XPost: alt.fan.tonya-harding, alt.skate.figure
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The Portlandian, the Internet's premier source of Tonya News
October 19, 2019 Edition
(C) 2019 Portland Ice Skating Society
http://www.pdxiss.org *****************************************************************
Welcome to another edition of "The Portlandian". There's not much
Tonya news on the radar at the moment, so we thought we'd take
this opportunity to play catch-up on a lot of odds and ends that
have built up over the past few months. We have some news about
more rock opera performances, confirm a long-standing Tonya rumor
(and debunk a more recent one), and look at the cars of "I,
Tonya". We also dig up some old Tonya skating performances - and
reveal how decisions made by a bunch of engineers designing a TV
system back in the fifties resulted in "I, Tonya" getting the
color of one of her costumes wrong - and mull a foray into local
body politics.
HAPPY FEET?
Tonya has already proven she can dance and cook, having appeared
on two "reality" series over the past few months, "Dancing With
The Stars" and "Worst Cooks In America". Now there's speculation
she may be adding singing to the list by appearing in a third.
The past few days have seen a rumor floating around that Tonya
may be the Penguin character on the Fox show "The Masked Singer",
an Idol-type singing contest featuring celebrities disguised in
costumes. This theory stems from several clues that feature in
two videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_VI5QOQRjg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVI5yGD2Gik
Certainly some of the clues seem to fit ("I was told I was not
pretty enough, smart enough...", "career is over", references to
ice and "getting colder"), and the hit list contains things like
"exes" and "the press". In addition, the scene of the Penguin
sitting in front of a mirror could be seen as referencing the
similar one in "I, Tonya". However, only one of the clues,
"career on ice" could be seen as specifically referring to an ice
skater, and only if taken literally. The rest could apply to
dozens of people.
Against this, references to "funny enough" and "comedy club
owners" tend to suggest a comedian - and Tonya may well have
reason to dislike comedians who have for years made her the butt
of their jokes, but would seem to have nothing against the club
owners.
We think the most credible of the various theories is that it's a
woman called Sherri Shepherd from "The View". The references to
"permission slip", "Jesus came first" and "secretary" apparently
specifically fit various things she's said and done over the
years. Plus, she's described as a comedian in Wikipedia. On the
other hand, we can't think of how any of that stuff connects to
Tonya.
Still, when it comes to Tonya, "any publicity is good
publicity" - at least if it's positive. If the speculation keeps
Tonya's name in the public's mind, why should Tonyaphiles care if
it's completely off track?
ROCK OPERA SKATES TO FLORIDA
New performances of "Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera" are in the
works for the new year. February will see it make its debut in
Florida, an event that's gonna be the coolest thing to hit the
Sunshine State since Miami Vice. And a 2020/2021 tour is also
planned.
The Florida performances will be directed by Mark Danni and take
place at TheatreZone in Naples on the following dates:
7:30 p.m. on Feb. 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15 & 16, 2020
2:00 p.m. on Feb. 8, 9, 15 & 16, 2020
Tickets can be purchased here:
https://theatre.zone/show/tonya-nancy-a-rock-opera/
Not much is known about the production at this stage, with
casting still to be announced. We recommend you keep an eye on
this site for further info:
http://www.tonyaandnancytherockopera.com/
Meanwhile, another review of the CD that was issued a few months
ago, featuring selected songs from the 2018 performance at
Feinstein's 54 Below in New York earlier that year, has also
emerged:
http://www.broadwaytovegas.com/October28,2018.html
The review is very positive - just some of the highlights:
"All of the performers are outstanding with just the right
accents and attitudes. However, additional attention must be
paid to Broadway veteran, Tony nominated Nancy Opel who deftly
segues between the 'mothers of all mothers' the mother of
Tonya and the syrup voiced 'mother of the Ice Princess -
Nancy'"."
"If you are a person who is sick to death of hearing about the
Tonya and Nancy knee event and subsequent scandals - you're
still going to enjoy this fun, rock opera. A tough subject in
history about two youngsters with superb ice skating talent
and the golden dream of their handlers."
"I was prepared to suffer through listening to this recording
and was totally surprised that every part of this recording is
deliciously entertaining. It's a well done hoot. It's not easy
to resuscitate a well known historical as well as a scandalous
event to the stage and a subsequent recording and make it
fresh, clever, entertaining, funny and topical. Competition
never goes out of style."
