Royal Oak Ice Show Celebrates Holidays

The 34th  annual Royal Oak Ice Show will offer plenty of reasons to celebrate. Entitled “Celebr-Ice-tion,” the show will run April 27-28 at the John Lindell Ice Arena, 1403 Lexington Boulevard.

The show features musical numbers representing festive seasons throughout the year, including not only such popular holidays as Christmas and Halloween, but also the patriotic holidays of Presidents’ Day, Independence Day, and Veterans’ Day. An ethnic flavor will be present in the Cinco de Mayo and St. Patrick’s Day performances.

This year’s show will be the second to employ a theatre-on-ice format. The show will be framed by a story of a teacher presenting a lesson on holidays to her students. “The students’ journey through the events will be accompanied by a magical calendar on the ice,” commented Sabrina Prevost, show director.

The teacher will be portrayed by Kendall Spina, and the students will be Savannah Bradley, Lizzy Church, Olivia Kruszewski, Trinity Lee, Amber McGill, Tara Prevost, and Jaime Saliba.

The show showcases the talents of 58 skaters, ranging in age from 3 to senior citizen. They are members of the New Edge Figure Skating Club or enrolled in the city’s Learn to Skate program.

Vera Barnwell and Kaitlin Prakken, who are graduating high school seniors, as well as accomplished skaters, will be featured soloists. Barnwell, a student at Detroit Country Day, is a U.S. Figure Skating gold medalist in freestyle, moves, and dance. Prakken, who attends Shrine High School, is currently working on her senior moves test. The senior level is the highest recognized by U.S. Figure Skating.

One very special guest performer is Anna Perantoni, a Special Olympics skater who will be appearing in the Labor Day number. “Figure Skating is a huge challenge for Anna,” Prevost emphasized. “She joined our Learn to Skate program at the beginning of the season and has made great progress since her first steps on the ice. I am pleased to have her in our ice show family.”

A highlight of the show will be a performance by Heat and Freeze, a theatrical studio-on-ice troupe consisting of some 25 skaters representing a variety of ages and skills. Heat will be performing scenes from “Beauty and the Beast.” The troupe is in its second year and has appeared in several benefit performances.

Also featured will be the pair skating team of Laura Lepzinski and Ethan Burgess. The pair has competed on the national level. Lepzinski now coaches in the city’s Learn to Skate program.

Prevost predicts that the show will put the audience in a festive mood. “We are a family-friendly arena, and we want everyone to celebrate with us,” she noted. “This will be a big party.”

Show times are: Saturday, April 27, 1:30 and 6 p.m., and Sunday, April 28, 1:30 p.m. Tickets are $12 for adults, $8 for ages 6 and under. In addition, the public is invited to attend the dress rehearsal on Friday, April 26, 5:30-7:30 p.m., for free.

For more information about the show, call 248-246-3950. Information about the John Lindell Ice Arena can be found on the arena’s website, www.royaloakicearena.com. The arena is open year round.

This article was submitted by Sue Richardson.