Inside Radio City Music Hall_ The World's Largest Indoor Theater _ Set Tour _ Architectural Digest

Heidi. Heidi. Heidi. Welcome to Radio City Music Hall. Hi, I'm Sydney Mescher. I'm originally from Portland, Oregon, and this is my sixth season as a Radio City Rocket, and here we are in the orchestra at Radio City Music Hall. My first time here actually was when I graduated college. I sat in these seats myself, and then when I received my diploma, I got to go up on the amazing stage. It's a full circle moment for me to be a Rocket performing on this stage. Every detail of Radio City really adds to the joy and experience of art in this show. There's so much detail relating back to costuming, performance, dance, music, details in the bathroom, the metal leafs that you might see on the door. It all pertains back to theater. Another fun detail is our carpet. This carpet is the singing ladies, and it's supposed to be individual women singing their own songs. There is a little bit of a debate. Our arches are meant to look like a sunset overlooking the water, and so people do think that the women might be fish. I think they do resemble underwater friends, but I do believe and think that they are women. This theater in total with all three mezzanines holds over 6,000 seats. There is not a bad seat in the house, and I mean that genuinely. There's not an obstructed view, so anywhere you sit you get such an incredible view of the stage, and I like to try sitting in different spots in the house so you can get a different view of the show. My favorite seat is right in the first row of the first mezzanine, because you can see some of the formations from overhead, which we work so hard as Rockettes to make sure that they're very precise and very clean, so you can really appreciate them when you are from that above vantage point. And then you can also still see our faces, which is fun in our performance. I truly do perform differently knowing that everyone can see, specifically with our formations and things like that. Our stage is so large, and there are 36 of us Rockettes on stage at a time. We work really hard to make sure that our lines are very clear, very straight, which we are also so well known for as Rockettes. One of my favorite parts of Radio City is the magnificent curtain that we have. This curtain is over two tons, so it is massive. When we start off the Christmas Spectacular, I actually am facing upstage, so I don't see the curtain rise. I can only hear it. I have chills when I think about that moment. The sound of the curtain rising is truly something I'll never forget. It helps me get into that show mode, but I wish I could like somehow record it and have that for the rest of my life, because there is nothing like the sound of the curtain rising here at Radio City. There are many things that happen behind the scenes to bring the Christmas Spectacular together here at Radio City, and with that is a whole team of production, many masterminds working hard to make sure that the show works effortlessly, and one of those people is Jess. Let's go chat with her. I grew up in New York, but we actually never saw the show as a family, so the first time I ever saw it was when I was 23 years old. It was a 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning, and I was with seven of my college roommates, and we sat in the third mess. An unbelievable experience, and I remember leaning forward like I was a child just in wonder, and now that I'm part of it on a daily basis, it's just a dream come true. Radio City Music Hall opened in 1932 and was, and still is, the world's largest indoor theater. It has been restored over time to its original designs. The coves are actually really iconic to Radio City Music Hall, and they're both functional and beautiful. They actually hide 5,000 stage lights, so during the Christmas Spectacular, we actually have projections in a lot of different scenes. It could be a magical snow globe as you're whisked away to the North Pole, or the sights and scenes of a New York City skyline. This is our Wurlitzer Organ, which is original to the building from 1932. There are 4,000 pipes hidden within the coves, and at various points during the Christmas Spectacular, the organist plays behind a curtain, and then the platform will come out, and the audience can see. So the stage that we're on is actually one floor below street level, and is an entire New York City block wide. The stage at Radio City Music Hall is actually made up of four different elevators that can go down 27 feet or above stage 13 feet. It's original to the building from 1932. During World War II, the government had agents stationed here, as they were using similar technology for elevators on aircraft carriers, and they didn't want enemy spies to get the information. But for our purposes, we use it to get performers from different places props, and to create some really special effects on stage. We think about the stage as one giant piece of grid paper. So there's 