Behind the scenes
By Robert Levin
Special to amNewYork
Backstage at Radio City Music Hall (RJ Mickelson/AMNY)
Millions of people go to Radio City Music Hall to see shows, but not nearly as many get to traipse through the backstage corridors walked by some of the world’s most famous entertainers.
And it’d be tough to find a New Yorker who hasn’t gawked at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue, but how many of them actually know the history of the church?
This holiday season, take a behind-the-scenes tour of one of the city’s institutions.
Here’s a look at some of what the tours offer:
Radio City Music Hall
1260 Sixth Ave. at 50th St., 212-247-4777
Times: Monday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Cost: general $17, seniors $14, children 12 and under $10
Radio City’s Stage Door Tour takes you high above Peter Clark’s renowned Great Stage into the famous Roxy Room and through the impressive Art Deco lobbies that make up the “Showplace of the Nation.”
Along the way, you’ll be treated to an informative tour, a funny video hosted by Billy Crystal and a visit from a Rockette.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
33 Liberty St., btwn William and Nassau sts., 212-720-6130
Times: Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Cost: FREE, requires reservation, which can be made by calling, filling out an online form at ny.frb.org or emailing frbnytours@ny.frb.org
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York holds almost $194 billion of gold, and the only way to see it in person is through an official tour.
The brief but informative excursion begins in the bank’s free exhibit area and then descends five stories below street level, through a 90-ton steel door and into the vault. There, the guide explains the process with which the gold is categorized. You will also learn about the impressive security system, which transforms the vault into an impenetrable fortress.
Metropolitan Opera House
30 Lincoln Center Plaza, btwn 63rd and 64th sts., 212-362-6000
Times: 3:30 p.m. while the Met is in season (days vary)
Cost: general $15, members $13, students $8 (reservations required)
You’d never guess it from the lavish exterior or the imposing, six-story auditorium, but the world’s premier opera house also functions as a living workshop. It holds several warehouses worth of tools, props and costumes, not to mention sets from productions past and present.
On the Met’s Backstage Tour, you are given a firsthand view of the enormous behind-the-scenes operation required to put on one of the opera house’s elaborate, expensive productions.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
460 Madison Ave. at 51st St., 212-355-2749 x409
Times: Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Saturday tours can be arranged based on Mass schedule.
Cost: FREE for groups of 10 or more (only groups of 10 allowed), appointment required (walk-in tours are given over the summer)
This tour provides the best possible opportunity to learn about the gothic architectural marvels that make up the gargantuan, historic Midtown cathedral. You’ll learn about the stained-glass windows and the cathedral’s other unique features.
Carnegie Hall
57th St. and Seventh Ave., 212-247-7800
Times: Monday to Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Saturday 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.; Sunday 12:30 p.m.
Cost: general $10, students/seniors $7, children under 12 $3.
The old saying holds that practice is how you get to Carnegie Hall, but you don’t need any practice to take one of the legendary institution’s insider tours.
Your guide takes you to different vantage points throughout the Stern/Perelman Auditorium. You’ll learn about the hall’s history in “Composer’s Alley” and the Rose Museum, and if you’re lucky, you’ll get to watch artists rehearse onstage.
Rockefeller Center Tour
30 Rockefeller Plaza, 212-664-3700
Times: Monday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cost: general $12, children ages 6 to 12, seniors $10.
This hour-long excursion gives you a look at the buildings and outdoor spaces that make up Rockefeller Center. Participants receive a personal headset that connects to the guide on a closed circuit, so you don’t need to strain to hear. The tour focuses on the Center’s illustrious history.
SIDEBAR
For Summyr Miller-Whaley and her fellow Radio City Rockettes, this is the most exciting time of the year, as well as the busiest.
For their entire seasonal run at Radio City Music Hall and venues across the United States they adhere to an exhausting schedule. It begins with rehearsals in September, six weeks before the November opening.
“We rehearse from 10 to 5. We do that for six days and then we have a day off to rejuvenate and relax for a bit and then we go back in for rehearsals again,” Whaley said.
Things don’t get any easier once they open for the season. Each Rockette performs multiple shows a day, six days a week, and can be on the job for up to 12 hours.
“So we have a 10 a.m. show, we’ll run the show, get to do all the costume changes. We do eight costume changes in all,” she said. “Then we’re done with the show and we’ll relax for a moment, eat something nutritious and get ready to do it again.”
