Monday, October 17, 2011

Ice Theatre of New York's Gala: The Don't-Miss-It! Event of the Weir Year

Dare to be different: Johnny at Fashion on Ice 
with Betsey Johnson, Sarah Hughes, and Sinead Kerr. 
One week from today, Johnny will be the guest of honor 
Hurry--there are still a few tickets available!
Photo © David Ingogly.



So hey: I'm going to ITNY!

Which is a thing I didn't think would be possible! But now it is! Thanks to all kinds of unexpected things that happened in fanTAStic ways! So now I am suddenly once again mapping out a road trip to New York! Only this time it's NYC instead of Lake Placid! BRB freaking out over the traffic!

(...although several East Coast fans assure me that if I can drive in Chicago, I can drive in Manhattan, so I'm clinging to their calm, motherly words like I'm Norman Bates and they're my hollowed-out husk of an obsession in my basement... OK, the analogy needs work, but I'm too busy freaking out to find another one....)

Anyway, so both kids are coming with me, Alice in hopes of learning exciting new Russian swear words slang, and Davey with permission to photograph stuff, including Johnny, so the ensuing awesomeness should just be, you know, really really awesome.

Oh, and we're also going because we absolutely adore this year's honoree. About whom I have thus far written 352 blog posts, including this one, as my fascination continues unabated.

(Brief historical note: Family legend has it that we are descended from biographer James Boswell on my father's side. He's the 18th-century writer who is mostly famous for following around well-known literary figure Samuel Johnson, by whom he was completely riveted, and writing down everything Johnson did and said, and then creating a biography of Johnson out of his staggeringly copious notes. I totally get that. Only I just create endless blog posts. Also Photoshop projects involving sharks and Star Wars. But somehow--entirely due to the fact that Johnny is amazing and witty and thoughtful and flawed and human and also amazing--it seems to resonate with a lot of people. One fan's daughter recently suggested this tag line for me: "Johnny Weir: Bringing crazy people together, one blog at a time." I like it.)

So I'm thrilled to go enjoy the company of my fellow crazy people as we gather to honor the man whose fault this is, but it has come to my attention in the midst of my deer-in-the-headlights euphoria that there are still a few tickets available for next Monday night's Gala.

And so now I'm on a mission to Sell. Every. Last. Seat.

Because what greater tribute could we offer to the man of the hour and his gift and his achievements than a sold-out venue that night?

There are several pricing options still available, including:

*Performance, Cocktails, Dinner, and Awards Ceremony (the whole enchilada, in other words. Although I don't think they're actually serving enchiladas): $350
(But I THINK, per Li Mann, that you can still get these for $300 if you call and tell them you're with one of the Johnny Weir fan tables. It's worth a shot, and the ITNY people are really lovely.)

*Performance and Cocktails only, for those under age 35 (IDK why, but it's a nice option for people less elderly than me): $150.

*Performance Only: Just $45!!

Now those performance-only tickets are the ones I would really love to see sold out--well, I want to see every level of ticket sold out, but especially these. Because no matter how wonderfully addictive it is to watch him on YouTube--and I speak from countless hours of experience--there is NOTHING that compares to seeing Johnny skate live...

The frosty air of the arena; the roar when he's introduced; the hush as you wait for him to begin; the slicing sound of his skates across the ice; the fact that he's gliding past RIGHT THERE in front of you, and far faster than you imagined; and especially the feeling of participating in the moment, as you become aware that he is drawing energy from the crowd right there, right now, and that that energy is feeding his performance in a way that is beautifully relational, even symbiotic; and, in the end, once again deafened by the roaring crowd, realizing that you just saw and felt and experienced ... love in motion.

It is unforgettable.

And well worth $45.

So if there's any chance at all that you can be there next Monday--

DO. IT. 

He'll be performing two numbers--one of which he'll be unveiling for the first time--and the dazzling Ice Theatre company also will be performing.

This is an evening not to be missed. If you're a Johnny fan, it'll be the best $45 you've ever spent.

(Plus maybe afterward you can help me find my way back to my hotel...)




Bonus pic! Johnny during Ave Maria 
at Fashion on Ice. 
Coming upYet more absolutely gorgeous
FOI rehearsal picspam... in case you needed
any more inspiration to go buy your ITNY ticket...
Photo © David Ingogly.



Did I mention there are still tix available
including performance-only tickets for $45?
For more info, call ITNY at 212-929-5811 
or visit the ITNY website
Official Gala invitation 
courtesy of Ice Theatre of New York.



