MSG Entertainment (MSGE) and Weinstein Live Entertainment announced today that custom costumes designed by Diane von Furstenberg, Isaac Mizrahi and Zac Posen will be worn by the Rockettes in New York Spring Spectacular, presented by Chase. The celebrated New York fashion designers will make video cameo appearances during the production's fashion scene, during which, the Rockettes will perform in the designers' costumes. Von Furstenberg, Mizrahi and Posen join the all-star cast of previously announced performers and celebrities who will appear in New York Spring Spectacular, including the Rockettes, Tony Award winning actress Laura Benanti as the female lead, Jenna; Emmy Award winning choreographer Derek Hough as the male lead, Jack; Lenny Wolpe as Bernie; Jared Grimes as Marshall; Whoopi Goldberg as the voice of the Statue of Liberty puppet; Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as the voices of The New York Public Library lion statues and Bella Thorne as the voice of the Alice in Wonderland statue. The production is jointly produced by Madison Square Garden Entertainment and Weinstein Live Entertainment. The limited seven week engagement is running now through May 3, 2015. Tickets are on sale now at www.rockettes.com/spring.
"It is so much fun to design a costume for the Rockettes-they are American icons," said Diane von Furstenberg.
"I couldn't be more thrilled to be part of the New York Spring Spectacular and to design a costume for the legendary Rockettes. I was born and raised in New York City and theater has always been a major influence in my life and on my fashion career," said Zac Posen. "Being part of this extraordinary show at Radio City Music Hall, an iconic theater that has been a launch pad for iconic designers like Vincente Minnelli and Erte, is truly a dream come true," added Isaac Mizrahi.
New York Spring Spectacular will celebrate the fashion capital of the world, New York City, when Jenna, played by Benanti, experiences the buzz of New York Fashion Week. The Great Stage will be transformed into New York's biggest runway as the Rockettes strut down a moving catwalk wearing signature costumes designed by each of the three designers. Von Furstenberg, Mizrahi and Posen will each appear in a video and share how New York City inspires them both in their designs and in their everyday lives.
A global luxury lifestyle brand and one of the premier names in American fashion, Diane von Furstenberg was founded in 1972 by the designer. In 2012, its Founder and Co-Chairman, Diane von Furstenberg, was named the most powerful woman in fashion by Forbes Magazine. She also serves on the board of Culture Shed, the new center for artistic and cultural innovation in New York City. In 2014, von Furstenberg published a memoir, The Woman I Wanted to Be. Isaac Mizrahi has been a leader in the fashion industry for almost 30 years, and his designs have come to stand for timeless, cosmopolitan style. He has been awarded four CFDA awards, including a special award in 1996 for the groundbreaking documentary "Unzipped." Mizrahi currently serves as the Creative Director for his eponymous labels, Isaac Mizrahi New York and IsaacMizrahiLive!, a division of Xcel Brands, Inc. Zac Posen launched his eponymous collection in 2001, with a vision for modern American glamour that married couture technique with striking innovation. Envisioned in his New York atelier, Posen introduced a collection that combined legendary Hollywood glamour with a downtown sensibility, enhancing women's natural forms and enabling them to be their most alluring, empowered selves. Two years after the launch of his first collection, Posen was awarded one of fashion's most prestigious honors, Swarovski's The Perry Ellis Award for Womenswear by the CFDA.
New York Spring Spectacular takes audiences on a whirlwind adventure across New York City while telling an inspiring and hopeful narrative about New Yorkers who change each other's lives in unexpectedly wonderful ways. Bernie, played by Wolpe, has been giving old fashioned tours of New York for decades, but his company was just bought by Jenna, played by Benanti, a whip smart techie with plans to fire Bernie and turn his tours into a virtual reality wonderland. Bernie is in trouble. Enter Jack, played by Hough, a spirited young man with a secret agenda of his own: If he can help Bernie keep his job, Jack will get an eternal reward.
With the assistance of the legendary Rockettes, Bernie takes Jenna-- and the audience-- on the tour of a lifetime, from the Statue of Liberty to Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. By the last stop on this whirlwind adventure, this group of people will be forever changed, and they will never look at the city the same way again.
Von Furstenberg, Mizrahi and Posen join a variety of celebrities who will make video cameo appearance in New York Spring Spectacular, including 50 Cent, Carmelo Anthony, Odell Beckham Jr., Victor Cruz, Walt Frazier, John Leguizamo, Henrik Lundqvist, Al Michaels, Kelly Ripa, Mariano Rivera, Sam Rosen and Martha Stewart. Illumination Entertainment's Minions, Paddington Bear, aerialists and the Easter Bunny will also appear. Bursting with invigorating new Rockettes dance numbers, incredible 3D special effects, sophisticated large-scale puppetry and an exciting soundtrack of original songs, classics and pop hits, including Taylor Swift's "Welcome to New York," New York Spring Spectacular is as rejuvenating, energetic and uplifting as spring itself - and a reminder that while things may change, nothing can take away the timeless magic and romance of the one and only New York City!
New York Spring Spectacular is led by Director and Choreographer Warren Carlyle, a Tony and Drama Desk Award winning director and choreographer, including for such popular Broadway productions as The Mystery of Edwin Drood, A Christmas Story: The Musical and After Midnight, which he also directed and for which he won both the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Choreographer. Working by his side are Co-Creative Directors Diane Paulus and Randy Weiner. Paulus is a Tony Award winning director for the A.R.T.'s Pippin and was among 2014's TIME 100, TIME Magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Weiner is the creator of the Off-Broadway extravaganza Queen of the Night at the Paramount Hotel and is a frequent collaborator with Paulus, most recently working together to create Amaluna for Cirque Du Soleil. Weiner is also the producer of the Drama Desk Award winning New York premiere of Punchdrunk's Sleep No More. Writer Joshua Harmon made his professional New York playwriting debut with the critically acclaimed play Bad Jews, which was produced by Roundabout Underground and was the first play to transfer to the Roundabout's Laura Pels Theatre in October 2013. It received Outer Critics Circle and Lortel nominations for Best Play. Harmon earned degrees in playwriting from Northwestern and Carnegie Mellon and studied at Julliard's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights program. Mia Michaels is the choreographer of the opening number and is well-known for her work on the Fox Television Show, So You Think You Can Dance, and has collaborated with artists such as Prince, Madonna and Celine Dion. Variety Magazine named Michaels "One of the Most Innovative Women" of 2013 and she has received multiple Emmy Awards for Outstanding Choreography. Michaels will also be lending her talents to Finding Neverland, which opens on Broadway in 2015.
Photo Credit: Angela Cranford/MSG Photos
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