The Gateway's "Holiday Spectacular on Ice!" is Festive, Fun, and Family-Friendly

By Cindi Sansone-Braff

Photos: Jeff Bellante

The Gateway’s “Holiday Spectacular on Ice!” is Festive, Fun, and Family-Friendly

If you’re looking for a Christmas miracle to share with your loved ones, take them to The Gateway’s “Holiday Spectacular on Ice!” While watching this joyous show, they will witness a winter wonderland resplendent with snowflakes, an onstage ice rink, Santa Claus arriving by sleigh, and visions of candy canes flying through the air.

Two-time Olympic medalist Nancy Kerrigan“Holiday Spectacular on Ice!” features one of America’s most recognized sports icons, the two-time Olympic medalist Nancy Kerrigan, as host and performer. During the opening number, “Where Are You Christmas,” the enthusiastic audience cheered and applauded when Kerrigan skated on stage, graceful and beautiful as ever, to join the talented young figure skater Gabrielle Freeman, a rising superstar.

This show has so many outstanding numbers that I don’t even know where to begin. My favorite was “Run, Run Rudolph,” where the fabulous Female Ensemble Skaters, donning poodle skirts,  skated around Ryan Dunk, whose hip gyrations and funky skating moves stole the show. During “Silent Night,” the Female Ensemble Skaters looked like beautiful snow angels floating among the clouds, and during the upbeat number “Sleigh Ride,” they performed like ice skating Rockettes. The Female Ensemble Skaters, accompanied by The Youth Skaters, delivered an unforgettable performance during the traditional Chanukah song celebrating the Festival of Lights, “Chanukah, O Chanukah!”

Kayleigh Linkous astounded the audience with her aerial acrobatics during “Hangin’ Round the Mistletoe.” When Dayron Tondike joined Linkous, these two athletic performers held the audience spellbound with their gravity-defying antics on the lyra. The best way to describe the showstopping number “Code Name Vivaldi” is to say it was all fire and ice. The multitalented Linkous displayed her breathtaking skating ability while dancing with flaming torches! 

The children in the audience loved the two classic Christmas jingles sung by the Youth Singers, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” with Ariela Masarsky portraying Santa’s most famous reindeer, and “Frosty the Snowman,” which showcased a larger-than-life-Frosty-skating around the stage accompanied by the Female Ensemble Skaters dressed like Santa’s other adorable reindeers.

The featured Skate Pair, Daniela Ivanitskiy and Jonathan Rogers, captivated the audience with their riveting performances of “All I Want for Christmas is You” and “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home.” At select performances, the other featured Skate Pair are Grace Hanns and Danny Neudecker.

Nancy Kerrigan with EnsembleThe stellar vocalists Jennifer Brett, José  Contreras, Tyler Shore, and Bellport’s own Shannon Gibbons, a Season 18 “American Idol” contestant, added greatly to the overall enjoyment of this production. I particularly loved their group renditions of “I’ve Got Love to Keep Me Warm” and “The Christmas Song.” Gibbons rocked the Jonas Brothers hit, “Like It’s Christmas,” while Nancy Kerrigan figure skated to breathtaking choreography during this upbeat song. Dressed in a sizzling red dress and riding in a sparkling red sleigh, Brett delivered a powerful rendition of “Santa Baby” surrounded by the Male Ensemble Skaters. Contreras and the Youth Singers had the audience singing along to “Feliz Navidad,” and Shore, with his rich and velvety vocals, gave the iconic Burl Ives version of “A Holly Jolly Christmas” a run for its money.

Keith Andrews’s astute direction and Tara Modlin-Maurizi and Andrews’s high-energy, precision-perfect choreography, in conjunction with the breathtaking costume design by Marianne Dominy with additional costumes by Janine Loesch, all deserve special mention. The holiday-themed, versatile set by Brittany Loesch further amplified the celebratory tone of the evening.

The gifted members of the Youth Ensemble are Sonnie Betts, Stefania Conte, Sofia Da Costa-Wilson, Samantha Hayes, Dominick Heilemann, Emily Hershey, Sophie Hughes, Edward Langston, Giada Longo, Julius Lovelace, Brendyn Molnar, Jennifer Morales, Abigail Pirozzi, Ella Roberts, Mia Rofrano, Kyle Walter, Addison Wasylyshyn, and Bree Wilkens.

Nancy Kerrigan and Gabrielle Freeman.The Young Skaters are Conalie Julia King, Gabrielle Freeman, Charlotte Gilroy, and Reese Wustenhoff.

The outstanding Ensemble Skaters are Viktoria Chiappa, Stephanie Chin, Ryan Dunk, Kevin Lee, Kayleigh Linkous, Ariela Masarsky, Madison Patrell, Violet Presley-Wolff, Alain Sandrez, Lacie Tew, Dayron Tondike, and Naomi Wong.

The biggest applause must go to the technical crew for creating and maintaining the ice rink. I stumbled upon a fascinating YouTube video made a few years back by “My Long Island TV” about the making of the staged rink. You might want to click on the link to find out for yourself: How An Ice Rink Is Made on The Gateway Stage.  

This magnificent show runs now through January 1, 2024. For tickets, contact the Box Office at (631) 286-1133 or buy online at https://TheGateway.org/.

Cindi Sansone-Braff is an award-winning playwright. She has a BFA in Theatre from UCONN and is a member of the Dramatists Guild. She is the author of “Grant Me a Higher Love,” “Why Good People Can’t Leave Bad Relationships,” and “Confessions of a Reluctant Long Island Psychic.” Her full-length Music Drama, “Beethoven, The Man, The Myth, The Music,” is published by Next Stage Press. www.Grantmeahigherlove.com.