Radio City Music Hall

The original ad to go with Tinseltoes post on the first
RCMH Christmas show

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ok RCDTJ you have our attention spill it, what else do you know?
Come on…you know you want to tell us :)

Never could figure the title but it’s a nice, soapy flick that TCM has on a couple of times recently.

As Rocket J. Squirrel would say, “Now here’s something we hope you really like…” See the link below I just stumbled onto. This is a piece of music the truly awesome Tom Bahler & Don Dorsey wrote for The Christmas show in the early-mid eighties, when Bob Jani was making magic. It’s the Twelve Days of Christmas and it’s classic RCMH for it’s time… full use of projection capabilities, a continued obsession with synthesized music, which started around 1980, if I remember correctly in a summer stage show called America.“ Sadly, the actual stage projections aren’t shown here (they were pretty great) but you’ll get the flavor and will imagine the wonderfully precise pandemonium that’s on a stage with every pair of legs that can dance in a frenzy by the end of the number.

Check this out:

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I mean the stable which is shown on the record album front cover. I think that stable drop and wings were the work of Vincent Minelli when he was the art director at the Hall.

And, for the record, TCM broadcast “Operation Petticoat” this afternoon.

A 4 ½ year run for “South Pacific” is amazing. Having only seen “South Pacific” on DVD, I may be missing somthing. But despite R&H’s music (which is great),I can’t really say it’s a good film. But I guess folks in the 50s thought it was, at least for 4 ½ years.

One of the big ones “On The Town” which played Christmas 1949
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Thanks RCDTJ. I found out early this morning as I drove my wife into work at the Music Hall. Shes one of the setdressers on the blue crew. She will probably be leaving the city just in time on New Years Eve, before all the festivities begin.

12/19 8:00PM and 12/18 10::PM

Bill;“South Pacific” had a ‘roadshow’ run at the Dominion Theatre, London, UK for 4 years 22 weeks! /theaters/2493/

I saw a movie and stage show at Radio City in 1970’s. I was very impressed at the time, particularly with the stage hydraulics, the orchestra movable platform and the organ. I wish cine/variety returned, maybe with digital projection a short film could be screened during a Radio City Christmas Show.
In London the Odeon in Leicester Square had a stage show, with theater organ and film for a Disney movie (The Lion King) several years ago.
Not as spectacular as Radio City but did have a “flying carpet” and some pyrotechnics.
Many posts back someone asked if anyone remembers their first “South Pacific” 4 track magnetic sound print. I remember showing this film (in UK) and whenever I got the chance during this film would leave the booth and enter the auditorium to hear some of the musical numbers. “There is Nothing Like a Dame” made very good use of the stereo sound.
I also enjoyed showing “West Side Story” in 4 track mag.
Happy memories.
John

WLIW, Channel 21, Long Island PBS, broadcast a repeat of their RCMH special ( for pledges, of course). Interestingly, I received a mail order catalogue which had the program available for $19.98, less than it would have been by pledging.