Radio City Music Hall

Benjamin on December 16, 2004 at 10:28 pm

One of my early childhood memories is waiting at more or less the front of the line to get into Radio City Music Hall on a very cold day in the mid-1950s. Since it was near the front of the line we, obviously, just missed getting into the show and had a l-o-n-g time to wait out in the cold. At one point, the people behind us graciously saved our spot while my father took me across the street to Whelan’s(?) drug store to warm up. (Maybe a hot chocolate?)

Of course I remember being very impressed with the theater (and have visited it a number of times since over the years), but here’s one negative note — I have to say that even from the very beginning as a child I felt that the tall lobby felt much too narrow for its vast height.

On a more positive note, I also couldn’t believe my eyes when the orchestra rose from the basement, rolled back on the stage and disappeared.

Also loved the way the performers climbed up those stepped side stages and disappeared, and the way the bands of light illuminating the auditorium would magically shift colors.

I also remember thinking at one point that the pile in the carpeting was so deep that my feet felt as though they were shifting a millemeter or two whenever I took a step!

Sometime in the 1960s, I believe, when the Music Hall was still in its heyday, there was a wonderful article about it in Reader’s Digest that went into all the superlatives about the the theater and the way it was run. Looking back, this article in Reader’s Digest really goes to show what a place this theater has in American culture.

To briefly answer a question asked by someone above about what the Music Hall was saved from. Sometime in the late 1970s(?), Rockefeller Center (which was still owned in part by members of the Rockefeller family) planned to replace the theater with office space — the way the Center Theater had been replaced with office space in the early 1950s. There was such an uproar that they decided to explore other ideas — including the idea of using it the way it is used today.

Although I can’t say I am as throughly familiar with the theater as some of the previous posters (with their really fascinating time capsule posts!), I can say that I had a really wonderful unusual Radio City Music Hall experience in the Spring of 2000(?) when I worked as an office temporary / word processor for an event that ABC held at the theater for its affiliates(?) and/or advertisers.

The original plan was for people like myself to type in stuff for the teleprompters, I believe. But they over-ordered the office temporaries and only four or five people (who had done this work before) were actually asked to do this work. The rest of us, maybe fifteen or twenty people?! — this aspect of the event was, happily for us, very poorly organized! — just lounged around with full run of the auditorium AND THE BACKSTAGE FACILITIES. It was an amazing experience.

Although the theater had supposed had a top to bottom refurbishment, much of the backstage area was apparently untouched. For instance, we were based in a dressing room that had obviously been carved out of a hallway leading from the wings. There were wires etc. still on the walls for things from the 1930s, 1940s that were no longer functional.

We also had access to the cafeteria, which had apparently only been superficially remodeled. (There were free meals and a free buffet between the meals!)

Sadly, there were some parts of the theater that were very much in need of repair that had obviously been untouched by the renovation. For instance, the locker room and showers that I suppose were for the ushers were a “slum” with missing tiles etc.

But what I really loved about this experience — and feel privlidged to have experienced — was the time capsul aspect of it. Not only did I feel like I was backstage at the Music Hall in the 1930s or 1940s, but I felt I was transported back to any big city movie palace of the 1930s or 1940s — that I could be backstage in Cleveland, Philly, Chicago, etc. (In my mind I could see the old-fashioned luggage of the traveling performers, and imagine the old railroad stations. Here the talk about upcoming engagements on the radio and in hotel ballrooms, etc.)

It was really unbelievable that they just let us wander about like that (obviously this was pre 9/11!). And it was funny too, because after a certain hour, say 6:00 p.m., they did indeed become very strict and wouldn’t even let us a few feet out of our assigned space without a special pass. But before 6:00 p.m. you could wander on the stage (and watch them rehearse from the wings) or below the stage (and watch the elevators go up or down), etc.

Almost all the stars of the upcoming ABC season were there rehearsing their lines, and as they left the stage they all would file past our dressing room “office.” (You’d see them leaving the stage on the monitor and then five seconds, or so later, you would see them filing past you.

(One enterprising office temp [a young college student] decided to become an impromptu guide/usher for all the stars who were getting lost backstage trying to go under the stage to get back to stage right[?] from their exit at stage left. So he got to personally meet and guide almost all the stars at the event [Heather Locklear, Regis Philbin, Barbara Walters, etc.].)

Two other random notes:

The grand lounge / waiting area and men’s room in “the basement” is really just a shadow of what it once was. This has been true for quite a while, however — before the most recent renovation, but I don’t remember exactly when they began carving it up. So anyone visiting the Music Hall today should be aware that these areas were VERY different in the Music Hall’s heyday.

If I recall correctly, the lighting system under the marquee has also been changed and “cheapened.” Orginally they had naked light bulbs with half the bulb “painted” to provide a built in light shade. These lights fitted nicely within the honeycomb underside of the marquee to provide a simple but striking lighting effect. I’m don’t recall exactly what they’ve done with it, but I vaguely remember being disappointed when I saw it. (I believe the Whitney Museum has places where they still use this lighting effect.)

