1998 Canon Elvis Tour of Champions

November 20, 1998
Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto

A historical Toronto landmark, Playboy, a shocking partner switch, and the most famous groin in Canada - what do these four things have in common?

It may seem like a twisted question you'd find in one of those new-fangled board games, but look a little closer.� The seemingly unconnected elements listed are, in fact, four factors which made the 1998 Canon Elvis Tour of Champions one of the hottest tickets in town when the tour made its annual stop in Toronto on November 20.

The last ice show to ever be skated at the city's historic Maple Leaf Gardens, the Elvis Tour fed off publicity hype from Katerina Witt's much anticipated Playboy photo shoot, as well as the comeback of home-country hero Stojko and the honour of being the world premiere tour of the new Pasha Grishuk/Sasha Zhulin partnership. With a cast that included these skating superstars as well as Jennifer Robinson, Elizabeth Manley, Karen Preston, Tonia Kwiakowski, Phillipe Candelero, Rudy Galindo, Josef Sabovcik, Woetzel and Steuer, Savard-Gagnon and Bradet, Urbanski and Marvel, and Punsallen and Swallow, the show surpassed expectations of previous years and even managed to live up to its hype.

Directed by Uschi Keszler and Randy Gardner and hosted by Paul Martini, the show seemed more a connected unit than it had in years past.� A group number featuring the music of swing masters Brian Seltzer Orchestra proved to be a big crowd-pleaser and one of the highlights of the night, and the energetic opening to the soundtrack of "Lost in Space" was also entertaining.

Individual highlights included Savard-Gagnon and Bradet's spunky That Thing You Do, Rudy Galindo's hilarious Village People medley, Phillipe Candelero's reprisal of the D'Artagnon program that won him his second Olympic bronze medal, and Woetzel and Steuer's emotional Mandy.� Katerina Witt had the crowd of 11 000 hushed with her ethereal skate to Sarah McLachlan's Angel, and fellow '88 medallist Liz Manley showed off a new side, also skating to music from the City of Angels soundtrack - Alanis Morrisette's stark Uninvited.� As for The King himself, Elvis brought down the house with a new program skated to Aerosmith's Don't Wanna Miss a Thing before closing the show with his now-famous Jail House Rock.

In the end, the Elvis Tour '98 silenced doubters who wondered whether a skating tour could survive in full-swing competitive season.� With ticket sales that exceeding expectations and skating that delighted the near-capacity Toronto crowd, it was clear to see The King was back - and lucky for us, he'd brought his friends with him.


Review � 1998 by Y.T.S..