
DATE: Thursday, October 16, 1997            TAG: 9710160818

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER

                                            LENGTH:   92 lines

HERCULES ON ICE STAR OF DISNEY'S NEW SKATING SPECTACULAR HAS STRENGTH TO SPARE

FOR YEARS you've heard the one about when hell freezes over.

Well, it's happened.

In the name of Disney, hell has been put on ice.

But no fear. Hercules, as represented by Troy Goldstein, five-time U.S. Figure Skating Association gold medalist, is here to put Hades in his place.

``Hercules,'' the Walt Disney movie that is still in theaters, is getting the ``Disney on Ice'' treatment at Hampton Coliseum tonight through Sunday, complete with 40 skaters, 150 costumes, a Pegasus that really flies and a Mount Olympus that is 41 feet high and 70 feet wide. It takes 10 trailers just to haul in the equipment.

The casting of Herc was a formidable challenge. Sarah Kawahara, the choreographer who won an Emmy for ``Scott Hamilton: Upside Down,'' put an ad in all the show business trade papers. It read: ``Wanted: Tall, muscular man with otherworldly presence. Must have superhuman strength, both on and off the ice. Singles and pairs experience a must. Mere mortals need not apply.''

Goldstein, who was skating in the popular ``Splash'' spectacular in Las Vegas didn't apply. Instead, the choreographer called him. ``Sarah called and said she thought I'd make a good Hercules,'' he remembered. ``I said, `Sarah, I've been skating on small ice for three years. This would be a major adjustment.' She maintained that I could do it.''

Goldstein wasn't bothered about the strength aspect. He lifts weights and he's been lifting skating partners since childhood.

And when you see him, there won't be any padding. ``It would be impossible to do the lifts, the balancing and all the intricate routines in padded body-suits, or even complex costumes. You really don't want to be holding your partner aloft and worrying about the costume getting in the way. I even grew my hair long so that I don't have to wear a wig. It helps a great deal.''

But being Hercules isn't easy. Last week he appeared, as Herc, to accept the key to the city from the mayor of Tampa, Fla. ``When I appear as Hercules, I'm not supposed to speak. Disney characters aren't allowed to do that. The mayor kept talking to me, and all I could do was nod. I was afraid he thought I was rude.''

The local booking is only the third city in which the new production has played. Before the first year is over, it will travel 12,500 miles and perform 310 shows. After that it will have South American, European and Asian tours. Goldstein, 26, is signed for the first year.

He knows his contract well because he's also a lawyer. This guy is not all brawn. ``My father has a doctorate in physics and my mother is close to getting her doctorate in math. They both emphasized education for my sister, Dawn, and me. But my mother was also an international skating coach. I started skating at about the same time I started walking. It was always something I loved, but my parents insisted it not get in the way of study. I had to earn my skating time by making good grades. For the years I was in competition, I trained seven days a week for about four hours a day.''

He began in singles and moved into pairs competition with his sister as his partner. ``I was lifting my mom's daughter, so there was no way my mother would let us skate as a pair until she was convinced I could handle it.''

His favorite moments in ``Hercules'' are romantic ones - skating the duets with Larissa Zamotina, who plays the hip, feisty Meg, the girl who tempts Hercules to go over to the evil ways of Hades, the villain, before she falls for him. Zamotina had never skated pairs before this show.

``I was a little worried about it at first, but it turned out perfectly. I got to rehearse with Larissa and, in effect, shape my own partner,'' Goldstein said.

``It's a tough job,'' Goldstein laughed, ``but somebody's got to do it. Actually, this is a tricky role. This Hercules is not all hero. He's sometimes clumsy and he's sometimes naive. I have to get all that into the role. The theme, of course, is that a hero is not judged by his physical strength but by the size of its heart. It's very much an acting role.''

Hercules is happily married to an attorney who flew in from Los Angeles last week to catch the show in Tampa. (And to, perhaps, check the romantic pair skating?) ``She thought Larissa was the perfect casting,'' he said. He will become a father later this year. He admits that touring can be rough on a marriage ``but my wife is continuing her law career.''

When he hangs up his skates, he'd like to concentrate on sports law and hopes his clients will be many of the skaters he's known for years. ``I find that there is a real need in the field of contract law with sports figures. That will be my concentration, and I'll be able to talk with them first-hand, because I've been there.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

WALT DISNEY'S WORLD ON ICE

Graphic

WANT TO GO?

What: ``Disney on Ice . . . Hercules''

Where: Hampton Coliseum

When: 7:30 tonight; 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m., 3

and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 1:30 and 5:30 p.m. Sunday

Tickets: $10.50-$16.50 ($5 off tonight for Family Night)

Call: 671-8100