Patsy on December 16, 2004 at 9:43 am

Dorothy from Oz! What a real treat to read your post this brisk NC a.m.! When I read “Mom-in-law was a Rockette 1937-1942” I just about came out of my chair in front of this computer. And yes by all means…..pass thi site onto the Rockette alumni! I never miss a Thanksgiving a.m. without watching those Rockettes in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! This IS a wonderful site and many posts ago I started posting on the RMCH site and it took off from there with many posts about the Christmas show, etc. from several native New Yorkers. I grew up in New York, but at the other end of the state in Chautauqua County near the PA stateline so was 400 miles from the Big Apple! My husband and I hope to broad Amtrak next fall from NC and ride the train into Grand Central Station and stay in Manhattan over the long Thanksgiving weekend! I want to walk down 5th Avenue once in my life during the holidays and see all of the decorated windows i.e. Tiffany….can’t forget Breakfast at Tiffany with Audrey Hepburn! Also, Rockefeller Center, the tree, the rink and the Today Show! If anyone can suggest anything that is a must see, let me know. Have always wanted to me in Times Square at midnight on the 31st of December, so maybe that too someday. Our thoughts and concerns will all be with Dick Clark this year as he will be replaced by Regis Philbin as host to ring in ‘05. I will have to say though that I won’t miss seeing Mrs. Clark on camera for those few brief moments with her outdated hairstyle! LOL! Just a joke as I really don’t mean to offend anyone. So, keep in touch Dorothy of Oz as I’m sure you have many Rockette stories to share!

VincentParisi on December 15, 2004 at 5:44 pm

Simon-I believe you meant without the famed 36 so does the strike of ‘67 count? I don’t think there was even the ballet in that one. The film was Up the Down Staircase.
In the Madama Butterfly Jan Peerce sang 4 Pinkertons a day 7 days a week! And then 40 years later he was doing Tevya on Broadway!

chconnol on December 15, 2004 at 1:40 pm

Question regarding The Rockettes: correct me if I’m wrong but the only time they seem to work as the Rockettes is during the Christmas “Spectacular”. What do these women do the rest of the year? Or are the current Rockettes hired as new every year?

In the “olden” days (sorry…) did the Rockettes perform at every stage show?

Simon L. Saltzman on December 14, 2004 at 2:58 pm

Answer to Vincent about the number of Rockettes: The Rockettes were traditonally 36 dancers, but 46 were on the payroll. Each Rockette would work 7 days for 3 weeks with the 4th week off. The extra ten Rockettes allowed for the rotation, plus illness etc. One thing that many of us remember from the old days was how versatile the Rockettes were. They were often brought back in certain shows augment the 24 member ballet company and were just as good on their toes as in their tap shoes. The reverse was true for the ballet company. Some shows boasted a company of 100 (check out some of the early newspaper ads), including the choral ensemble or glee club.

Patsy on December 14, 2004 at 12:40 pm

Thanks for your comments as I figured it was heavily Jesus-based which is fine except that it sounds “too heavy handed for the setting” and in my opinion a bit “over the top” so will think twice about going to see the show mext season now! Is it me or is Christmas and the holiday season in general just not what it used to be? I mean in reference to all of this talk about saying Merry Christmas over Happy Holidays, etc. It was a more simple time back in the 50’s, I think…now everyone’s remark is examined and disected! The holidays seem to fly by and maybe that’s a good thing! :–(

Patsy on December 14, 2004 at 12:24 pm

Sam_e: You took the words right out of my mouth….“I’m curious to know just what the ‘message’ is”! I know when we lived in FL and would attend the First Baptist Singing Christmas Tree it was and still is close to 3 hours in length. The reason being the program is done in 2 parts with an intermission. The first half is Toyland and Santa etc. and the second half is very secular with the entire story of Jesus, from birth to death on the cross…complete with the pounding of Jesus to the cross. I know that it scares some children and feel that the Easter story should NOT be a part of the Christmas story, but that’s only my humble opinion. Our friends would ask us what we thought each year and I was never one to hold back my opinion though we usually went each year knowing full well that the format would probably remain the same.

VincentParisi on December 14, 2004 at 10:53 am

Always at the beginning. Leonidoff knew exactly what he was doing.

chconnol on December 14, 2004 at 10:48 am

Just one more thing (and I sincerely apologize for beating a dead horse here) but I wonder if the reason why the put the Nativity at the end rather than the beginning like the shows I saw was because people actually MIGHT get up and walk out because they were offended by the ending message.

Was the Nativity scene I remember always at the beginning of the Christmas show?

chconnol on December 14, 2004 at 10:38 am

I have to say this once again: The Rockettes were as good as I remember them. If the numbers have dwindled, it had no effect on the presentation. They were outstanding. They did a finale where they were Santa’s reindeer that was as good as anything I remember from the shows as a kid. It was the stuff before this scene and others that was appalling and worse, BORING and pointless (what the HELL was with that toy making factory set? Even my daugther said it looked tacky). If the show was simply the Rockettes “doing-their-thing” it would’ve been a winner. Less is more is definately the key to this kind of show. And that goes for the ticket prices too.

Patsy on December 14, 2004 at 10:19 am

Vincent and CC: Boy, between the 2 of you I’m learning ALOT about RCMH and the Christmas Show over the years! Thanks!

VincentParisi on December 14, 2004 at 9:20 am

CC I hope you saw the Disney Robin Hood Christmas show as it was the last one with the ballet company and the Rockettes looking especially sensational much like in that great Kodak photo of them in red against a blue background. For me after that it was never the same. I guess it was right after Leonidoff left that they disbanded the ballet. For me the stage started looking pretty sparse and then they reduced the Rockettes from 36 to 30.(I think at the very beginning the Rockettes totaled 46 on stage. Please correct me if I’m wrong.)

Ken Roe on December 13, 2004 at 5:35 pm

I saw the Rockettes perform their wooden soldiers routine when I paid my first visit to the USA (and NYC) in 1976 and the R.C.M.H. Christmas Show was performed with the Richard Chamberlain movie “The Slipper and The Rose”. I watched the film once but sat through the Christmas Show twice, I was so impressed.

According to Charles Francisco’s book “The Radio City Music Hall -An Affectionate History of the World’s Greatest Theater” (1979), the 1976 Christmas Show was a Peter Gennaro production. Leon Leonidoff’s last production was ‘Saluda a Colombia’ on his retirement in 1974.