A mixed bag of holiday season news just came for Radio City Music Hall, which just reopened following an extensive renovation.
Radio City Entertainment says its Radio City Christmas Spectacular in New York City is on for Nov. 4-Jan. 2, 2000, but television viewers outside the city may not be able to see it.
The 90-minute show is made up of several new scenes and traditional numbers such as "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers" and "The Living Nativity." The 180-person cast features the Radio City Rockettes and a special visit from Santa Claus.
Outside New York, theatre patrons who had been looking forward to seeing the Christmas Spectacular on pay-per-view cable may be disappointed this season. For now, Variety reports that a U.S. District Court judge has ruled on an Aug. 24 suit which sought an injunction against Radio City's plan to offer the show on PPV.
A Michigan promoter, Brass Ring Productions, filed that suit to protect its audience for the 70 performances it plans for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular at Detroit's Fox Theatre Nov. 26-Dec. 30. Originally, the Aug. 24 lawsuit only sought to enjoin Radio City from offering the PPV show in Toledo, OH, Windsor, Canada and the state of Michigan. The Nov. 3 Variety report indicated that the timing of the action has forced the cancellation of the PPV program nationwide for the 1999 season. An appeal is planned.
A Fox Theatre source told Playbill On-Line that its schedule remained unchanged as of Nov. 3. Brass Ring could not be reached by press time and Radio City Music Hall had not returned calls.
-- By Murdoch McBride
