Theater Review by Walter Murphy . . .
When an audience explodes in a spontaneous standing ovation at the end of a show, it’s a pretty good indication that the show is a hit. That’s exactly what happened on the opening night of The Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes, presented by QVC.
In this year’s performance, Santa sings “We Need A Little Christmas” while he guides the audience through holiday preparations, New York at Christmas, his workshop and, of course, a reminder of what many celebrate at Christmas: a respectful and dignified Nativity scene. He cheerfully highlights the many things that make Christmastime in New York City special.
This year’s Christmas Spectacular features fairy drones, fantastic animation, and graphics that fill the cavernous hall, the largest indoor theater in the world. The performance uses all of the Hall by projecting virtual reality scenes throughout, including on the walls and ceiling, to enhance the experience. This has been a feature of recent Radio City Music Hall shows. Not many stages can accommodate a double-decker bus, a camel, a sheep, and a donkey as part of the proceedings, but Radio City does. Everything about the show is grand.
For all the grandeur of the hall, The Rockettes steal the show. Throughout the 90-minute show, they seem to be in every scene. All the hits are here. They perform “Sleigh Ride,” “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” (and their slow-motion collapse), “New York at Christmas,” “Here Comes Santa Claus,” “Rag Dolls,” and “Dance of the Frost Fairies,” featuring frost fairies drones flying throughout the hall, and Christmas Lights.
Full disclosure, I am a sucker for The Rockettes. I’ve been enthralled since I first saw them as a kid. I just get filled with the sense of, “How did they do that?” I am amazed by the rigidity of their movements as they pirouette in razor-straight lines and finish in a flourish with their famous high kicks. One always knows when their numbers are about to end and they never fail to delight.
In addition to the precision steps of The Rockettes, another Christmas classic, The Nutcracker, highlights the versatility of the show’s dancers. Known primarily for tap and modern dance steps, the dancers are also adept at ballet. A young ballerina, a miniature Rockette, gracefully danced her way through a shortened Nutcracker number. In fact, many of the show’s elements can be found in The Nutcracker ballet. For instance, there are tin soldiers, dolls that come to life, and fairies featured in the ballet and in this year’s Christmas Spectacular.
With all the entertainment, overwhelming at times, even the hall and stage become a marvel. The mechanical staging of the show is as impressive as the performances. When built, the stage was considered an engineering innovation and it still impresses 100-plus years later. For instance, at one point the orchestra rises from the pit and is placed at center stage. It then slides to the back of the stage—all while the musicians continue playing, reminding the audience that they are an integral part of the show.
Although the Christmas show is a long-running tradition, it continues to innovate and improve. Its embrace of new technology is the most obvious example. Another example is the production’s commitment to accessibility. Audiences at this year’s show can access closed captioning on their personal devices through VITAC at all performances. At select performances there will be open-captioned, audio-described, and American Sign Language-interpreted options available. Information about the show’s accessibility can be found here.
The Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes will be at Radio City Music Hall through January 5, 2025.
