Tonya & Nancy: The opera

22 June 2015 - 02:02 By ©The Daily Telegraph

The extraordinary story of the 1990s figure skating rivalry between Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan - including Olympic medals, triple axels and a hired thug - is coming to the New York stage in musical form. Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera promises to capture the tragedy and comedy of what became known as the "whack heard around the world".Elizabeth Searle, who wrote the libretto, said she was inspired by a tale of huge emotions and universal themes.She said: "I see it as a microcosm of American culture in many ways - the hyper obsession with competition, the ethic of doing anything to win, and putting all this pressure on young people."The pair leapt from the sports section to tabloid front pages when Kerrigan, then 24, was attacked as she left a training session in January 1994. She was hit and badly hurt by a thug who took a metal baton to her leg.Her injuries ruled the favourite out of the US championships, which were instead won by Harding, her arch-rival, giving her a place on the team for the Lillehammer Olympics.But Kerrigan recovered quickly and was given the second spot on the team, enabling her to win silver just a few weeks later while Harding - by now the subject of frenzied media speculation - finished eighth.It soon emerged that Harding's ex-husband had arranged the attack in an attempt to force Kerrigan out of the reckoning. Harding, 23, pleaded guilty to hampering the investigation, and was sentenced to three years probation, 500 hours of community service, and a $160000 fine. Her subsequent career followed what today might seem a classic trajectory- including a sex tape and celebrity wrestling.But Kerrigan's reputation also suffered. She was branded a spoiled crybaby after being caught on camera complaining about a delay in the medal ceremony and again when she was recorded at a publicity parade at Disney World saying: "This is dumb. I hate it." ..

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