Rockettes ready for 10th Annual Christmas stage show in Chicago

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BY PHILIP POTEMPA ppotempa@nwitimes.com 219.852.4327 | Wednesday, November 26, 2008 | (No comments posted.)

You know it's close to Christmas when the world famous Radio City Music Hall Rockettes are in Chicago with their amazing holiday stage show.

It's been a few years since I've seen this beautiful, high-kicking celebration of the season.

So I knew that since this weekend marks the 10th anniversary since these legendary gals have been bringing their holiday spirit to the Windy City, I attended Sunday's opening weekend performance.

I was already a little familiar about what to look forward to since I had chatted with Rockette Carolyn Simpson by telephone on Friday.

She's already been in Chicago for a week rehearsing and preparing for this special run, which continues at the Rosemont Theatre through Dec. 7.

"I was here in the Chicago area with the Rockettes performing in 2005 the last time I did this part of the tour," said Simpson, who has been a Radio City Rockette since 2005 and hails from Atlanta.

"We have some ladies who are Rockettes from areas in the South who have never seen snow before, so they are very excited to visit Chicago."

For more than three quarters of a century, "The Radio City Christmas Spectacular" has remained an annual stage favorite that has dazzled audiences and become one of America's best-loved holiday traditions. This year, the legendary Radio City Music Hall Rockettes will play 32 spectacular performances at the Rosemont Theatre, 5400 N. River Road, in Rosemont, Ill.

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular features a cast and crew of nearly 100 people who work together to create the live holiday entertainment staples of the show, like "the teddy bears' dance," and "wooden soldiers come to life," in addition to "when reindeer fly" and the grand finale "live nativity scene."

"Our classic numbers like 'The Parade of Wooden Soldiers,' have been a Radio City Christmas Spectacular tradition since 1933," Simpson said.

Among the new scenes this year are "The Twelve Days of Christmas," a thrilling tap-dancing extravaganza called "Sleighride" and a surprise sequence called "Christmas Dreams."

The Rockettes are a national treasure -- from their memorable USO tours during WWII, show-stopping Super Bowl half-time appearances and annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade performances, to performances in Las Vegas with Susan Anton and shows with the late glittering master showman Liberace.

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular is now seen by more people in one year than almost any other live show in North America, bringing in more than 2.1 million audience members annually.

Simpson is particularly excited about the big finish of this year's holiday tour, which ends after Chicago with performances in St. Louis.

"St. Louis is the place where the Rockettes first kicked to life in 1925 as the Missouri Rockets," she said.

"Everything about the Rockettes, from the costumes to the choreography, is seemingly identical. The illusion of uniform height is maintained to this day by placing the tallest dancers in the center and gradually decreasing the height with the shortest women at either end."

Every year, the dancers have to "re-audition," and each lady is required to have a height somewhere in the range of 5 feet, 6 inches to 5 feet, 10-1/2 inches.

"There are times when I've even seen woman auditioning who just need a little more height, so they try to poof up their hair on top," Simpson said.

Including New York City, The Radio City Rockettes have danced in 27 cities across North America and have entertained audiences around the world.

Tickets for "The Radio City Christmas Spectacular" starring the Rockettes are $25 to $65. Buy tickets online at ticketmaster.com or call (312) 559-1212.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at ppotempa@nwitimes.com or 219.852.4327.

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