Whoopi Goldberg, Co-Host of ABC's The View and Iconic Native New Yorker,
to Narrate and Voice One of the Key Puppets in the Highly Anticipated
Brand New Show at Radio City Music Hall,
to Debut in March
LIMITED 7 WEEK ENGAGEMENT
BEGINS PREVIEWS MARCH 12, 2015
OPENS ON MARCH 26 AND RUNS THROUGH MAY 3, 2015
NEW YORK, Dec. 9, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MSG Entertainment (MSGE) announced today that Whoopi Goldberg will be lending her extraordinary voice to narrate New York Spring Spectacular as the character of The Statue of Liberty. Whoopi Goldberg is one of only twelve elite artists to win an Emmy®, Grammy®, Oscar® and Tony® Award, along with several other accolades in entertainment to her name, and was born and raised in New York City. New York Spring Spectacular , presented by Chase, at Radio City Music Hall, will debut in March 2015 and is jointly produced by Madison Square Garden Entertainment and Weinstein Live Entertainment. The limited seven week engagement begins previews on March 12, 2015 and runs through May 3, 2015. Tickets on sale now at www.rockettes.com/spring .
In the New York Spring Spectacular , Whoopi Goldberg helps to bring audiences on an exciting and emotional adventure of New York City with the Rockettes, and is ultimately revealed as the voice of one of the most iconic and important monuments in New York City . . . The Statue of Liberty. Lady Liberty is one of the large scale puppets that is featured in the new production that will be making its highly-anticipated debut in March on The Great Stage of Radio City Music Hall. Other notable appearances and performances include Nashville star and Tony Award-winning actress, Laura Benanti as the lead female character, Jenna, and Emmy-Award winning Choreographer, Mia Michaels, who will be choreographing the opening number of the show. More performers will be announced at a later date.
"As a native New Yorker and lover of the theater, I am beyond excited to be taking audiences on this adventure around NYC with the Rockettes," says Whoopi Goldberg. "I'm proud to be part of the New York Spring Spectacular which celebrates this amazing City."
"Whoopi is one of the biggest stars of the stage, television and movies, and we are thrilled to have her featured as one of the principal large-scale puppets, Lady Liberty, and a key narrative voice in the show," said David Goodman, president, productions and live entertainment, Madison Square Garden Entertainment. "The technology that we are using in the New York Spring Spectacular makes these iconic NYC landmarks come to life in a big way, the way past visionary directors such as Vincente Minnelli envisioned the Great Stage would be used, in innovative and exciting ways."
Whoopi Goldberg currently stars as a moderator and co-host of the ABC TV Show, The View , and has won two Emmy Awards and been nominated for another 13 for her work in television. Goldberg received an Academy Award for her portrayal of Oda Mae Brown in the 1990 film, Ghost , and has been awarded a Tony Award for Best Musical by producing the 2002 Thoroughly Modern Millie and a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording for Whoopi Goldberg: Direct from Broadway in 1985. Goldberg's work in The Color Purple and Ghost also earned her a Golden Globe Award. In addition to her work on stage, Goldberg has received honors for her many humanitarian efforts, and is an active board member of the Garden of Dreams Foundation.
The New York Spring Spectacular , an all-new show at Radio City Music Hall, takes audiences on a whirlwind adventure across New York City while telling an inspiring and hopeful narrative about three New Yorkers who change each other's lives in unexpectedly wonderful ways. Writer Josh Harmon has fashioned a heartwarming and wondrous journey through New York City that will be narrated by the one-and-only, Whoopi Goldberg.
Bernie has been giving old fashioned tours of New York for decades, but his company was just bought by Jenna, a whipsmart techie with plans to fire Bernie and turn his tours into a virtual reality wonderland. Bernie's in trouble. Enter Jack, a spirited young man with a secret agenda of his own: If he can help Bernie keep his job, Jack will get an eternal reward.
With the assistance of the legendary Rockettes, and guest appearances by some of your favorite New Yorkers, Bernie takes Jenna-- and the audience-- on the tour of a lifetime, from the Statue of Liberty to Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. By the last stop of this whirlwind adventure, these three people will be forever changed, and they will never look at the city the same way again.
Bursting with invigorating new Rockettes dance numbers, incredible 3D special effects, sophisticated large-scale puppetry and an exciting soundtrack of original songs, classics and pop hits, the New York Spring Spectacular is as rejuvenating, energetic and uplifting as spring itself – and a reminder that while things may change, nothing can take away the timeless magic and romance of the one and only New York City!