"The lyrics are insightful, and sad. The success of these
athletes brought their parents what they wanted although
nobody ever considers what would make the performers happy.
They are an expendable commodity. As long as they win, they
are adored."
"The expert musical compositions and in between commentary
results in the listener having a better understanding and
compassion for both skaters."
"Fabulous technical work on bringing this from the stage to a
CD. As far as live recordings captured at Feinsteins/54 Below
this one is technically the best. There are no dead spots or
even a minute instance of one entity overpowering the other."
"The sound placement is perfect. There was the potential of
sounding cheap with distracting and uneven sections - as is
prelevant in so many club recordings. This CD is stunningly
awesome. That didn't happen by accident. There had to have
been a lot of technical know how and that deserved to be
acknowledged."
MORE OLD BROADCASTS
The miracle known as Youtube continues to yield more old Tonya
footage not seen since its original broadcast. Here's some more
that we don't think you've likely seen before.
First up we have Tonya's 1989 Skate America performances, which
took place exactly 30 years ago on Oct. 18th to 22nd in
Indianapolis:
Short Program:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVUiAAY-yOo
Long Program:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ_Hu9Li7SA
Tonya finished first in both the Short and the Long, resulting in
her taking home the gold medal.
Although the Long Program has been on YouTube before, this was
shot by different crew. You see, although it may seem hard to
believe now, back in the 1980s the networks frequently only aired
the Long Programs, not the Short Programs or the Compulsory
Figures (which were abolished the next year), and even then not
all of them. So the USFSA hired crews from outside, such as Ledin
Video of Michigan and R & J. Video of California to come in and
shoot alternative footage that the skaters themselves could order
as a record of their peformances. It was most likely the Ledin
crew that shot this footage.
This footage also reveals something else: that contrary to what
is shown in "I, Tonya" her dress is blue, not purple. The error
is probably because the costume designer likely consulted this
clip of Tonya at the 1987 NHK where she wore the same dress:
1987 NHK LP:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlUUDmn0lvo
Why the difference? The old NTSC analog TV system that was used
in both Japan and the US at the time was notorious for color
problems (TV engineers in Europe, which used other better
systems, used to sneeringly refer to it as Never Twice Same
Color). So Tonya looks a bit green and her dress looks purple in
the NHK clip.
Next we have Tonya in action at the 1990 NHK, which took place
November 23-25 1990, in Asahikawa, Japan. This is her Short
Program, performing to "Two Tribes" by Frankie Goes To Hollywood:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riqsndWW8yU
David Mueller shot this footage, complete with HiFi stereo sound,
of Tonya practising at the now-defunct Clackamas Town Center rink
in Portland in June 1996 for her unsuccessful "Tonya II"
comeback. He says:
Looks like Tonya Harding is back in the news. (Did she ever
really leave). So I thought that I would share with you my
'Close Encounter of the Tonya Kind'.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VzW-_tRlYU
Last issue we dug up a few old Tonya interviews. This time,
here's a couple of recordings of news broadcasts of the Nightly
News from KBVR-TV, an Oregon State University student station in
Corvallis. There's no visuals, and only a brief mention, but it's
an important piece of Tonya history to see how even a student
station covered things at the time:
1994-01-25 - general roundup of happenings in the case:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eF_3Ir17So&t=550
1994-02-01 - Jeff pleads guilty:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BS-9vQkzmM&t=900
THE CARS OF "I, TONYA"
And now something for the hard-core Tonya nerds.
"I, Tonya" isn't a movie noted for its cars, but if you've ever
wondered what car is being driven by Jeff (a 1987 Cadillac
Brougham) or the skating judge who Tonya asks about her low
scores (a 1985 Volvo), or by Shawn's team of hit-morons on the
way to the Cobo rink (a 1982 Pontiac Bonneville), this site has
the answers:
https://www.imcdb.org/movie.php?id=5580036
We can also see that Tonya's pickup truck was this 1983 Ford F100
hired from movie car rental company Southern Picture cars:
http://southernpicturecars.com/wpcproduct/1983-ford-f-100-xlt/
VHS RIDES AGAIN
Before "I, Tonya" hit the big screen, there was, of course,
another Tonya film, the 1994 quicky TV movie "Tonya & Nancy: The
Inside Story" starring L.A. Law's Alexandra Powers as Tonya and A
Nightmare on Elm Street's Heather Langenkamp as Nancy, which
aired on NBC in late April 1994.
