Rockettes 100 No. 5 - Radio City Opens 1932

On December 28, 1932, Radio City Musical Hall opened. The Rockettes (Then called the Roxyettes) were a part of that very first performance.

Opening Night, 1932. Photo from New York Times

In the days leading up to the grand opening of the theater, an advertisement quoted Roxy Rothafel as saying: “We believe that nothing approaching the Radio City theaters has ever been given to the entertainment world…into this crowning work of my life I have poured the best that I have learned in twenty-five years of theatrical experience…The same inviting atmosphere which you have come to know in other theaters directed by me–the same spirit of service and courtesy–will be evident always. In this spirit we bid you welcome to “The Entertainment Center of the World.”

The guest list included:

• Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 

• Nelson Rockefeller

• Governor Smith

• Mayor O’Brien

• Walter P. Chrysler

• William Randolph Hearst

• Kent Cooper

• Arturo Toscanini

• Charlie Chaplin

• Clark Gable

• Amelia Earhart

• Noel Coward

• Irving Berlin

• Bernard Gimbel

• And 6, 200 others!

Over 200 policemen had been put on traffic control in the surrounding areas to help prevent gridlock and get everyone to the theater on time. Rain and obscene traffic slowed the arrival of the opening night audience. This picture shows the theater only about halfway full as the expected curtain time of 8:15 approached. It was about 9pm when the performance finally began. There were 19 acts on the program that night and it was projected to run 2.5 hours. But it was clearing going to run much longer.

The thirteenth spot on the bill was a performance by the then-called Roxyettes. Thirty-six high kicking precision dancers.

Click below to view an actual program from the opening night performance:

The opening night performance ran extraordinarily long. At intermission, many people went home, having arrived at the theater early, waiting for a late curtain and sitting through a dense first act. Those that stayed for the second act didn’t leave the theater until the small hours of the next morning.

Though jam packed with music, comedy, ballet, opera and skits, the opening night was considered to be a failure. Brooks Atkinson’s review the next day described the cavernous theater as a disadvantage, eliminating the intimacy needed in live theater for a successful connection between audience and performer.