Spring Spectacular and Meeting Derek Hough

There is nothing I love more than going to the theater to see a show. I absolutely love the environment. Everything from the costumes, the music, the choreography and pretty much anything else that is involved. So far I've seen 9 broadways shows (some which I've seen 2 or 3 times) and now 2 radio city performances. Being a dancer/performer, I absolutely love being on stage and entertaining people; however, it is also fun to be on the audience side and just enjoy an amazing act.

Last week, I went to see a brand new show at Radio City called: New York Spring Spectacular. Everyone knows about the rockette's show that is held every Christmas season, but this year the rockette's came out with a brand new show. I love a good rockette's performance as much as the next person; everything from their amazing leg kicks to their unbelievable synchronization is just mind blowing and fun to watch. For this performance, they added a few special guests which I was SOOO excited about. One of them was 5 time mirror-ball winner on Dancing with the Stars and my idol: Derek Hough. I absolutely love this guy. He is such a talented dancer and he inspires me to continue to pursue my love of dance. He is also such a nice person and not to mention incredibly good looking ;) The other guest I was excited to see was the incredible and beautiful Laura Benanti. She is Broadway favorite with the voice on an angel. Of course with two huge talents like that plus the rockettes, I assumed the show would be perfection and boy was I right!

The Show

Although the show isn't technically a musical, you can pretty much consider it as one. It had a beautiful story line, musical numbers, and lots of great singing. The only difference between this show and a Broadway musical is that this show is very interactive with the audience and that is what I LOVE most about it. It also has a lot of technology involved which is pretty cool. 

To not give too much away here is a very basic summary of the story: Derek's character, Jack, is an angel who is trying to earn his wings. He is sent out on a mission to help someone and perform a good deed. This person is Bernie:  a middle aged tour guide who is about to get replaced because the company has been bought out by Jenna (Laura Benanti) who is pro technology and wants to turn everything into a virtual world. They then go on a tour of New York with Bernie to try to convince Jenna to not go the virtual path. This is no regular tour though; with the help of Jack, there are many magical surprises along the way…

The Experience

Like I mentioned previously, the show is very interactive. It is meant for the audience to forget that they are just watching and make them feel like they are part of it. There were incredible lighting effects, 3D visuals, and at times direct interaction with the characters. Not only that but there are also a few familiar faces and voices you run into along they way, but I will leave that as a surprise ;) I won't go into all the details because I went in knowing almost nothing about it and I liked being surprised by all the effects. I just think it's more fun that way and everyone should have that experience. I really loved every second of it. The story was so beautiful, the choreography was out of this world, and I honestly just felt like I was in a magical place. Even my parents who aren't the biggest fans of Broadway shows had an amazing time. They were in awe of the experience and they were smiling and laughing the whole time. It was great to see them so happy. I would definitely recommend it to anyone. It is a show that every single person can enjoy. There is literally something for everyone. And even if you are a born and raised New Yorker, you will absolutely love it and appreciate the beautiful city way more than you do. I for one would go see it a second time.

Meeting Derek!

I have a tradition that after I see a musical, I go to the stage door and wait for the performers to come out so I can tell them how amazing they were and also for selfies and autographs of course! This time I wasn't planning on doing it because I had never done it for Radio City but then I saw people waiting and I decided to take a chance and wait a little too. As soon as Derek came out everyone went crazy. The security was annoying though because they were rushing him and since people started crowding he couldn't come to the part of the barricade I was in with a group of other people. I was so sad when I saw he was starting to leave that something came over me and I did something a little crazy…I climbed over the barricade (keep in mind I was wearing a dress) and pushed through people and ran after him. Yes, I realize that makes me sound like a freak but thinking about it now it wasn't as dramatic as I thought it was. I called out his name and when he heard me he was sweet enough to stop and take a selfie with me! He was so nice and I just absolutely love him. 

Overall, I had an amazing time at the show. I really hope you get a chance to see it because it will make you so happy and trust me the money you spend for a ticket will be worth it! I promise! :) 

                                                                                                                                                   - Diana