Broadway, ballet and eight men in tutus are about to descend on the Stumptown Ice Den.
On March 28, the Whitefish Figure Skating Club will hold its final event of the winter season at Stumptown Ice Den, a production called “Broadway on Ice.” The show will feature a 16-year-old guest skater named Cari Maus of Missoula.
A competitive skater with an impressive resume for her age, Maus is the second teenage phenom the Whitefish Figure Skating Club has featured this year. In December, a performance called “Enchantment on Ice” showcased emerging star Laney Diggs.
Maus will be performing a military-inspired routine in dedication to her sister, who is in the military, said Carol Anderson, president of Whitefish’s skating club.
Along with Maus, “Broadway on Ice” will feature a hockey ballet, where eight local hockey players take to the ice in tutus, showing off their skating skills in a fashion slightly more elegant than they’re accustomed to. Andy Hergesheimer, Stumptown’s manager, is one of the eight skaters.
Club skaters will also perform ballets, skating to tunes selected from West Side Story, Phantom of the Opera and others. Skaters range from kids to adults and all are local. Alpine Theater Project’s Betsi Morrison and Luke Walrath, who both have Broadway experience, will sing.
Anderson, a former professional skater, is among the 20 skaters slated for the show. She said the ballet is a nice way to end the season for the Stumptown Ice Den, which closes its rink on April 5.
The Whitefish Figure Skating Club began in 1993 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping skaters reach an advanced or elite level. It is sanctioned by the United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA). This year, the club has more than 20 members.
The club generally holds a structured practice three days a week, though many of the skaters spend additional time on the ice through the city’s “Learn-to-Skate” program. Jennifer Boye, a highly ranked professional figure skater, is the head coach. Proceeds from events like “Broadway on Ice” help fund the nonprofit club.
Skating has become an increasingly popular pastime in the Flathead. The Stumptown Ice Den and the figure skating club are major reasons. Up until the early 1990s, Whitefish had an outdoor pond for skating. But since the emergence of the covered Stumptown arena, organizers have been able to host large hockey and skating events.
Also, two years ago, Kalispell installed an ice rink at Woodland Park to go along with its existing skating pond. Then in December, Columbia Falls put in a portable outdoor ice rink at Horine Park.
Anderson is expecting a standing-room-only crowd for “Broadway on Ice.” Tickets can be purchased beforehand at the Imagination Station toy shops in Kalispell and Whitefish. Tickets will also be sold at Stumptown Ice Den prior to and on the day of the event.
The cost is $12 for bleacher seating, $18 for chairs on the ice and $7 for standing room. It stays chilly in Stumptown, so people are advised to dress warm.
“It should be great,” Anderson said.