Bitchery on ice: Nancy cries, Tonya lies in karaoke musical
Last weekend, the top American skaters battled it out for the crown of "nations’ best" and a shot at Olympic glory at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Spokane, Washington And odds are, you have no idea who the top women’s finishers - Rachael Flatt and Mirai Nagasu - were, nor may you care.
Flashback sixteen years to a different story: The top two American women’s figure skaters - Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding, who’d been dueling it out as rivals for several years - were at the tip of everyone’s tongues following the unprecedented attack on Kerrigan at the Olympic trials in Detroit. Though Harding was never formally charged for the attack, her name was black-listed for years to follow and she failed to deliver at the 1994 Games in Lillehammer, placing eighth. She turned to wherever her next paycheck would come, whether it be a celebrity boxing match or a dive bar meet-and-greet.
Tabloid darlings sing!
Kerrigan, on the other hand, took the silver behind Ukrainian Oksana Baiul at those Games, and continued on to enjoy a successful professional career. She toured the nation and skated in numerous televised shows that emerged as the sport’s profile grew to a never-before-seen level in the aftermath of the Nancy-Tonya saga.
Drawing from the events that captivated the nation’s attention, the Gorilla Tango Theatre presents a new sketch comedy-styled karaoke musical titled Whack! The Tonya Harding & Nancy Kerrigan Story, running through Feb. 25 at 1919 N. Milwaukee. With music based on Disney classics, the musical is the third of its kind from the company, who previously presented the stories of fellow mid-’90s tabloid darlings Amy Fisher and Mary Kay Letourneau. It loosely follows the events of the dueling ice princesses, filling in the blanks with campy antics and song titles like "Frickin Triple Axel" and the stand-out "Whack Her Knee" (sung to "Be My Guest").
