“New York at Christmas” would be an understatement when walking in to Radio City Music Hall at 7:30 PM earlier this month. The city was jam-packed with pedestrians waiting in line to get their bags inspected and you could hear the repetitive sound of cab drivers honking their horns nearby. By the time we arrived inside, the cocktail line must have been filled with over 50 people waiting for a Pinot.
Just as we were escorted to our seats the orchestra rose from underground and enthusiastically started playing the opening song. Big, bright yellow lights reading Radio City appeared on stage and the audience started to get excited. The curtain started to rise and 30 inimitable dancers came across the stage as cheery music started to play. The word rockets appeared next, as the dancers continued to perform their routine. Every year this part of the show seems to get more and more astonishing.
This year my family and I were closer to the stage than ever before and all the lights seemed mesmerizing. The 42 toy soldiers walked out onto the stage and people sitting next to me in the audience said, “This is my favorite part.” Some of the spectators didn’t know what they were in for when the toy soldiers started to perform a domino effect. Except not with dominos with real people. I was even able to take an Instagram boomerang this year of the last toy soldier descending and hitting the pillow!
The orchestra popped up from under the stage popped up from under the stage and started to echo “New York at Christmas” and I couldn’t help but contemplate how many hours that must have taken to make perfect.
The several dancing Santa’s never fail to impress me. It must have taken a lot of hard work to perfect those dance moves, let alone in a Santa suit! It was adorable how they interacted with the little kids and their families while walking onto the stage.
Toward the end, everyone seemed to get a little emotional as a real lama scattered across the stage. I’ve always wondered how they can train a real animal to do that for such a high-profile performance.
The orchestra appeared once more commencing with confetti flying down to the front of the audience and everyone was screaming in awe. I just so happened to experience that this year!
Once more the dancers appeared on stage and did their final routine while the audience continued to clap in amazement. Every year is different watching the show and this year it really seemed to have bonded my family together more than ever before.
The show is in its final week, with its last performance being January 1st. For more information on the Radio City Rockettes, click here: rockettes.com.
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