Emmy Award-Winner Mia Michaels As Director And Choreographer,
Drama Desk Award-Winner Douglas Carter Beane As Show Writer,
And More
New York Spectacular Starring The Radio City Rockettes Will Run June 15 – August 7
At Radio City Music Hall
New York, NY (March 10, 2016) – The Madison Square Garden Company (MSG) announced today that three-time Emmy Award-winner Mia Michaels will serve as director and choreographer of the New York Spectacular Starring The Radio City Rockettes, presented by Chase. Michaels will be joined by Drama Desk Award-winner Douglas Carter Beane as the show’s writer, Alain Lortie as lighting designer, and multi-media and entertainment studio, Moment Factory, as video designer. Returning from 2015’s successful inaugural production of the then called New York Spring Spectacular are set designer Patrick Fahey and costume designer Emilio Sosa, and from the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, sound designer Steve Canyon Kennedy.
New York Spectacular Starring The Radio City Rockettes celebrates New York City in the summertime centered around the trip of a lifetime for two kids, who, while on a vacation in New York, are separated from their parents. The city magically comes to life to show them its many splendid wonders and helps to reunite their family in the end. The production will run at Radio City Music Hall from June 15-August 7, 2016. Tickets are currently available via Rockettes.com/newyork and at the Radio City box office.
“We are thrilled to welcome Mia back to Radio City Music Hall as director and choreographer of New York Spectacular Starring The Radio City Rockettes where she will be joined by an unparalleled creative team which includes Douglas Carter Beane, Alain Lortie and Moment Factory,” said Colin Ingram, executive vice president, productions, The Madison Square Garden Company. “Mia contributed some of the most impactful choreography to the 2015 production and we are excited for her to take the lead this year with the Rockettes as the stars of the show. Her pop background, coupled with the legendary precision choreography technique that the Rockettes are known for, will be amplified by large scale technology, costuming and contemporary music to deliver the kind of experience that people expect to see at the Showplace of the Nation.”
“I am so excited to be returning to Radio City as the director and choreographer of New York Spectacular and am looking forward to working with this exceptional creative team to bring our audiences on a fantastical journey through New York City with the Rockettes front and center as the stars of the show,” said Mia Michaels, director and choreographer, New York Spectacular Starring The Radio City Rockettes. “Audiences will be immersed in this dynamic production with a storyline that is layered with crazy, fun, new technology; popular music with a twist; and exciting choreography, building on some of the work that we did with the Rockettes last year. The Rockettes are such a special group of women and no other dance company in the world delivers the same kind of passion, femininity and power through dance. It is going to be an epic ride!”
Michaels is well-known for her work on the Fox Television Show So You Think You Can Dance and has collaborated with artists such as Prince and Madonna and with Celine Dion for A New Day… at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Michaels served as choreographer of “Welcome to New York,” the opening number of 2015’s New York Spring Spectacular. Michaels most recently choreographed the successful Finding Neverland, which is currently running on Broadway. Variety Magazine named Michaels “One of the Most Innovative Women” of 2013 and she’s received multiple Emmy Awards for Outstanding Choreography.
The production debuted in 2015 as New York Spring Spectacular and was extended by popular demand, selling nearly 300,000 tickets over its eight-week run. Following this overwhelmingly positive reaction in just the first year, New York Spectacular Starring The Radio City Rockettes is poised to become a perennial favorite to complement the long running and beloved Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Radio City Music Hall has always been known for its spectacular productions and New York Spectacular raises the bar for live entertainment at this storied venue.
“Working alongside Mia and the rest of the creative team at one of the world’s most beloved theaters is a writer’s dream come true,” said Douglas Carter Beane, writer, New York Spectacular Starring The Radio City Rockettes. “As someone who came to New York and made the city my home, it’s truly an honor to bring New York to life on the Great Stage using the city’s most iconic landmarks and performers – the Rockettes.”
Douglas Carter Beane is a Drama Desk Award-winner for 2008’s Xanadu, for which he was also nominated for a Tony Award. Beane received Tony Award nominations for 2013’s Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, 2012’s Lysistrata Jones, 2011’s Sister Act and 2007’s The Little Dog Laughed. Beane also wrote the The Nance, which premiered on Broadway in 2013.
Moment Factory is a multimedia entertainment studio specializing in the conception and production of multimedia environments that combine video, lighting, architecture, animation, sound and special effects to create remarkable visitor experiences. Since its inception in 2001, Moment Factory has created more than 350 shows and destinations across the world for clients such as Cirque du Soleil, Nine Inch Nails, Madonna, Disney, Microsoft, Sony, Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Other clients include the NFL, Oakley and Arcade Fire.