We are pleased to announce we are now able to confirm a long
standing claim that this movie was released on home video in
Japan. We've been aware of this rumor for years, and now finally
we have proof in the form of this rather faded cover:
http://pdxiss.org/images/TonyaAndNancyTheInsideStory-JapanVHS.jpg
To date, this is the only official release of this film on any
home media we're aware of - all the DVD copies out there appear
to be bootlegs.
But you won't need to dig out the VHS machine from the attic and
learn Japanese to watch this - you can see it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCvO1ooJslM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPd3qHXpuXs
A review that compares it with "I, Tonya" (see the comments as
well, along with his review of "Breakaway"):
http://outlawvern.com/2018/01/17/tonya-nancy-inside-story/
You can also read our own review from 1999 here:
http://pdxiss.org/port26.htm
In 2006, the Neo-Futurists theatre group in Chicago staged a
reading of the screenplay, which you can view a clip from here:
https://vimeo.com/22275716
https://neofuturists.org/events/it-came-from-the-neo-futurarium-v-bride-of-the-neo-futurarium/
But what if VHS had never died and was still going? At least one
person has apparently wondered this - they've produced their own
fake "I, Tonya" VHS packaging, in both US-style cardboard sleeve
and plastic clamshell case versions (though why they've put a
Warner's logo on it when it was a Universal video release is
somewhat a mystery):
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnTxwmrlbhq/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnRIAWLHTD2/
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm50eWnnxvE/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BmjxvrPl5wJ/
TONYA ARTWORK ROUNDUP
And now it's time for our regular roundup of Tonya-themed
artworks.
First up is Mary Jo Millar of Camas, WA. We have previously
written about Mary's work ten years ago in our Feb 2, 2009
edition:
http://pdxiss.org/port76.htm
Here are two items she did back at that time:
- spoof ad for an ice princess costume:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvf5_xggmFY/
- Queen of Nice, showing Tonya as a sexy girl scout selling
candy:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Buhjp9yF_1-/
Mary's work often emulates old, retro-style 1950s advertising.
You can see more of it at this site for a brand of coffee:
https://www.pullcaffe.com/
Don Draper of Mad Men couldn't have done better himself.
Tonya's Triple Axel continues to inspire:
Marina Golondrina (Marina Canton) - a triple axel cartoon:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvb4uFAFE2t/
Frying panties - A little tattoo design I sketched for myself,
based on Tonya Harding's look from the competition in 1991 that
she landed the triple axel in:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvWXWYmFcpP/
Camperdown productions:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvGIojzBpkB/
Soniawynnartist
https://www.instagram.com/p/Buq1fgPlQO-/
a.crimer - instead of a Tonka truck, we've got a Tonya truck -
with 3 axles... Part of the THNK1994 Museum's permanent
collection:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Burp21DBeCx/
Caz Watts, Toronto - LaVona & her bird:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BurjjlYg0Ne/
Planum design - a fan made, minimalist design film poster:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BudZnJ8HwuV/
carrasquermarcos - Tonya features in this very strange drawing
entitled "Changer l'ampoule", (Change The Bulb) 2018, 160x120cm
which was on display at the Time Capsule exhibition at the
municipal gallery Julio Gonzalez in Arcueil back in March.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bubcx1HHsyY/
Pablos Pizza in Grand Junction, Colorado, made Tonya the theme of
their "Pizza of The Week" in February:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuE3HKiHfew/
Multifandom (lightbringxr) - she is the best - a Tonya photo
montage:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtqTHR7H0WZ/
ghazal (ghzoool) - a rare one that also references Tonya's boxing
as well as skating.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtV49v4hEeF/
skidaddle.__.skidoodle - "Welp, I tried... is it just me? Or is
the face a little wonky..."
