Déjà vu! Yesterday the Radio City Rockettes had some help in lighting The Empire State Building up, from their furry friend King Kong. The lights were green, white and red last night in celebration of the opening night of the 2009 Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Here's a little bit of history on the dance troupe, who first took the stage at Radio City on December 27, 1932. more ›

The Rockettes were out practicing their kicks yesterday, and other such fancy footwork at at St. Paul The Apostle Church. The Christmas Spectacular opens at Radio City on November 13th; buy a ticket before Jim Dolan kills them all off (actually, he won't)! more ›

This morning the Radio City Rockettes kicked off their Christmas Spectacular at the Empire State Building. The four who did the honors (Brittany Marcin, Nikki Williams, Kimmi Louwsma and Laura Danielski) were all on hand to turn the building green, white and red in celebration of their holiday show's opening night. (This also ended the four-night political run the ESB has had.) Can you believe it's already time to get the sexy Santa outfits out of storage? more ›

The tree is lit, and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular is another tradition back for a 75th season. The well-seasoned Rockettes steal the show from Santa every year, and have quite a history -- they were originally called The Roxyettes and originated in...Missouri:The group was started by Russell Markert in 1925 in St. Louis, Missouri as the "Missouri Rockets". In 1927, Samuel Roxy Rothafel discovered them and brought them to New York City. They... more ›

1) Features about the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, in anticipation of this year's Radio City Christmas Spectacular. The NY Times looks how performances from the 1930s and 1940s inspired this year's show while Newsday notes on the technology being used. Both focus on the amazing synchronized dancing. 2) Starbucks has decorated its stores with Christmas decorations and has started to use Christmas/holiday themed cups. Cajun Boy in the City also counts Josh Grobin... more ›

The Holidays have fallen upon us like a pack of ferocious ice weasels, so we'd feel appropriately guilty if we didn’t suggest some relevant theater options. Of course, if you’re seeking a diversion for out-of-town visitors, The Radio City Christmas Spectacular is (literally) a no-brainer, provided they’ve got deep pockets: Tickets to the glorified burlesque show can cost up to $250 - per rube. more ›

At around 4:40PM yesterday afternoon, a music professor at NYU was stabbed in the chest and back by a random man on West 3rd Street, between Mercer and LaGuardia. The Washington Square News says that Joseph Church, who teaches at the Steinhardt School of Education, was attacked by 30 (or 32) year old Mark Davilla, who then used a screwdriver to stab Church. A witness says that after Church was stabbed, he chased Davila through Schwartz Plaza (where Stern Business School is) and some people helped tackle Davila. Police say Davila had an argument with a girlfriend earlier and believe the attack was unprovoked; the NYPD charged him with assault and posession of a weapon. This is totally crazy - there must have been tons of people around, as it was a decent day and the plaza usually has its share of people hanging out. Did you see what happened? more ›

After 15 days of striking against Radio City Music Hall, Radio City and the American Federation of Musicians reached an agreement that will bring the live music back to the Music Hall tonight. Mayor Bloomberg's negotiator, Frank Macchiarola, helped the two sides reach an agreement that affected the first two weeks of the Christmas Spectacular. Alas, there will be ladies kicking to live music for all to see this holiday season! We're not sure if the giant inflatable rat has been at Radio City for the whole strike, but no more! Wanna know a dirty little Gothamist secret? We've actually never seen the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Are we missing anything? more ›

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- The Morning News has a great interview with photographer Douglas Levere, as well as a gallery of his New York City photographs more ›

- Governor Pataki officially ousts the Freedom Center from Ground Zero more ›