Radio City – Just For Tourists? Think Again …
by Karen Tortora-Lee on December 16, 2011
If Christmas in New York could be found on the map I think most people would agree that its address would be Rockefeller Center, filled as it is with the tree and the giant decorations, and the fabled City of Radio … where Rockettes dress up as reindeer and dance their little hearts out, doling out Christmas Miracles to the tourists one high kick at a time.
I’d seen the Radio City Christmas Spectacular a number of times as a child but it was never a family tradition, so therefore it wasn’t something that got scheduled into the season as much as, say, hanging the stocking by the chimney with care or riding in a one-horse open sleigh (oh what fun!). So it wasn’t till around 25 years later, when some out-of-town visitors were staying in NYC for the first 2 weeks of December (“Nothing like shopping on 5th Avenue for Christmas presents!” they cried, credit cards extended), that my family decided it was about time to get ourselves back to the show. After all, it can’t all be Coach wallets and Tiffany trinkets … you’ve gotta have a LITTLE good ole fashioned NYC theater in there somewhere. And, say what you want, WICKED is a fine, fine show, but nothing says Christmas like the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. (It’s in the ACTUAL NAME). Since that day around 5 years ago, I actually found myself back in that audience a number of times, always finding some reason to be there. It adds a little touch of holiday magic to the otherwise pushy, shove-y, where-the-heck-did-I-drop-my-glove-y midtown area.
