A Holly Day in the Big Apple: Bonna Nelson

A Holly Day in the Big Apple by Bonna L. Nelson

Planning took place months earlier when I reserved a bus trip from Perry Hall, Maryland, to the Big Apple for the famous Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes for our daughter, Holly, granddaughter, Bella, and me. The atmosphere on the bus was festive. Both families and groups of lady friends, adorned in festive holiday sweaters, exchanged greetings and pastry treats to accompany the coffee and tea held in every hand.

This was ten-year-old Bella’s first out-of-state bus trip, and the excitement of seeing New York City had gradually built since we had gifted her and her mother, Holly, the trip

for Christmas. She had early on expressed an interest in visiting Paris, but New York City was her second most requested destination. An on-again, off-again cool, misty rain didn’t damper her enthusiasm. Like her father, John, Holly has a great sense of direction. I am not so gifted. Between her skill, the map provided by the bus company and her cell GPS, she determined that we could easily experience Rockefeller Center and all of its delights on our own and still arrive on time at our final destination, Radio City Music Hall, for the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular. After being dropped off a few blocks from our destination, we

plowed through the sidewalk crowds turning this way and that.

After weaving through the many sidewalk cafes that line the approaches to Rockefeller Plaza, there we were. We beheld the iconic Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in all its splendid glory. It is one thing to see the televised lighting ceremony and quite another to behold its height and beauty in person. All we could do was smile and gaze in awe at the sparkling decorations and flickering lights.

I was curious about the history of Rockefeller Center and the tree lighting ceremony. According to the Center’s website, its namesake, John

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D. Rockefeller Jr., conceived of creating “a city within a city,” a place for art, style and entertainment, more than 100 years ago. Situated on 22 acres between West 49th and 50th streets and Fifth and Sixth avenues in midtown Manhattan, the famous landmark includes the popular Ice Skating Rink, the Channel Gardens, fabulous sculptures, great works of art, memorials, fountainheads, historic office buildings, NBC Studios (home of The Today Show on the ground floor), the Rainbow Room, restaurants, retail shops and so much more. Rockefeller Center averages 125 million visitors a year.

A holiday attraction for New Yorkers and visitors since 1931, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree often reflects current world events. For example, a photo on the website shows

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a tiny, shabby-looking Christmas tree erected during the Depression fronted by the workers who erected it collecting their paychecks. Of course, the lighting, decorations and stars have changed over the years, but the tree still serves as a New York City beacon of holiday light. At the time of this writing, the2020 tree lighting ceremony is scheduled for December 2.

We are all familiar with “The Rink,” the famous ice skating rink fitted into the sunken plaza at Rockefeller Center. We have watched many famous skaters take a turn around the ice on television. Again the in-person experience is exhilarating. First known as the “skating pond,” The Rink officially opened on Christmas Day 1936. Though initially a temporary exhibit, it became so popular that it was installed permanently. The Christmas Tree and Prometheus statue arranged behind the festive Rink add to its magic and delight families and visitors. We enjoyed watching young and old take a spin and wished that we had the time to join them!

We wandered through the beautiful Channel Gardens, which were filled with holiday-themed trees and topiary shapes, including prancing reindeer. Glittering angels with golden trumpets frolicked in the gardens surrounded by the original Rockefeller Center buildings, de-

clared historic landmarks in 1987 and containing an amazing 15,550 windows!

Our next stop was outside The Today Show studio on the bottom floor of the NBC Studios at historic 30 Rockefeller Plaza, often called 30 Rock. The NBC television network headquarters, as well as the Rainbow Room and an observation deck called Top of the Rock, are housed in the American Art Deco skyscraper that forms the centerpiece for Rockefeller Center. Unfortunately, we could not watch The Today Show since it was not in session, but we could watch stage hands rearranging the set and they gave us a wave.

After our brief but exciting tour of Rockefeller Center, we headed to our next primo destination, the Radio City Music Hall for the 2019 Rockettes Christmas Spectacular. The line was long but moved quickly. Soon we were escorted to our comfortable orchestra seats in the beautiful, mammoth theater with just enough time to grab a bite to eat.

Surprisingly, they let you eat at your seat and sell food and beverage

items before the show. They also peddle drinks and food during the show. Holly volunteered to visit the Grand Lounge and purchased delicious cocoa and Christmas cookie treats for us along with bottles of water. We were, however, disappointed to learn that we could not take photographs inside the theater.

Built by John D. Rockefeller Jr. on land that he owned, the Art Decodesigned Radio City Music Hall, “the Showplace of the Nation,” “a palace for the people,” opened in 1932 and it remains one of the world’s largest indoor theaters. The marquee is a the length of a full city block. The cavernous Hall has 84-foot-high ceilings. The walls and ceilings are composed of beautifully decorated, sweeping, curving arches sparkling with more than 25,000 lights. Even though it is immense it seems to cradle the audience.

The Great Stage measures 66 by 144 feet and includes a 50-foot. rotating section of floor. There are wings off of the stage and balconies where performers appear. I can’t begin to understand the complexities of the lighting and sound techniques and the hydraulic lifts used to present the Christmas Spectacular and other shows staged at Radio City.

Since 1933, Radio City Music Hall patrons have watched the Christmas Spectacular featuring all-time favorites such as the “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” and, my favorite, the “Living Nativity” performed by the famed precision dance company, the Rockettes. The original

30-minute live show has evolved to a 90-minute extravaganza of elaborate sets and sparkling costumes celebrating the holiday season to the fullest. Millions have seen the show, and more than 3,000 women have performed as Rockettes.

The precision line dancing was fascinating to Bella who loves to dance: ballet, hip-hop, you name it. The “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers,” with the long-legged, high-kicking Rockettes dressed like wooden soldiers and marching in a line, in a circle, amazed us and all who see it. What a feat. How do they do it?

We were enchanted by the music, the high-kick, coordinated dancing, the singing and the costumes. “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” with the dancers dressed in candy canecolored tutus, is a crowd pleaser. The “Sleigh Ride” has the dancers in brown tuxedos and with antlers on their top hats. And, to the tune of “Here Comes Santa Claus,” the dancers all become tapping, dancing Santas.

The highlight of the show for the three of us was the live Nativity scene with fluffy prancing sheep, lumbering camels and loping donkeys. To the hymn, “The First Noel,” the shepherds led their sheep to the manger scene. Next arrived the Wise Men, traveling to the “We Three Kings” melody under a dramatic night sky filled with stars following the Star of Bethlehem. The Star led the Wise Men with their camels and donkeys