And don't miss ITNY's Home Season opener
Shows every night from this Thursday, October 20, 
through Saturday, October 22, leading up to the Gala! 
Featuring the Ice Theatre ensemble with special guest artists. 
Tickets are just $25 regular admission, 
or $15 for students, seniors, or groups of ten or more. 
For more info, please call ITNY at 212-929-5811 
or visit their website
Official flyer courtesy of Ice Theatre of New York. 



Hey! Johnny's scheduled to be on VH1 this Wednesday 
at 9 am EDT/PDT, 8 am CDT!! BRB setting up TiVo...



Please join me in supporting GLAAD's Spirit Day initiative! 
From GLAAD's website: "Millions of Americans wear purple 
on Spirit Day as a sign of support for lesbian, gay, bisexual 
and transgender (LGBT) youth and to speak out against bullying. 
Spirit Day was started in 2010 by teenager Brittany McMillan 
as a response to the young people who had taken their own lives. 
Observed annually on October 20, individuals, schools, organizations, 
corporations, media professionals and celebrities wear purple, 
which symbolizes spirit on the rainbow flag." 
More info here on how you can get involved! 
I will of course be wearing my purple 
Johnny Weir-Traver Rains "Army of One" T-shirt that day.




Yes! Holiday Dreams On Ice returns, 
this time to Philly! 
VIP tickets are already on sale! 
Get yours today via the Holiday Dreams On Ice website!



OMGIDIE. BRB now moving to Orlando...
More info from MAC here.



Q and A!! Go read it now!




Yes! Johnny's dresses are now available
for purchase only on eDressMe.com!



At last: Pop Star On Ice is now available on DVD!
Order yours today from the Pop Star On Ice website!



Johnny tweeted recently:
"Buy my single,'Dirty Love' via iTunes.
Tell all your friends to as well. The more copies sold
takes me one step closer to making a video! №1!"
THE WORLD NEEDS THIS VIDEO
IN THE SAME WAY THAT IT NEEDS AIR.
You know what to do.
Please buy the song from Johnny's website,
or just click the "Buy" button on the player
at the top of the blog!



Hey, Welcome to My World also is available
as an eBook! More info on Johnny's website!



The latest episode of Husbands is here! 
If you haven't seen this yet, go check it out now! 
Then please "like" them on Facebook 
and sign up for their insider newsletter!


copyright 2011 / Binky and the Misfit Mimes / Lynn V. Ingogly / all rights reserved

3 comments:

aaaack said...

Here's hoping that Johnny sells out all the seats because his performances are a real gift to humanity. It would be a crying shame for, say, a Pavarotti to perform to a half-empty auditorium. Johnny is handmaiden to the great creative artistic forces in the universe. Therapy in motion.

The other day, I accidentally watched another more highly decorated world-class male skater and felt deprived. Couldn't hold a candle artistically...fast, furious and fluid but mechanical ...iRobot.

Thank you also for reminding me to read Boswell's "Life of Samuel Johnson." It has been on the back burner of my mind for decades. I kid you not because, for example, I have read and highly recommend "Caught in the Web of Words: James Murray and the Oxford English Dictionary" by K. M. Elisabeth Murray.

Words mean a LOT to me. For example, these are some of the books that changed my life: "The Second Sex," "1984," "The Human Zoo" and "The Naked Ape," "The Dragons of Eden" and "Broca's Brain," "One Hundred Years of Solitude," "Soul on Ice," "The Fire in the Lake" and "The Best and the Brightest," "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance," "The Mismeasure of Man," "1491" and "1493," "Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus," "The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals," "Shock Doctrine" and "Storms of Our Grandchildren." You are what you read.

While I probably won't make it to a performance, I hope they will again sell a video (and hope they ship it faster this time).

AB said...

I so wish I could go. I've been planning to since it was announced, and then...my boss decided that our department dinner would be on that night. Of course. Being from NJ, I have never seen Johnny skate live. (I say this b/c there are so few shows around here, and Johnny didn't get to skate at Hackensack, NJ, earlier this year, when I had tickets!)

I, too, hope this event is a sellout. I've seen YouTubes of some shows where there are tons of empty seats (Ave Maria in Little Ferry, for example), and it's just not right.

Have a great time. I'm looking forward to experiencing the event vicariously through all of you who get to go.

WheresMyKoppy said...

"Johnny Weir: Bringing crazy people together, one blog at a time." I like it.)
+++

Boy she called that one right, didn't she? LOL!

I'm so happy you get to go, because not only will those of us who can't go now have David's beautiful photos to describe it, but your thoughtful words and sense of humor as well!