Alain Lortie has worked for more than 35 years in show business and, since 1992, has focused exclusively on lighting design. Over the course of his career, Lortie has worked on many shows in Asia, Europe and his native Canada, as well as multiple Cirque du Soleil productions including Midnight Sun, Delirium, Toruk – The First Flight and Zarkana, which debuted at Radio City Music Hall in 2011.
Patrick Fahey is the principal designer for 8 Hands High Inc. — an NYC-based design firm providing professional design services for theatre, televised events and exhibition. Fahey’s association with Radio City goes back to the start of the new millennium, when he worked on the Radio City Christmas Spectacular national tour from 2001-2014. Most recent broadcast events include: The Copa America Draw, Fox Sports, and Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement on ESPN, ESPN Classic and NBA TV. 8 Hands High has designed New Year’s Eve in Times Square since 2002. Fahey’s theatrical productions include: Radio City’s New York Spring Spectacular, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Blast 2:M.I.X. and Visiting Mr. Green, in addition to extensive regional credits.
Emilio Sosa, also known as ESOSA, is a Tony Award-nominee for costume design of a musical for 2012’s Porgy and Bess and a 2012 Drama Desk Award-nominee for outstanding costume design for By the Way, Meet Vera Stark. He returns to Radio City Music Hall after serving as costume designer for 2015’s New York Spring Spectacular and is well known from his appearance on season seven of Project Runway and season two of Project Runway: All Stars. Sosa also served as costume designer for 2015’s On Your Feet, 2014’s Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar And Grill and 2013’s Motown The Musical, all on Broadway.
SCK Sound Design president Steve Canyon Kennedy is a Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning sound designer who joins the New York Spectacular team with co-designer Andrew Keister after previously working together at Radio City Music Hall on the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Kennedy is a Tony Award-winner for sound design of a play for 2014’s Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar And Grill and a 2011 Tony Award-nominee for sound design of a musical for his work on Catch Me If You Can. He is also a three-time Drama Desk Award-winner – for outstanding sound design of a musical for 2013’s Hands On A Hardbody, for outstanding sound design for 2006’s Jersey Boys, and for outstanding sound design for 1993’s The Who’s Tommy. Kennedy was also nominated for a Drama Desk Award for outstanding sound design of a musical for 2012’s Jesus Christ Superstar.
New York Spectacular Starring The Radio City Rockettes will feature iconic scenery of New York locations and landmarks such as the Empire State Building, Wall Street, Central Park, Times Square and Radio City Music Hall, alongside larger-than-life statues like the Statue of Liberty and the Wall Street bull.
Ticket Information
New York Spectacular Starring The Radio City Rockettes runs from June 15-August 7, 2016 at Radio City Music Hall. Prices start at $39. Tickets are currently available via Rockettes.com/newyork and by calling Ticketmaster at 866-858-0007. Tickets are also available at Radio City’s Box Office (50th St. & Avenue of the Americas). Box Office hours are Monday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00pm. Tickets purchased via Ticketmaster are subject to service charges. Group tickets of 9+ contact Group Sales at 212-465-6080 or [email protected].
About Chase
Chase is the U.S. consumer and commercial banking business of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.3 trillion and operations worldwide. Chase serves nearly half of America’s households with a broad range of financial services, including personal banking, credit cards, mortgages, auto financing, investment advice, small business loans and payment processing. Customers can choose how and where they want to bank: 5,400 branches, 17,000 ATMs, mobile, online and by phone. For more information, go to Chase.com.
About The Madison Square Garden Company
The Madison Square Garden Company (MSG) is a world leader in live sports and entertainment with a portfolio of legendary sports teams, exclusive entertainment productions and celebrated venues. MSG Sports owns and operates some of the most widely recognized sports franchises: the New York Knicks (NBA), the New York Rangers (NHL) and the New York Liberty (WNBA), along with two development league teams — the Westchester Knicks (NBADL) and the Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL). MSG Sports also presents a broad array of world-class sporting events, including: professional boxing, college basketball, tennis, bull riding and e-gaming events. MSG Entertainment features exclusive, original productions that include the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and New York Spectacular Starring The Radio City Rockettes. MSG Entertainment also presents or hosts a wide variety of live entertainment offerings, including concerts, family shows and special events, in the Company’s diverse collection of iconic venues. These venues are: New York’s Madison Square Garden, The Theater at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall and Beacon Theatre; the Forum in Inglewood, California; The Chicago Theatre; and the Wang Theatre in Boston, MA. More information is available at www.themadisonsquaregardencompany.com.