1,100 different markings on the stage, including numbers, solid lines, and dotted lines, where the Rockettes and the rest of the cast line up to be in proper formation. Another really cool feature of the stage at Radio City Music Hall is this massive turntable. We use it in various places during the show to create depth and special effects, and it's original to the building from 1932. We're heading back into the wings, which is where the actors and the Rockettes wait for their cues. We actually also, above us, have different places where we hold storage for scenic pieces, like Santa's sleigh and the double-decker bus. There's also an intricate pulley system that controls different curtains, and all of this is controlled by over 200 crew members. There's as much choreography happening backstage as there is on stage. So this is the control panel, where the elevators that we just saw before are actually controlled from. And over here is the contour curtain, so you can see the arch of the curtain, and that is manually positioned. Even though it's 2025, and the Christmas Spectacular is delivering this amazing, over-the-top, technologically advanced show, everything on stage is still controlled from this panel, original to 1932. I'm really excited to hear the show this year, now that we've installed Sphere Immersive Sound. This is the same sound system installed in Sphere in Las Vegas. To do this, we had to install 7,000 speakers throughout the theater. We have singers, a live 36-person orchestra, and the Rockettes even have little microphones in each of their tap shoes. So sound is really important to the Christmas Spectacular. Hi, my name is Maya Addy. I grew up in Mesa, Arizona, and this is my fifth season as a Radio City Rockette. Come along with me as I show you the stage right quick change. So my first time coming to Radio City Music Hall was the fall of 2017, my freshman year of college. The Rockettes had been coming to my college for workshop classes for about two to three times each semester, and I had the opportunity to come see the show. It's crazy to think that I'm here now, five years later, doing the same show that inspired me. Our first number in the show is sleigh ride, and that's actually the only routine that we get dressed in our dressing rooms. And then the rest of the show, we change either in the quick change booth or stage level in the wings or below stage level. So this is one of the rooms where there could be 12 to 15 of us in here, changing from costume to costume. We have some changes that are as quick as 78 seconds. So as soon as we come into the room, we actually have our names lined up. It's usually by alphabetical order, and my last name being Addie, I'm first, which is super easy to find as soon as you walk into the room. This is our parade of the warden soldiers costume. It hasn't changed at all basically since its inception. Any Rockette that's been a Rockette has been able to perform in this number. It's kind of the connection point that we have between all of the Rockettes past and present, which is really special. In this routine, we are toy soldiers. We don't have any bends in our arms or legs. And so even in the pants, as you see these stripes, we want to make sure that our fingers are lined up with the stripes. These pants are super stiff so that you don't see any bend. This costume is from our high energy tap routine, 12 days of Christmas, which is super exciting. I love this costume. We definitely wear it for events. It's a really cute costume that I think all of us would say is probably one of our favorites to wear. Dance of the Frost Fairies is our lyrical routine. And this costume is beautiful. It's designed by Greg Barnes, and there's six different designs and six different colors. It's one of the few moments on stage that we kind of feel like we have our own individual aspect that we can bring to the stage. And we actually have fairy drones that are flying high throughout the audience to create that winter wonderland feeling. The drones are actually designed to resemble our costumes that we're wearing on stage. So it feels like there's Rockettes out flying in the audience while you're also seeing Rockettes dancing on stage. Every now and then in between a quick change, we'll actually run into our director, Julie Brenham. Julie knows exactly the feeling that we have when we're backstage gearing up for our next routine because that was exactly what she did. So it's nice to have someone that can really understand what we're going through in that moment. I came to New York City from Des Moines, Iowa in 1979 for the very first time. My first night I ever spent in New York City was at Radio City Music Hall. I have never seen anything so magnificent in my life. Never did I know I would spend 38 years of my career working here. This year, 2025, marks 100 years of Rockettes. It's an amazing feat and I expect it to continue on and on because they're such a remarkable group of women coming together to make magic. So