The New York Spring Spectacular is led by Director and Choreographer Warren Carlyle, a Tony and Drama Desk Award winning director and choreographer, including for such popular Broadway productions as The Mystery of Edwin Drood , A Christmas Story: The Musical and After Midnight , which he also directed and for which he won both the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Choreographer. Working by his side are Co-Creative Directors Diane Paulus and Randy Weiner. Paulus is a Tony Award winning Director for the A.R.T.'s Pippin and was among 2014's TIME 100, TIME Magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Weiner is the creator of the Off-Broadway extravaganza Queen of the Night at the Paramount Hotel and is a frequent collaborator with Paulus, most recently working together to create Amaluna for Cirque Du Soleil. Weiner is also the producer of the Drama Desk Award winning New York premiere of Punchdrunk's Sleep No More . Writer Joshua Harmon made his professional New York playwriting debut with the critically acclaimed play Bad Jews , which was produced by Roundabout Underground and was the first play to transfer to the Roundabout's Laura Pels Theatre in October 2013. It received Outer Critics Circle and Lortel nominations for Best Play. Harmon earned degrees in playwriting from Northwestern and Carnegie Mellon and studied at Julliard's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights program. Mia Michaels has also been announced as Choreographer of the opening scene. Celebrated choreographer Mia 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, Madonna and Celine Dion. Michaels will be choreographing the dynamic opening number of New York Spring Spectacular and will soon be lending her talents to the upcoming Broadway production of Finding Neverland . Variety Magazine named Michaels as "One of the Most Innovative Women" of 2013 and she's received multiple Emmy Awards for Outstanding Choreography.
ABOUT THE STATUE OF LIBERTY PUPPET:
- The high-tech Statue of Liberty puppet was built in Australia by The Creature Technology Company, who also produced the incredibly successful Walking with Dinosaurs. It took six weeks by ship for the Lady Liberty to be transported to New York City due to its size.
- The featured puppet, the Lady Liberty, stands at 26-feet and features 20 motors in her face alone to mimic human-like facial movements.
- 1,760 lbs of steel and 753 square feet of draped fabric were used to construct Lady Liberty. The final face and robe surfaces were built, stitched and sculpted completely by hand and the fabric was dyed and hand painted to give the illusion of the original hard copper finish.
- The Statue of Liberty is controlled both automatically, using pre-programmed cues, and manually, by four puppeteers who can move her torso, arms, mouth and face.
For additional materials including photos and broll, please click the link below: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9rejgjt7agi3nbp/AA...EAuha?dl=0
Ticket Information
Preview performances of the New York Spring Spectacular begin March 12, 2015 at Radio City Music Hall®. Opens March 26, 2015 and runs for a limited engagement ending May 3, 2015. Prices range from $46 - $100 for previews and regular box office pricing from $50 - $150, depending on show date and time. Tickets are available online at www.rockettes.com/spring , by phone via Ticketmaster at 866-858-0007, or at Radio City's Box Office (50th St. & Avenue of the Americas). Group tickets of 9+ contact Group Sales at 212-465-6080 or group.sales@msg.com . Box Office hours are daily, 10:00 a.m. to 8:00pm. Tickets purchased via Ticketmaster are subject to service charges.
About MSG Entertainment
MSG Entertainment (MSGE), the live entertainment arm of The Madison Square Garden Company (Nasdaq: MSG ), is a worldwide entertainment company recognized for its signature combination of event production and entertainment marketing. In addition to the nearly 900 entertainment concerts and events that take place each year at Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden, The Theater at Madison Square Garden, the Beacon Theatre, The Chicago Theatre, and the Forum in Inglewood, California, MSGE has an exclusive co-booking agreement with Boston's Citi Performing Arts Center/ Wang Theatre. MSG Entertainment's live events include the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, which has played to more than 75 million people in 77 different cities across North America. More than five million people attend MSG Entertainment branded events annually including concerts, special events, and family attractions.
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The New York Spring Spectacular logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=29009
CONTACT: MSGE Press Contacts Mikyl Cordova mikyl.cordova@msg.com / (212) 631-4337 Anna McKean anna.mckean@msg.com / (212) 631-4329 Weinstein Company Brad Thompson brad.thompson@weinsteinco.com / (212) 590-7890
