CHILD'S PLAY IS HARD WORK BEHIND THE SCENES AT 'TOY STORY ON ICE'.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer

Whether it really is flying or ``just falling with style,'' Buzz Lightyear will be airborne along with cowboy Woody and the rest of the gang in ``Disney Presents Toy Story on Ice,'' opening tonight at the Great Western Forum.

The production, which debuted in 1996, is making the rounds again to capitalize on the popularity of ``Toy Story 2'' in theaters.

Kenneth Feld, a contemporary P.T. Barnum-style show promoter, charged skate choreographers Robin Cousins and Cindy Stuart and his Florida-based production design team with capturing the look and personality of the inhabitants of Andy's room, who spring to life as soon as their owner steps out the door. From both points of view - choreography and design - it was not all fun and games.

For Matt and Mark Freddes, twin brothers who transform sketches into actual props and costumes at Hagenbeck-Wallace in Sarasota, Fla., the task was to emulate the sleek, colorful, plastic playthings in the computer-animated film.

For Stuart and 1980 Olympic gold medalist Cousins, the aim was to take full advantage of the skaters' talents while they're wearing layers of bulky vinyl-coated foam.

Matt Freddes said once a script is developed, the show's creators - including the director; musical director; designers of scenery, costumes and lighting; and the choreographers - sit down for what's known as a white-model meeting, with a 1-inch-scale model of a typical ice rink, the set pieces, the large props and all the costumed characters.

``We start determining how the show is going to come together and what changes should be made,'' Freddes said. ``You've got designers fighting for a look and choreographers fighting for their skaters in terms of the moves they want them to make and how hard the costumes might be to work with.''

Once the music is complete (and since ``Toy Story'' was not a musical, entire production numbers had to be composed), Cousins and Stuart plan the show, writing down each step and plotting the moves of up to 32 characters on the ice at one time.

``These costumes proved to be a great challenge for the skaters who skate in them,'' Stuart said. ``But they're remarkably adaptable. We have two extraordinarily strong skaters in these roles (Eddie Gornick as Woody and Alexander Klimkin as Buzz).

``When they first put them on, they're like, 'No way,' Stuart said, ``but little by little we would add pieces of costume so they would adjust, and then we would add another.

``It was like two steps forward, one step back until they got completely adjusted to the extra weight and bulk.''

Stuart said Klimkin even learned to make Buzz's jetpack an asset.

``The backpack, which weighs 15 pounds, can actually work for the skater in terms of the centrifugal force it creates when the skater is rotating,'' she said. ``The more weight that's pulling out when you're spinning, you pull against it with more strength and it just increases the speed.''

Anyone who has watched the Winter Olympics or championships knows that even the best skaters in the world fall sometimes.

Stuart said the skaters playing Mr. Potato Head and those roly-poly green aliens have their work cut out for them when they have to get up, but it can be done.

``The only characters that literally cannot get up are the trolls, and they're very cute when they fall over,'' Stuart said. ``Then Rocky Gibralter, who is the strong man, will go and pick them up.''

Matt Freddes estimated the production budget at $10 million, but with an international tour that can run six or seven years, there is ample time to recoup that investment.

``We don't want to spend more money than we have to, but the bottom line is we want to do the biggest and the best thing, and to top ourselves,'' Freddes said.

``(Kenneth Feld) is adamant that you don't go to a show to see the same things twice. You go to see the best you can see, and we try to achieve that.''

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Photo: (1 -- 2) Buzz Lightyear (Alexander Klimkin), above, glides solo, while Woody (Eddie Gornick), left, struts his stuff with Little Bo Peep and a troll in ``Disney Presents Toy Story on Ice.''