Radio City Music Hall Stage Door Tour

I love walking through a theater. The history, the stories, the traditions; it’s all sacred and special. So when I had the opportunity to go on the Radio City Music Hall Stage Door Tour I knew I couldn’t pass it up.

One of the reasons I love NYC so much is because it’s got the most live theaters per capita, and there’s one that stands out from the rest. A staple for both the city and artists. Radio City Music Hall is a historic landmark with so much history and star power that even the 60-minute tour didn’t cover everything, but it did come close!

Radio City Stage Door Tour

I must confess this is not my 1st time taking the Stage Door Tour. Mike and I did it as a date back in 2010, so this time I decided to take my Mom and Eleanor for a girls day.

The halls were lines with movie posters that premiered at Radio City. Photos of artists and framed memorabilia were all throughout the building reminding you of the great people who have passed through the same rooms.

I really enjoyed getting to walk through the screening booth. Not only do you see the birds eye view of the theater, but our guide, Kevin, told us so many fun facts about the architecture, design, and that there really isn’t a bad seat in the house.

As we walked through the maze of halls peeking in the different rooms it was nice to sit and watch a short movie on the history. Sitting in the original seats from 1932 and learning about the theater and famed Rockettes was so fascinating to all 3 of us. The photo of the Rockettes in the Parade of the Wooden Soldiers above spans from the 30’s to today.

How to meet a Rockette

The highlight for all of us was when we met a Rockette. They have a photographer on hand to take photos of you and her together and once the group is done we got some history on The Rockettes. Kristin, our Rockette, had so many fun facts to share about her life as one of the precision dancers. She was 5’8 and explained that all the dancers work very hard during the holiday season performing up to 5 shows a day. When they opened the floor to ask her questions I asked what her favorite snack was to keep them energized. She said she, and a lot of the other dancers, like to eat PB&J, which Eleanor really liked since she LOVES PB&J as well.

We continued on with the tour looking at more photos, costumes and learning about the top secret stage hydraulics. So many details right down to the carpet pattern being “musical” and the reason behind the diamond shapes in the lobby was because it was said to be calming and keep people quieter.