Oct 23 2009
Radio City Music Hall - Concert venue review
New York has a lot of things to be proud of. One of them is Radio City Music Hall.
Established in 1932, after the stock market crash, by John D. Rockefeller, Jr, Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and impresario S.L. “Roxy” Rothafel, Radio City Music Hall is a venue unlike any in the world. Located at the heart of New York, on 6th Avenue between 50th street and 51st street, Radio City Music Hall was built as a part of Rockefeller’s a great idea to design an area in New York where businesses, merchants and citizens could merge. Today, this is known as the Rockefeller Centre.
Radio City Music Hall is the largest of all indoor theatres around the globe. Designed by Donald Deskey, the venue’s marquee is a full city-block long. Entering the theatre, visitors cannot help being overwhelmed by its art deco look, sweeping arches on the walls and the ceiling and its choral staircases. The absence of columns facilitates actors and performers to bring live action very close to spectators, who enjoy a perfect view from any sitting in the three shallow mezzanines of the venue. The stage of Radio City Music Hall is the most appropriately equipped in the world as it is built on hydraulic-powered elevators, which facilitate the swift change of sets and creation of spectacular effects in the three sections of the Great Stage. A fourth elevator is used for lifting and lowering the orchestra according to the programmed staging effects.
The “Mighty Wurlitzer” organ, built exclusively for Radio City Music Hall, has thrilled the venue’s audiences for more than sixty-five years. Housing its 32 feet pipes in eleven separate rooms, the “Mighty Wurlitzer” organ spreads its magnificent sounds in the venue. The theatre contains more than 25,000 lights featuring four-color stage lighting, while the advanced mechanical equipment allows for fountains of water, torrents of rain, fog and clouds.
Some of the legends that have performed on the Great Stage of Radio City Music Hall are Frank Sinatra, Bill Cosby, John Denver, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis, Jr., Ray Charles, Johnny Mathis, Jose Carreras, Linda Ronstadt, BB King, and many others. After the renovation in 1999, which cost nearly $73,000,000, the venue hosted Liza Minnelli, Tony Bennett, Stevie Wonder, The Eurythmics, Sting, Barry Manilow, Bette Midler, 98 Degrees, Mary j. Blige, Echo & The Bunnymen, Celine Dion and many others, who have thrilled the audiences of the Hall.
The lifetime experience of Radio City Music Hall is the Christmas spectacular, which attracts more than one million visitors from all over the world. The legendary eight-week show is every year a sold-out since 1993 that it made its debut. Starring the world famous Radio City Rockettes, the Christmas spectacular in an unmatched show performed with high precision in choreography and huge professionalism.
By and large, Radio City Music Hall is a unique venue, with a long-established reputation. The Hall offers a lifetime experience to its audience and is a must, not only for the tourists, who visit New York, but for the local people as well. If you even have the chance to get there, do not miss it.
