Radio City Music Hall
1260 6th Avenue (between West 50th and 51st streets)
West 47th–50th Street-Rockefeller Center station (D, B, F, or V train)
212-247-4777
Billed as the show palace of the nation, Radio City Music Hall opened in December of 1932 as the largest indoor theater in the world. Some 300 million people have now enjoyed entertainment at the famed 6,000-seat theater. The art deco elegance, twenty-four-karat gold-leaf grand foyer ceiling, and newly restored 4,178-pipe Wurlitzer organ create a unique ambiance. It's a mixture of warmth and excitement that makes the theater a special stop for both tourists and New Yorkers. A sixty-by-thirty-foot mural called
The multitiered theater has housed concerts, awards shows, television productions, family attractions, and film premieres. Although the acoustics and sight lines have always been excellent, a recently completed $122 million renovation to the landmark property has enhanced the theater with state-of-the-art video and audio technology.
The Radio City Christmas Spectacular usually runs for nearly two months, from November into January, featuring the Parade of the Wooden Soldiers and Living Nativity shows. The Christmas Spectacular is ideal family fare, but you must call and order tickets well in advance. More than a million people fill Radio City to see the show each year.
Radio City is also known for the Rockettes, who were first formed in 1925 as the Missouri Rockets in St. Louis. By 1932, the precision dance team ended up in New York City on the stage of the brand new Radio City Music Hall. Nearly seventy years later, they are still going strong. The troupe of 150 dancers is famous for its high-kicking chorus line and is now seen both at Radio City and at other events and on television, including the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Super Bowl halftime, and the presidential inauguration ceremony.
Tours and FeesIf you can't see a show at Radio City Music Hall while you are in town, you might want to take the Stage Door Tour of the theater. Tours cover the premises from the Grand Stage to the backstage. The itinerary is subject to change because of rehearsals and preshow activities. You'll even get to meet a Rockette at the end of the tour.
The sorority of Rockettes includes more than 3,000 women and dates to 1932. There are thirty-six Rockettes at a time, and they must all be trained in tap, jazz, ballet, and modern dance. There are eight costume changes in the ninety-minute Christmas Spectacular Show, and Rockettes have as little as eighty seconds to switch from one costume to the next.
The one-hour tours of Radio City are offered Monday to Sunday from 11