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs_37f5F0Uu/
The Incident continues to feature, even if it's not always
accurate:
Vault art studio - "Ouch my knee":
https://www.instagram.com/p/BueFCjSB_z8/
kate roser illustrates:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvJC4hMnu4i/
Brent Engstrom (brentaengstrom) - garbagepailkids re-enactment
https://www.instagram.com/p/Br-IfObl5j3/
gabby.zermeno Guadalajara, Mexico - recreates one of the movie's
more memorable scenes:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BscKS7ahkbi/
La Perle Kamikaze - pencil drawing of Tonya:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvoNGVKFG1M/
tamara.disalvo - Jan 2019
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsaxqyIjVri/
Estoy viendo peliculas pues temporada de premios y no me están
flasheando tanto como otros años. Acá mi preferida del año pasado
y una de mis preferidas de la vida. La mejor biopic en años, I
Tonya (Voy a hacer de cuenta que esos brazos están mas o menos
proporcionados cuando bien se sabe que no es así). (I'm watching
movies as awards season and they aren't inspiring me as much as
other years. Here is my favorite from last year and one of my
favorites of life. The best biopic in years, I Tonya (I'm going
to realize that those arms are more or less proportioned when it
is well known that this is not the case)).
supergirl diaries - Corrine, from Melbourne, Australia, made her
own Tonya costume last year. Now she's done this excellent
Photoshop job of herself as Tonya skating in a competition:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtzDmZFDkb_/
cantalina - smoking Tonya sketch:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw0fS2wAAiU/
the bleualbum - another great drawing:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv7hicOBvft/
Karl Marks children's hour puppet workshop - Figures in Skating.
His Facebook page describes it as "a traveling puppet show and
crafting workshop featuring two dimensional paper puppets of
famous and infamous historical and public figures":
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwWyKBXH_0g/
Claudia Belvedere - "there's always two sides to a story" -
another work inspired by the movie:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvyh3GllGwC/
voidcatt - Sufjan tribute - crying Tonya:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvufZoCnsD9/
Anna Cucurullo (ms_cucu) has a Tonya signed Easter egg. "Happy
belated #Easter from me and @therealtonyaharding This signed
Easter egg is from the 1992 White House Easter Egg Roll, back
when I was just a lil bb".
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwnXe-oj5OE/
Finally, some well-done, funny Tonya photo composites, including
Tonya in Dirty Dancing, in the Whitehouse with President Trump,
with some Power Rangers, in Star Wars, as a surgeon, at the
Oscars, on horseback...
https://www.instagram.com/tonya.harding/
THE PORTLANDIAN CANDIDATE
The past few weeks have seen the local Council elections take
place here in Christchurch. And we did toy with the idea of
standing a candidate ourselves. We even got as far as writing up
a bio for Terry:
Terry HALL
http://pdxiss.org
Firstly, contrary to what some people may think, I am
definitely NOT standing for Mayor as a cheap attempt to
promote my Tonya Harding Fan Club (which, by the way, you can
view at
http://www.pdxiss.org).
I'm standing because, as a born and bred Cantabrian, I am
passionate about making a difference. I see the big picture,
walk the walk and as a team-builder, will ensure we have all
our ducks in a row and are all singing from the same song
sheet, with results-based governance and community-focused
outcomes. I will advocate a back-to-basics, common-sense,
bottom-up, people-centered, solutions-focused approach that
harnesses the social capital and transaction structures of all
strategic stakeholders, enabling and empowering us to face the
challenge of climate change with the goals, values, mission
and vision to create a dynamic, vibrant, innovative, eco-
friendly, low-emission, zero-carbon, sustainable city.
Again, I must emphasize that this is not about promoting my
Tonya Harding Fan Club (that's the one at
http://www.pdxiss.org). Or getting people to sign up to the
free newsletter, "The Portlandian", which is the internet's
leading source of Tonya news. No, definitely not about that at
all.
*****************************************************************
VISIT THESE GREAT TONYA WEB SITES:
PortIce -
http://www.pdxiss.org
David House -
http://www.tonyaharding.org
Charlie Main -
http://www.charliesweb.com/tonya/tonya.html
Puppetboy -
http://www.usapaul.net/tonya/
Valerie Smith -
http://www.olywa.net/radu/valerie/LilHam.html
Swan Lake -
http://members.tripod.com/~TonyaHarding/index.html
Blades of Gold -
http://members.tripod.com/tmhfan/index.html *****************************************************************
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