I’m not very fanatic of Christmas shows, but my boss was very generous and she gave me two free tickets to see the most famous Christmas spectacle in New York: The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, where The Rockettes are the main attraction. The tickets are expensive, so otherwise I wouldn’t have gone. But the experience was good! And it is totally worth it to visit the historic Radio City Music Hall.
The Radio City Music Hall was built in the 1930’s decade by the architect Edward Durell Stone and the interiors were designed by Donald Deskey. It is a landmark building and an Art Decó style masterpiece. To enter the show there is a line all along the block in the street (about 200 feet long or, what is the same, about 5 minutes walking). The atmosphere was full of families and some of them were a little bit upset because the show had already started and their kids were missing it due to a not very good organization of the security personnel. Finally, you get to the majestic hall, where you can get to the enormous auditorium. The show already started, but my friend and I were able to enjoy the rest of it from privileged seats.
The Rockettes are a group of woman dancers that are incredibly coordinated. It reminds me to the efficiency and coordination of chain production, popularized by big American car manufacturers at the end of XIX century. What interested me was not the typical Christmas message of happiness and belief that is addressed to American children, but the perfect geometric coordination of the dancers combined with the sophisticated and grand mechanical features of the theater. Also, there was an impeccable orchestra and two historic organs that were played really good.
Everything was a super production. I’ve never been in a Broadway musical but I guess it is pretty similar. There were projections all over the place, walls and ceilings. There were drones dressed as big snow flakes that emerged from the orchestra pit. Singers appeared anywhere you look in the Auditorium, not just on the stage. There were ice skaters dancing in a real ice rink during one of the plays. And finally, there were real animals. Yes, real sheep and real camels.
Although it is a show mostly oriented to families, I think it is definitely worth it to visit this incredible venue in the city and let oneself be fascinated with the impressive spectacle.
