My wife is an ice skating super fan. Here’s her take on ‘Stars on Ice’

Calling my wife an “ice skating super fan” is a bit of an understatement.

Roughly 20 years ago, she started watching Sasha Cohen and the U.S. compete for gold in the 2006 Winter Olympics and…never stopped.

In the two decades since, she’s rarely missed a Winter Olympics, Worlds, Grand Prix Final or qualifying event.

“I’ve seen the rise and fall and rise again of U.S. women’s international results,” she told me, proudly.

And, on Friday, May 1, my wife finally got to catch the team she loves so dearly live when she attended ‘Stars on Ice’ at Newark’s Prudential Center as part of the squad’s ongoing tour, celebrating their 2026 victories in Milan.

For my wife — who has seen pretty much everything — it was a brand-new experience.

“It was striking how fast and powerful they are,” she noted. “Seeing the skaters attack their programs and commit to the themes up close and personal is something else.”

Over the course of the evening, she took extensive notes on the the program for fellow Blade Angels devotees that have yet to attend.

In the event you’ve never had the pleasure of attending ‘Stars on Ice,’ here are her beat-by-beat thoughts about all programs from the whirlwind evening.

Act I

‘Stars on Ice’ opened by introducing the skaters with a number set to “Brink of Annihilators/Fearless.” This was a bit of a slow start but led nicely to individual performances.

Andrew Torgashev officially kicked off the evening by skating to “Out of Time.” After he wrapped his sturdy set, NJ native Isabeau Levito took the ice to Madonna’s “Material Girl” and “showed off a fun side of her.”

“She’s usually balletic and classical during competitions,” my wife told me. “This was a definite change of pace for her.”

Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko were third and delivered “a strong performance” set to “Say It Right/Maneater.”

At this point, the show took a turn and skaters “did excerpts of Olympic programs plus delightful group numbers and exhibition (show) programs. Team gold medalists showed off their medals and the audience started chanting ‘USA! USA!'”

Things settled down shortly after as fan favorites Chock and Bates took the spotlight and strutted their stuff to “Paint It Black.”

“They should have won gold in Milan,” my wife grumbled. “Amazing they’re still going after long careers and injuries.”

Her favorite of the night though had to be Jason Brown’s program accompanied by Ne-Yo’s “Friend Like Me.” “He was jazzy and danced with a cane, hat, and coat rack,” my wife smiled. “He showed off his artistry and flexibility.”

My wife was particularly impressed by Amber Glenn’s routine set to “That’s Life,” which she dubbed “a confident retort to a season filled with ups and downs” before adding “everyone loves Amber!”

“The 305 Experience” made use of Danny O’Shea’s resemblance to Pitbull and, with that, Act I came to a close with an entertaining “Too Darn Hot” group number featuring Jason and Isabeau. Intermission time.

Act II

Following a brief respite — where my wife weighed the pros and cons of buying a $75 Blade Angels hoodie — she returned to her seats to catch Ilia “The Quad God” Malinin’s “I Was Made for Lovin’ You.”

The rousing show then continued with “I Just Might,” a “fun song with the guys.”

Special guests Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik took command of the sheet next and performed an elegant piece over Hozier’s solemn yet spine-tingling “Work Song.”

“I’ve loved seeing their meteoric rise,” my wife raved. “It was so cool to see them become World Bronze Medalists.”

Glenn hit the glass once the guests exited and rocked an “amazing step sequence that had the audience clapping along” to Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.”

Next up, Kam and O’Shea (who you might know as KamO) “showed a more lyrical side” while sailing along to Lady Gaga’s “Shallow.”

As the night continued, Jason Brown “seemed to reach every part of the audience” while flawlessly glissading to “Spiegel im Spiegel.”

In terms of overall evening highlights, the peak may have been the Blade Angels‘ program with “K-Pop Demon Hunters'” mega smash “Golden” blaring above.

“This was an audience favorite,” my wife beamed. “I recorded the whole thing for our daughter.”

Torgashev returned to the ice right after and unleashed a “great attack” before Isabeau re-entered to show off her moves while “Zou Bisou Bisou” and other Sophia Loren classics blared overhead.

“That was Isabeau’s competitive short program,” my wife pointed out.

At this point, the night began building to a grand finale.

First, Chock and Bates used the whole of the rink for “a beautiful lyrical piece” complemented by “Slide.” In the evening’s penultimate solo performance, Ilia came back to “speak to his struggles” with a gritty “Lose Yourself” segment before going uptempo with “Jump Around” where he “went into rink-side seats.”

To close the night, Alysa Liu poured her heart out to the “crowd-pleasing” “Stateside.”

With that release, the group hit the ice for the real last act. Adorned in “beautiful matching costumes,” the Blade Angels unveiled their striking moves one last time to “Life in Color.”

“That exceeded all expectations,” my wife gushed.

Final verdict: If you fancy yourself an ice skating fan, you absolutely need to run not glide to ‘Stars on Ice.’ To see the Olympians in person is a wholly different experience than what you see on TV and absolutely worth the trip to your local arena.