The Rockettes are getting a Christmas present: Radio City Musical Hall is kicking up the sound quality.
The 92-year-old venue will swap out its old audio system for the same new technology used by the Sphere in Las Vegas next month, MSG Entertainment announced on Wednesday.
Starting with the “Christmas Spectacular” on Nov. 6, the theater’s speaker count will jump from about 100 to more than 7,000 top-of-the-line devices.
And the current traditional stereo arrangement, in which a patron’s proximity to speakers affects how and what they hear, will be replaced by a 3D, spatialized system that aims to give every ticket buyer the exact same all-enveloping experience.
Or, as the company puts it, “headphones quality sound without the headphones.”
“With the unique capabilities of Sphere Immersive Sound, we can creatively play with music and sound effects within the Music Hall to immerse audiences in Christmas like never before and transport them into a holiday wonderland,” said Jessica Tuttle, MSG Entertainment’s Executive Vice President.
Speakers will not be placed inside of seats, like they are at the newly built Sphere that opened in 2023, to shake occupants with heavy bass for a 4D effect. Radio City’s interior and exterior are landmarked.
The Vegas-style touch-up, which already happened at the Beacon Theatre on the Upper West Side and MSG hopes to roll out across its other venues, will stay put after “Christmas Spectacular.”
Upcoming concerts and shows can specially program the system to suit their needs.
One just-announced, big-volume tenant is the rare musical to play the Music Hall.
Producer Cameron Mackintosh said Wednesday that the “Les Misérables” international arena tour will sing “One Day More” for 10 days of performances at Radio City this summer, from July 23 to August 2, 2026.
“Les Miz” has not been seen in New York since 2016.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
