Radio City Music Hall

I am not surprised about the lip-synching. I went to the RCMH show about ten years ago for the first time in years and was startled to see how canned a production it is. There is not one spontaneous moment. And it is badly paced for youngsters. Right in the middle of the Nativity, my 10 year-old godson asked loudly, “Is this almost over?!” Bring back any Christmas prior to 1967, please.

A couple of notes on the posts above: Warren, the Rockettes have been “singing” for years, lip synched to tape. They had already started the practice when I started there in 1974. The orechestra was conducted to “click” track on tape with the vocal on another track. In fact the whole show has been tied to a click track for a very long time. I always felt frustrated in the rare times the tape stopped for some reason the whole show did also. I always felt like “you’ve got an orchestra in the pit and performers on stage — get on with it!” Now the show is done to hard drives not tape, but the concept is the same. One of the reasons for using a click track for the orchestra was that one of our conductors when I went there in 1974 (who shall remain nameless but who was famous for conducting a band on radio) was wildly erratic in keeping to a beat, and at times would start conducting at double tempo leaving the Rockettes scattered about the stage. Tying him to a click track was the solution. The tape deck in the sound booth on projection level could be started by the conductor from the podium and would stop on its own with the next cut cued up. I remember an Easter show when I got a call from one of the the projectionists that no one had shown up from the sound department for a show, and could I help. I rushed over to the theater and got there at the end of the “Glory of Easter” segment, and managed to get the P.A. system up, and get the tape cued up to the next cue. It was one of the few times the cast actually sang with no amplification for the “Glory”, and one of the House Managers said he had never heard the audience so quiet and attentive!

I have been told that while the end of “Saboteur” looks as if it were shot in the Hall it wasn’t. It was done with matte shots of the Hall. I have it on Laserdisc (remember those?)and have still framed the sequence. If you look carefully, everything above the audience, including the light beam from the projector is a matte. In the shots of the rear of the auditorium the doors don’t quite line up with aisles as they do in the Hall, and the wallpaper pattern isn’t quite the same.

Fred Kellers was always amused that when the villian runs out on the Choral Stairs he exits directly onto 50th Street. In reality the Choral Stairs openings lead into a narrow area with stairs up to the level above the stage near the passenger elevators, and down to the stage. While other films have been shot in the Hall, “Saboteur” was a careful recreation on a sound stage instead.

The orchestra does have a solo for about 30 seconds. Santa in the sleigh is right before he flies off to open the 3D scene. Speaking of the Christmas show, I can’t believe the amount of mistakes being made this year on stage. It seems like everyday there is something else. Not to mention the problems with the sets. LOL.

Woody,
Thank you for posting the beautiful photos in November.

Questions: (I think some of this was covered in a posting up the string, but in scanning back I could not locate it) a. Are the murals in the lounges original, ca. 1932; b. in the men’s basement lounge (photo is reddish) is the covering on the walls adjacent to the murals, a series of reddish hued squares a la Mark Rothco(?)and original or of later vintage, and a wallpaper covering; © as to the leather (naugahyde?) chairs throughout – are they all original with original colored upholstery, ca. 1932; and (d) could someone provide the name of the interior decorator and any direction to history on that decorator’s referenced style, or intention for this theater? Thank you.

The show was fun to watch. We saw about 45 mins of the 90 min show.
I love the rockettes and have for more years than I can count. But, it was overkill, surely there were other entertaining parts to the show, it seemed like a love letter to them. The show could have been called the Rockettes Christmas show.
One thing that bugged me was the insane decision to cut away three times during the climatic toy soldier’s fall. I would have liked to have seen, once again, the fall completely uninterrupted instead of distracting shots of the kids in the audience with their mouths and eyes wide open.
I wonder if the orchestra has an overture in the new show, which would have been wonderful to see, perhaps instead of so many Rockette segments. Does anyone know if the orchestra has a solo in the show? Also, that opening shots of Santa in he sled, is that the 3-D portion?
One had to marvel at the amazing set design, a truly magnificent part of the show.

I saw the Radio City documentary and though I did very much enjoy it, I was disapointed that too much of the focus seemed to be on The Rockettes and not enough on the theater itself. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Rockettes, but I would have loved to have seen video of the lounges, the back stage areas, how the orchestra comes out of the pit and glides accross the stage; how they can create an ice rink on stage, etc. I would have liked to hear more about the actual history of the theater through the years as well. They did do that to a degree; I just wanted more.

“Christmas” movies weren’t necessarily released at that time of year during the 30’s and 40’s. “Holiday Inn,” which introduced the song “White Christmas” was a summer attraction at the Paramount, and “Miracle on 34th Street” opened at the Roxy in July.

If you’ve ever seen clips from the Academy Awards presentation of 1971, the song “Thank You Very Much” from “Scrooge” was a theme of sorts that a number of celebrities sang at various points in the show (and in various different languages). Unfortunately, that didn’t guarantee an Oscar for the ditty – it lost to the tune “For All We Know” from the movie “Lovers and Other Strangers.” Someone named Larry Meredith sang the tune on that film’s soundtrack, but it was popularized later by The Carpenters. You might remember the song which begins with the line “Love, look at the two of us…”

Just came back from seeing “No Country For Old Men”, the trailer was good, but the movie was not, especially the ending. These days, ever since the 1970’s, trailers give away the whole storyline, except the ending. Some of them are really good and don’t reveal anything at all, like “Cloverfield”. As for Radio City’s policy of showing trailers back when they showed movies, they probably did a better job than most theaters these days. Could you imagine if the Hall showed previews of upcoming events at the hall before the Xmas Spectacular? That would make a really long show!!! Also, it’s that time of year…is this year’s show better than that of years past, or is it the same old bore?

Not shameful at all, Warren—

Francisco often lists Jan and Feb bookings at the end of the preceding year. I imagine that the reason has something to do with national release dates. In ‘56, for example, “I’ll Cry Tomorrow” opened in January and “Picnic” in February. Francisco lists them at the end of bookings for '55. Neither would have been appropriate for family holiday fare. But both opened in Los Angeles in December to qualify for Academy Award nominations. RCMH screeened them early in the following year.

Here are some other examples: “A Double Life” in Feb. ‘48; “My Foolish Heart” in Jan. '50; “Magnificent Yankee” in Jan. '51; “The Bad and the Beautiful” in Jan. '53; “Some Came Running” in Jan. '59; “Days of Wine and Roses” in Jan. '63 and “"To Kill a Mockingbird” in Feb. '63

One astonishing string of MGM films ran from “Mogambo” (1 Oct. ‘53) through “Brigadoon,” which made way for Paramount’s “White Christmas” on 14 Oct. '54—fifty-four continuous weeks of Leo roaring out “ars gratia artis” as the contour curtain rose.

A line during the great years
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recent interior photos taken nov 2007
auditorium
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/2051127894/
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lobby's
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