Wednesday, October 5, 2011

R-E-S-P-E-C-T. And Then Some.

Johnny acknowledges the standing ovation 
and the roars of the crowd one last time 
at the end of Fashion on Ice.
Photo © David Ingogly.



Yes, we have yet more exclusive Fashion on Ice picspam today, this time from the finale--Aretha! Singing "R-E-S-P-E-C-T!"--and the post-finale portion of the show, plus a brief look backstage post-post-finale.

(You guys aren't bored with this stuff already, are you....? No? OK, good. Cuz there are still 2,567,921 more pics to wade through....)

But first, these brief commercial messages:

*Eric Alt's "Carnivale" runway show starring Johnny is this Sunday at the W Hotel Hoboken!! VIP seating is sold out, but other tickets are still available. This event promises to be ... IDEK what, honestly, but considering that the Imperial Court of New York is involved, it's got to be too fiercely good to miss. So go!!

*Johnny's appearing in Orlando on Saturday, October 22, for the launch of his M∙A∙C "Glitter and Ice" holiday line! A reminder of what that's all about:


BRB dying....

So he'll be "appearing" from 1 to 2 pm which IDK what that means--speaking? singing? skating? all of the above? or maybe you can just sit and look at him, which is also a worthy pastime--and then signing autographs from 2 pm to 4 pm. More info here!

*And of course, the Ice Theatre of New York's "Dare to Be Different" Gala and Benefit Performance honoring Johnny is coming up on Monday, October 24!! (He tweeted about it twice yesterday. I think he wants us all to go. So we should do that. Yes.) Tickets are still available: $350 for the whole shebang--performance, cocktails, dinner, and awards ceremony--or just $45 for the performance only (yes, he's not only "appearing"--he's skating!). Johnny joins a prestigious lineup of figure-skating legends to be so honored by ITNY, including Dorothy Hamill and Dick Button. This is definitely a must-see--get your tickets now! It's less than three weeks away!

OK! And now, on with the (end of the) show! More picspam to remind you all over again why it is you want to go to Carnivale and Orlando and ITNY and oh yes, Holiday Dreams On Ice, too...!



The Queen of Soul herself, 
Aretha Franklin, 
takes the stage during the second act of Fashion on Ice. 
She. Was. Magnificent. 
Her voice and energy were simply amazing. 
I loved every moment.


Aretha acknowledges Sinead and John Kerr 
after their skate to her performance of 
"U Can't See Me," from her new album, 
A Woman Falling Out of Love.



Random favorite FOI moment #1: When Aretha, dressed to the nines and belting out her songs with all the Grande Diva-ness she possesses, told the audience about her new album and carefully explained, "And you can buy it exclusively at Walmart. Or go get it from Walmart.com." Love that. Not iTunes, where the cool kids hang out. Or even Amazon. No, Walmart--where all of us regular people go.

Random favorite FOI moment #2: Super Managtress Tara totally rocking out as Sasha Cohen skated to Aretha's "Chain of Fools." Tara danced in her 12-inch heels all the way up a flight of stairs to where we were sitting. And then she turned and motioned to the wonderful makeup crew, who were all standing diffidently in the shadows watching the performances because apparently they didn't have actualfax seats (?), to come sit by us and enjoy the rest of the show. And they did. :)



Johnny performed Ave Maria during the second act 
while Aretha took a break.



Random favorite FOI moment #3: Looking over to see Tara watching Johnny with the same rapt attention as any other fan. All the times she's seen him practice and perform; all the times he's driven her completely out of her mind; all the nonstop 24/7 crazy that goes with being his manager--and there she was. Eyes wide, hardly breathing, completely entranced. Just like the rest of us. I love that. 



Oh yeah. Costume change, and then Aretha performs 
"Respect" while Charlie White gets his groove on 
during the finale.


The skaters dance along, 
and then turn to acknowledge the Queen.


Right back atcha. 
She was so wonderful.


After Aretha finished, the skaters took their bows 
to Kris Allen's "Live Like We're Dying."


And then they skated over 
to offer their thanks to the designers.


John Kerr, Johnny, and Sasha.




Alissa Czisny and Johnny greet Gilles Mendel of J. Mendel, 
creator of the gorgeous costume Johnny's wearing here.




Johnny turns to see the other skaters 
getting ready for one more bow.


A final moment in the spotlight:
Sarah Hughes, Johnny, Sasha, and Jeremy Abbott.



The finale! Thanks to my dear friend 
Nicole Davis for the HD video!



Afterward.

Davey, Alice, and me with lovely Tara 
after the show, courtesy of photographer Nicole!


Thanks to our media passes, Davey was able to take 
a few shots backstage after the show ended. 
Here Johnny contemplates his J. Mendel costume 
as he works on packing up his stuff. 
I hope the skaters were allowed to keep 
the designers' creations--they were all fabulous!


Gathering, organizing, putting bags in bags...




...pausing for conversation 
with person after person...


...back to packing... 
and coming toward him 
is my friend Stacy McReynolds
another media-pass owner who brought us 
the glorious picspam on Monday's blog!


Tara helps while Stacy and her husband Mike 
wait for a moment of Johnny's time.


And he's happy to autograph some things for Stacy. :)


Finally. Packed up and ready to head back to the hotel 
for some much-needed sleep. 
Thank you, Johnny!
You were amazing, as always!



Epilogue: Soooooo... after the backstage photos, we milled around a bit more, then found ourselves sort of accidentally attached to a group of skaters and their family and friends who were being shepherded ... somewhere ... by the very friendly and courteous security personnel of the Sears Centre (Dear Lake Placid: Just FYI. THIS is how it's done). We thought they were leading us through the maze of stairs and hallways back up to the parking area. But then we arrived via elevator at one of the upper levels, and the security guards smiled, "There you go! Have a good time!" 

And we found ourselves outside a VIP party for the skaters, designers, and their guests. 

As if. 

And then we cracked up. 

And then I realized: Ohhhhhhhh. THAT'S what those "VIP" badges tucked in with our media passes were for.....

But we decided that there was only so much awesomeness we could absorb at any one time, so we ended our evening as people like us do when it's late at night and Walmart is already closed so we'll have to wait until tomorrow to get Aretha's new album:

We went here and had breakfast. :)

With Alice and dear wonderful Nico 
at Denny's post-show! 
Yay for keeping it classy!



All photos © David Ingogly.
(Except the one Nico took.) 



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!



Big news in Eric Alt Land!! 
Eric is teaming up with The Imperial Court of New York 
(and if you don't know who they are, go there now! 
ICNY president Gary Cosgrove is made of awesome.) 
to host his own runway show 
for New Jersey Fashion Week--starring Johnny
Click the poster to read all about it, 
then get your tickets here



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



New Q and A!! Go read it now!



Still tix available
including performance-only tickets for $45!
Or see the ITNY website for more info!



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...

Aretha is a force of nature. Thanks again for all the wonderful photos.

Johnny looks very Russo-balletic with his rows of "scrambled eggs" ribs. In the military, that's what they call those leafy golden embroideries.

Binky, good to see that the Misfit Mimes crew looks very bright eyed and bushy tailed...in spite of the frazzling move. Hope you feel as good as you look.

Princess Johnny-Love ♥ said...

k, first of all, you MUST go to ITNY! seriously. it's a celebration of Johnny and you should be there.

love LOVE the photos, of course!

but my fave thing? your description of Tara watching Johnny skate. love that she's mesmerized, too!

WheresMyKoppy said...

Another great blog, and more great photos from David! Despite all the great photos of Johnny, my favorite is the photo Nicole took of you, David, Alice and Tara! Wonderful!