By Brianna D’Alesandro
Christmas has arrived at Radio City Music Hall! With the annual arrival of the Rockettes and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, you can feel the holiday season approaching. There is no better way to gain a little holiday cheer than to see the Christmas Spectacular.
The show is filled with twelve different numbers that are not necessarily related directly. Each number features a small dancing ensemble, a chorus of six people, and, of course, the famous Rockettes. There is no way to describe the Rockettes other than breathtaking. Each dancer is perfectly in sync with the other performers on stage, and each of their moves are crisp and sharp. Though some steps are frequently repeated throughout the show, the dances are simply amazing and include the famous kick line. The kick line is not only a Rockette tradition, but is also amazing to watch because of the fluidity and perfect timing.
The ensemble is also very skillful, but is perhaps overshadowed by the Rockettes. With such wonderful dancers on stage, it is hard to pay attention to the actors in the background lip- syncing. However, they add to the effect of the show and make the scenes seem more realistic, and therefore, are an integral part of the show. The cutest ensemble members are the child actors. The young girl who plays Clara from the Nutcracker scene will have a bright future in the business, as displayed by her incredible ballet performances. The young boy who plays Ben seemed so excited to be on stage that he adorably flubbed through his lines, but with such a cheery audience it didn’t matter.
If you are looking for other reasons to see the Christmas Spectacular you should look no further than the stage elements. The Christmas Spectacular uses 3D effects as well as trick mirrors to bring Santa to life which makes “Here Comes Santa Claus” one of the best numbers. The Rockettes’ costumes were as stunning as the women who wore them. During “Sleigh Ride” I was amazed to see their reindeer costumes equipped with string lights within the costumes themselves! The girls also performed a quick change during “New York at Christmas” while inside a double-decker bus that maneuvers itself on stage! In addition, nothing is more surprising than watching live camels and sheep being guided on stage during “The Living Nativity.”
The Christmas Spectacular is a fantastic show to kick off the holiday season. While those who have seen the show before will recognize almost all of the numbers, it still makes for one of the most wonderful times of the year.