the Rockettes were founded in 1925 by Russell Markert in St. Louis, Missouri. They moved to New York City and went to the Roxy Theater where they were known as the Roxyettes. And then on December 27, 1932, when the theater opened, they performed in that opening night show and now and forever have called their home Radio City Music Hall. The Rockettes are really more than just a kick line. They stand for certain things and they fought hard in the 70s when they were actually going to demolish this beautiful place. Can you imagine? The Rockettes banded together with not only other dancers in the show, there was a ballet company at the time, but with the crew, the stagehands, the ushers, everybody that worked in this building. They actually got petition signs, they got the news to come watch some of the stunts they did to save this beautiful building and to save their home. Because of all these efforts, Radio City Music Hall in 1978 was made a New York City landmark. I have to say as I sit here now, I look and do I have the best office? I'm so lucky to work here. A lot of times I come in before other people are in and I just sit in the theater quiet, think of new ideas, think of ways we can make the Rockettes look better than ever, think how we can make this beautiful theater look better than ever. It really has my heart in every way. Hi, I'm Bailey Harding. I'm from New Rochelle, New York, and this is my 14th season as a Radio City Rockette. So as you can see, we're here in the Grand Foyer at Radio City Music Hall, and this is the first moment our audience members will come into the theater and experience the magic of this building. I have such a fond memory of coming to Radio City, seven-year-old little girl, dance dreams big as the sky, and coming into this theater to just see the grand spectacle that is Radio City Music Hall. It left such an impression on me that I'll cherish for the rest of my life. Radio City Music Hall always brings a sense of awe and wonderment to its audience members, but I think more specifically at Christmastime, there is this buzzing, this electricity of everyone anticipating to see the Rockettes and the Christmas spectacular. So to feel that tangible electricity from our audience members is so exciting to be a part of. During the holidays, we love to decorate the Grand Foyer to give it a little more extra Christmas cheer. Whenever I walk by, I can't help but to feel a little extra nostalgia because when I was a little girl, I came to see the Rockettes and I got a Rockette Barbie doll. It's still in the box to this day and it's so special to me. So when I look behind the table and I see these Rockette dolls, I can't help but to think about the next generation of little girls that are going to become Rockettes one day. The Grand Foyer has its own crazy rhythm and it's really held together by one guy, and that's Clinton. I'm Clinton Niels and I'm the Senior Vice President and General Manager, Radio City Music Hall and Theater Operations. My first experience here at Radio City Music Hall was in 1990, 17 years old, my first day on the job. On that first day when I was a cashier, not knowing 35 years later, I'd be here as the General Manager of Radio City Music Hall. Walking into the Grand Foyer, it seems overwhelming, but it becomes very intimate once the crowd starts to come in. It's one of those things that you have to stop, which is actually sometimes an issue, where people stop at the doors because they can't believe what they're seeing in front of them, stepping off the street and literally coming into another world. The Grand Foyer was designed in Art Deco form by Donald Deskey. The chandeliers, when you walk in, are 29 feet in height, approximately 4,000 pounds. By Edward Caldwell, the carpet that's laid under your feet is actually depicted with six various instruments. Another focal point is the beautiful mural, Fountain of Youth, that's located over the grand stairs, designed by Ezra Winter. Leading into preparing for Christmas, we decorate the hall throughout every crevice of the building, from the front of house to back of house, and obviously the seating area for our guests. The crystal tree, when you walk in, is approximately 35 feet in height and about 1,100 pounds. We have various crew members that, over a course of two days, assemble it together. The good thing about it is everything is numbered, so it's like a huge crystal jigsaw puzzle. So once all areas are decorated, it's really transformative. It really brings everybody into the spirit. There's definitely three frequently asked questions when people enter into the foyer. One, where's the restroom? Two, how do I get to my seat? And the third, can you please take my picture in front of this beautiful aesthetic? We never get tired of those questions being asked by our guests. It actually complements us every time. Thanks so much for coming to Radio City Music Hall. We hope you enjoyed learning about our home. Looking forward to seeing you soon. Bye!