Review Roundup: NEW YORK SPECTACULAR at Radio City Music Hall!

New York Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes, presented by Chase, began performances on June 15 at Radio City Music Hall and continues through August 7, 2016. Tickets are on sale at www.rockettes.com/newyork and at the Radio City box office.

New York Spectacular celebrates New York City in the summertime centered around the trip of a lifetime for two kids who are separated from their parents while on a vacation in New York.

New York Spectacular will feature iconic scenery of New York locations and landmarks such as the Empire State Building, Wall Street, Central Park, Times Square and Radio City Music Hall, alongside larger-than-life statues like the Statue of Liberty and the Wall Street bull.

Let's see what the critics had to say...

Bob Rizzo, BroadwayWorld: While the attempt to update the classic Rockette style is admirable, purists may be bewildered by the contemporary look. The new material doesn't always mix well with the precision type dancing we are used to seeing. However, if you're game for an updated look and feel, there are still plenty of great performances and much spectacle to be enjoyed in the "New York Spectacular."

Laura Collins-Hughes, New York Times: A reworking of last year's "New York Spring Spectacular," this version has the director and choreographer Mia Michaels (of TV's "So You Think You Can Dance") at the helm and a new script by Douglas Carter Beane. But everything about this ungainly show feels as if the creative team was engaged by Madison Square Garden Entertainment, which presents the "Spectacular," to tinker with a template, fitting their contributions to a fixed idea - which seems to be, mainly, selling tickets to people who would rather sit back and watch a sanitized simulation of the city than engage with the real, messy thing.

Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Post: Call it "The Miracle on 50th Street." Radio City Music Hall has been trying hard to give its precision-dance troupe, The Rockettes, something to do beyond Christmas - with little luck. In 2014, it scrapped the new "Heart and Lights" a week before its first preview. And last year's "New York Spring Spectacular" dragged Laura Benanti, Derek Hough and the leggy ensemble into a chaotic kitsch cocktail. But the third time's the charm. This year's edition, choreographed and directed by Mia Michaels ("So You Think You Can Dance"), 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. Here are five numbers that are truly spectacular.

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