Revising Childhood: Meeting the Cast and Crew of 'Snow White Live at Radio City Music Hall
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Turning dreams into fantastical realities is at the heart of every great Disney story.
Thirty years ago my parents brought me to New York City for the opportunity of a lifetime � to see Walt Disney�s masterpiece of animation performed as a live production.
Publicity Photo of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Decades before �The Lion King,� �Beauty and the Beast,� and �Mary Poppins� charmed audiences on Broadway, �Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs� opened for a limited run at Radio City Music Hall on October 18, 1979. It was Disney�s first attempt to transform animation into live theatre and the end result was extraordinary.
Perfectly cast, flawlessly executed and faithful to its original source, �Snow White Live� was the epitome of a fairy tale come to life. It was the right creative team doing the right show at exactly the right time and the combination produced a sold-out, runaway hit.
Actress Mary Jo Salerno as Snow White
It was also a production that helped save Radio City Music Hall from near extinction.
Just the year before, attendance was in sharp decline and the Board of Rockefeller Center � then Radio City�s parent company � announced that the Showplace of the Nation would be closing its doors permanently in March of 1978. There was talk of tearing down the beloved structure in favor of a parking lot, tennis courts, even a new home for the American Stock Exchange. Furious loyal patrons responded with a citywide preservation campaign. Their efforts resulted in having the Hall officially declared a historic landmark which made it permanently safe from demolition.
The show was produced by Disney veteran Robert F. Jani; a revered and gifted showman who was also the creative mind behind Disneyland�s original �Main Street Electrical Parade.� Jani also conceived and produced the �Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular� which continues to entertain audiences from around the world every year.