The New York Times - Not Recommended
"The Rockettes are the stars of this sensory-overload summer show...But the whole enterprise is misshapen, its disconnected episodes strung together by a story that has no real reason for being and whose human scale feels utterly dwarfed on the gigantic Radio City stage...It's a glittery pageant, where music, dance and design need to be paramount. Put those at the center, replace cynicism with celebration, and you might have entertainment worth watching."
Associated Press - Recommended
"A sleek, pretty summer musical…Beane's often-too-sweet script is also peppered with jokes only adults will get…Michaels's editing is as sharp as her twitchy, leg-lifting touches. She knows the stars of the show are the Rockettes — and they shine…The show meanders into some weird places...But there's plenty of magic here...'The New York Spectacular' might not be perfect, but it's made huge steps in both editing and technology."
New York Post - Recommended
"Radio City Music Hall has been trying hard to give its precision-dance troupe, the Rockettes, something to do beyond Christmas — with little luck...But the third time's the charm. This year's edition, choreographed and directed by Mia Michaels, uses most of the same building blocks but improves on them — even if the new book, about a tourist family that gets separated in New York City, is still too gushy and rah-rah."
Time Out New York - Recommended
"It all feels like the most expensive and over-the-top I ? NY ad, ever. And yet, this celebration of the Big Apple is often hard to resist. From a technical standpoint it's always impressive, with arresting visuals making up for tepid (often garbled) dialogue and performances dwarfed by the cavernous venue. But the show's best special effects are the stylish precision dancers...They're guaranteed to convert even the most jaded natives."
Talkin Broadway - Not Recommended
"An unflattering dark streak runs through this 85-minute evening, ensuring that, although it may be many things, unbridled fun is never really one of them...Beyond curb-stomping credulity, it sets up the show as one based on loss and fear, rather than joy, which is an odd, frequently unsettling approach....Mia Michaels's production feels as if it's making excuses."
TheaterMania - Not Recommended
"The production isn't quite sure what it wants to be. The songs, orchestrated with a hip-hop beat by Christopher Jahnke, are completely unrecognizable. The script rarely has the pithy verve that is Beane's stock-in-trade as a playwright...Under Michaels' slack direction, the dialogue scenes get lost in a stage filled with massive set pieces and projections...Most disappointing is the choreography, which feels rudimentary and devoid of the flair that won Michaels an Emmy."
NY Theatre Guide - Recommended
"A 90-minute brazen, unapologetic and big-budgeted love letter to its own city...The audience comes alive each and every time those infamous Rockettes grace the stage. It is an undeniable rush witnessing them all in a single-file line performing simultaneous choreography...You should take a trip and see The Rockettes at least once in your life. Now might be the time."
Broadway Blog - Highly Recommended
"The new eye-popping summer show will not only lift your spirits, but also put you in the most glorious New York state of mind…Michaels has put fire in the bellies of the Rockettes. Their energy, first seen in the opening number set to Taylor Swift's 'Welcome to New York,' is palpable. And it only gets better…Each production number breathes fresh air into a commodity that dates back to 1925...Beane's script is chock-full of ripe one-liners, but many get lost in the echoey hall."
Theater Pizzazz - Highly Recommended
"Both in their billing and physically onstage, the Rockettes become the main attraction — exactly what one might expect from a Radio City experience...The top-notch cast support the production with a story that entertains, teaches, and tugs at the heartstrings, all in equal parts…The beauty of the story is that it never loses its heart, ultimately reminding us to never lose our inner child."
DC Theatre Scene - Recommended
"'New York Spectacular,' a new summer show that features the Radio City Rockettes and some terrific sets, aims to tap into a similar demographic as Broadway. But its appeal to tourists is more direct. It's basically a sightseeing tour of New York. In a thin plot, the two children of a family visiting the city get separated from their parents while in the subway...It's hokey, sure, but the sets and the video and projection design are so visually splendid."
ZEALnyc - Somewhat Recommended
"It's the least successful part of this big, bright, obviously expensive entertainment, but to be fair, it's possible that no human-scale story line could compete with the visual audacity of the production…While not requiring great intellect to appreciate the show, it's a lot of fun, and it's visually, well, spectacular."
