it's going to have to be a pretty spectacular Carmen for me to get behind a musical selection like that. I cannot wait to see how the lack of Igor's presence changes the look of both top teams.

Cappellini & Lanotte (ITA) are now being coached by Igor Shpilband which could make all the difference for them. This looks to be a breakout year for them. They could become contenders. Igor's old team Virtue & Moir and his new team are both skating to Carmen for the free. Coincidence? I think not.

The real battle is for bronze. I give the edge to Hubbell & Donohue (USA) as they have a full year under the belt and already have a top-10 finish at Worlds. They have really steamy chemistry and that will only get better with time. Look for them to up the technical ante and avoid some of the silly errors that they made on twizzles last season.

The team hot on their heels for the bronze will be Gilles & Poirier (CAN). They are a new team and oddly enough, Piper used to skate with Zach Donohue. They skated together last season as well, but not Internationally as Piper had to wait a full year to be completely released from USFSA. They have such energy and a great look together. I think Paul is a beautiful ice dancer, but he never looked quite right with Vanessa Crone for me, so hopefully this new pairing will do the trick.

My Podium Predictions:
Gold: Virtue & Moir (CAN)
Silver: Cappellini & Lannote (ITA)
Bronze: Hubbell & Donohue (USA)

The Rest of the Field:
Zlobina & Sitnikov (AZE)
Ralph & Hill (CAN)
Carron & Jones (FRA)
Riazanova & Tkachenko (RUS)

Skate Canada: Pairs Preview

Friday October 26th at 3:45 pm-Short Program
Saturday October 27th at 1:05 pm-Free Skate
I should be available to live blog the Short Program.

This is not a competition for Gold, it's a competition for Silver. Savchenko & Szolkowy (GER) have their season sewn up until they meet up with Voloshozar & Trankov. I cannot wait to see their new programs as they are always so innovative and unique. I appreciate that they still take risks even though they are at the point in their careers where they could phone it in.

Duhamel & Radford (CAN) look poised to take their second Skate Canada medal and it should most likely be silver. They are on their way to becoming a top pair as long as they stay together. They have a great look and they alway seem so happy and grateful when they do well. They should be the top North American pair team for years to come.

Lawrence & Swiegers (CAN) medaled at this event two years ago, but they slumped in 2011. Partly due to a relatively weak field, I think they will take bronze here. I'm also very excited to see that War Horse program.

Berton & Hotarek (ITA) will be the other candidates for bronze. They took 3rd at Rostelecom Cup last year and finished just outside of the top-ten at Worlds last year and nearly medaled at Europeans.

My Podium Predictions:
Gold: Savchenko & Szolkowy (GER)
Silver: Duhamel & Radford (CAN)
Bronze: Lawrence & Swiegers (CAN)

The Rest of the Field:
Popova & Massot (FRA)
Kemp & King (GBR)
Davis & Ladwig (USA)
Vise & Baldwin (USA)

Skate Canada: Ladies Preview

Friday October 26th at 2:05 pm-Short Program
Saturday October 27th at 10:45 am-Free Skate
I should be available to live blog part of the Short Program and all of the Free Skate!

Watch out skating fans because there's a new girl in town and she's about to bust this sport wide open. The Skate Canada Ladies Event was won by a rookie last year and Gracie Gold (USA) is going to continue that tradition. She has talent beyond her years and has the goods to win pretty much any major skating event that she enters. I'm praying that she is the skater we have been waiting for and that she and Ashley Wagner battle for the top 2 spots in the US for years to come. I cannot wait to see her Hernando's Hideaway and Life Is Beautiful programs!

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (RUS) is about to go into a little bit of a sophomore slump, but what I mean by that is perhaps she won't win both of her Grand Prix events. She still has a lot to prove in terms of maturity, but she'll get there.

Kanako Murakami (JPN) experienced her own sophomore slump last year but she came out of it beautifully. She was a little jumping caterpillar in her first season as a senior who turned into a beautiful butterfly by the end of the second. I love her new lyrical quality and I hope that this is the year she will combine that with the springy jumping combinations she once had.

Akiko Suzuki (JPN) is a grandma by figure skating standards. However, she did defy the odds and won her first world medal last year at age 27. If I were her, I would've hung up the skates at the top of my game, but if she still loves the daily grind of training and competing then more power to her. It is refreshing to see a woman on the ice in a sea of tiny girls.

My Podium Predictions:
Gold: Gracie Gold (USA)
Silver: Elizaveta Tuktamisheva (RUS)
Bronze: Kanako Murakami (JPN)

The Rest of the Field
Amelie Lacoste (CAN)
Kaetlyn Osmond (CAN)
Elene Gedevanishvili (GEO)
Ksenia Makarova (RUS)
Polina Shelepen (RUS)
Caroline Zhang (USA)

Skate Canada: Mens Preview

If (and that's a big if) we happen to get a feed for this event, I will be live blogging all of the Skate Canada events this weekend!

Competition Schedule:
Friday October 26th at 7:30 pm-Short Program
Saturday October 27th at 7:10 pm-Free Skate



Hi, anybody who knows anything knows that Patrick Chan (CAN) is going to win this event. He is at home, he is the love child of IJS and the judging panels. He is working with a new coaching team this year because he fired the people who created him so we'll see if that takes a toll on his emotional status. It's a big year for P-Chiddy because he has two, count 'em two, new programs this year. Good times! In all seriousness, this guy can skate and it's great to see the quads, but let's hope he holds back some of the goods to make it a fair fight for the rest of the field.

Javier Fernandez (ESP) is my new skating boyfriend. I am just smitten with him! He is a lovely performer and I love how he was hot on Chan's heels at last year's skate Canada. I cannot wait to see his Zorro short program and especially his Charlie Chaplin free skate. Both should be endearing and jam-packed technically. I really want him to win, but it will take a lot to beat Chan on home ice.

Ross Miner (USA) has a chance to make the podium on the Grand Prix this season, but until he gets the quad nobody will take him seriously. He is usually pretty consistent so considering that the first 2 or 3 Grand Prix events are a hot mess, he has a really good shot at the podium.

Speaking of hot messes, Florent Amodio (FRA) has been all over the place in the past two years. I no longer take him seriously as a competitor, but I do look forward to seeing the costumes that he borrows from the disco animals in Lady Gaga's bathhouse. I'm looking at his free skate music, which looks like a hot disaster on blades, and I couldn't be more excited about it!.

Our dear Artur Gachinski (RUS) is a hot mess of an entirely different variety. We love that he is Evgeni's mini-me and how he flails about like Boy George in 1980s London, but it really has no place on the ice in 2012 under IJS. Perhaps he should've been born in another generation so he could pit his "style" against the likes of Rudy Galindo and Philipe Candeloro. He does have a World medal under his belt, but he has not risen to the occasion since he accomplished that feat in 2010.

Our dear little Nobunari Oda (JPN) is a sad case. Ever since he became a father his career has gone down hill. 2011-2012 was a disaster for him and this is a do or die year. Takahashi is still fabulous, Hanyu and Kozuka are world medalists, and Machida is on his way up the ranks. If Oda does not prove this season that he can still do it, I say the Japanese federation washes their hands of him as they did with Fumie Suguri.

My Podium Predictions:
Gold: Patrick Chan
Silver: Javier Fernandez
Bronze: Ross Miner

The Rest of the Field:
Elladj Balde (CAN)
Liam Firus (CAN)
Takahito Mura (JPN)
Denis Ten (KAZ)