Entertainment on ice

By Susan Field, For the Mirror

For Ryan Bradley, performing in this weekend's 27th annual Penn State Ice Show is like going back to his roots.

The 26-year-old, who was the alternate on the U.S. men's Olympic team in February, remembers the days when he performed in his local rink's ice shows as a kid growing up in St. Joseph, Mo.

"Seeing the kids go through the process and getting excited for the show rejuvenates my skating spirit," Bradley said in a telephone interview last week. "Being able to go to places like Penn State, and do these kinds of shows - I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Not even a broken bone in his foot will keep him from performing in shows around the country nearly every weekend for the next two and a half months. It didn't stop him from competing in the Interna-tional Skating Union World Figure Skating Championships, March 22 to 28 in Torino, Italy, either.

Bradley, broke the fifth metatarsal in his left foot during a dance class shortly after finding out he was going to the world championships. He worked with his doctors to come up with a special, thin cast that fits inside his skating boot to relieve the pressure on his foot and keep the pain at a bearable level.

"It's been a little tricky, but I decided I wanted to go to Worlds no matter what," said Bradley, the 2007 U.S. national silver medalist. "It is really mind over matter. ... It's much better now though."

The theme of this year's PSU ice show, "The Ice is a Stage," fits Bradley, a skater who embraces the idea of skating being a form of theatrical expression. He is known for his entertaining and humorous competitive and show routines.

"Getting someone else to feel an emotion that they wouldn't have felt otherwise, is really cool," Bradley said. "The easiest reaction for me to get from them [the crowd] is laughter. It's really cool to make someone feel happy. I like to bring spectators on a journey with me as I skate. It doesn't always work, but when it does, it's really incredible."

As a child, Bradley liked to be the center of attention and ham things up. He learned how to do that through his skating.

"I was skating a program, which wasn't a comical program at all, and I started screwing around, and mocking the movement," Bradley said. "I was trying to make my friends laugh, and it worked. The crowd got really into it."

In a sport synonymous with classical music, Bradley likes to skate character-driven programs to music like the "Devil Went Down to Georgia" and the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack, with non-traditional choreography.

This season he finally skated to classical music, Baroque era chamber music from the "Amadeus" soundtrack, but he put his own twist on it by making it a spoof on prim and proper movement.

Beth Eckert, a coach on the Penn State Pro Staff, saw Bradley perform his Mozart number at Skate America in November in Lake Placid, N.Y. He had a bronze-medal-winning performance, and that's when she started pushing again for Bradley to be the guest skater at the PSU ice show. She had first suggested Bradley as the guest star in 2000.

"He is such a nice, genuine gentleman. He truly seems to appreciate his fans and is accommodating to them," Eckert said.

"The Ice is a Stage" is based on theatrical comedy and drama, with all 24 numbers falling into those categories.

"The opening number is a masquerade ball with all the skaters wearing masks, said Amy Torcasso, figure skating director at the Penn State Ice Rink in her fifth year directing the show.

"Two skaters are going to be the show's emcees, with one wearing a drama mask and the other wearing a comedy mask. They'll be doing silent skits on the ice as introductions to the large group numbers."

The performers range from young children just learning to skate, to adult skaters, like 60-year-old Gary Mitchell, president of the Penn State Figure Skating Club, who has skated in the show for 15 years. The Penn State Icers and Lady Icers will also make an appearance.

Skating numbers will range from a Native American-themed song for the younger girls, to a "Star Wars"-themed number for the adult skaters, to a "Phantom of the Opera" routine for the pro staff.

Jess Shulik, a Penn State senior from Clark, will be performing a special solo to "There You'll Be" by Faith Hill from the "Pearl Harbor" soundtrack. The program is dedicated to her aunt, who passed away from cancer in December. Bradley will be performing two numbers, one of which is a variation of his Mozart program.

The show provides skaters an opportunity to showcase their skills in front family and friends, but is also a chance to show the community how much fun skating is, Torcasso said.

"Watch for the different skill levels people are at, all the costuming, and the stories each number tells," Mitchell said. "Some numbers are hilarious, some numbers are touching. It's everything a skating show should be."