Some 20 years, the Internet, and change later, it's hard to recall how big a deal women's figure skating was in the 1990s. Only those conditions, it seems, could have produced the strange off-ice drama and literal kneecracking attempt of the 1994 Winter Olympics, when Tonya Harding's ex-husband and bodyguard tried to take fellow skater Nancy Kerrigan out of the competition. Nowadays, Kerrigan is a nostalgic and unusually informed-sounding competition commentator, but as they say, the song still rings on.
That's the premise, more or less, of
The Love Song of Tonya Harding, now playing at the Tucson Fringe. It's a posterchild for Fringe – it's hard to see a show like this finding a booking somewhere else. The premise is interesting, and although rather one-sided, it does provide a solid basis for a one-woman show. Writer-Clara Esler keeps you going throughout, although I was left wanting to hear about Harding's often tabloid-worthy life after her figure skating career was brought to a close.
