Zambonis, get ready for High School Musical on ice

NEW YORK -- "High School Musical" in the ice rink: The possibilities tease the brain. Tonya Harding as blond mean girl Sharpay? Nancy Kerrigan as dark-haired sweetheart Gabriella? Oops. We're like, TOTALLY dating ourselves.

Anyway, the tween audience isn't here to see medal-worthy double axels, triple salchows and camel spins. They're here to sing along with every word of every song, by now irreversibly implanted in their brains.

But it must be said that the skating in "High School Musical: The Ice Tour" is perfectly enjoyable, as is the choreography, faithfully transplanted from film to ice. So if the kids don't notice, the adults probably will -- that is, if they can get over the price of the pre-packed cotton candy topped by a plastic bowler hat (15 smackeroos, at Madison Square Garden's kickoff performances last weekend). Even better, it's coming to the Allstate Arena Jan. 23-27!

The ice tour is just one tentacle of the huge HSM franchise, which has included a concert tour, a current stage show and a wide merchandising net. (The original movie soundtrack was the top-selling CD of 2006.) Produced by the film's director, Kenny Ortega, and Feld Entertainment, it consists of three companies: two domestic and one international.

The show clears up at least one mystery: Can you dribble a basketball on ice? Why, yes -- a slew of them fall to the rink for the catchy "Get'cha Head in the Game." The surface also allows the Esther Williams-style bathing beauties in Sharpay's "Fabulous" to glide around on inflatable pool floats.