Hallmark Channel has announced a new Christmas movie, “A Holiday Spectacular” featuring the Radio City Rockettes, as part of the 2022 Countdown to Christmas programming. The movie stars Ginna Claire Mason (Wicked) who played Glinda in Broadway’s award-winning Wicked; Tony Award-nominated Derek Klena (Jagged Little Pill); Academy Award-nominated entertainer Ann-Margret (Carnal Knowledge); and Eve Plumb (“The Brady Bunch“). The film was shot on location both in upstate New York and at Radio City Music Hall. The Rockettes were choreographed by their director and choreographer Julie Branam (Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes) and will be featured throughout the film in various performance numbers and speaking roles.
“The Radio City Rockettes embody Christmas in New York City and we are thrilled to bring together two quintessential holiday brands – Hallmark Channel and the Radio City Rockettes – for a one-of-a-kind holiday movie,” said Lisa Hamilton Daly, EVP Programming, Hallmark Channel. “‘A Holiday Spectacular‘ will be a beautiful reminder of the joy of the season and is sure to become a family tradition, much like attending a performance of the Rockettes’ annual Christmas Spectacular.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Hallmark Channel to bring together our two iconic holiday brands, which both create holiday magic for millions of people every year,” said Jessica Tuttle, Senior Vice President, Productions, Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp., the parent company of the Radio City Rockettes and Radio City Music Hall. “This heartwarming storyline gives audiences a peek into the passion and dedication that the Rockettes have for this beloved dance company and the incredible sisterhood that is at the core of this legendary line.”
The story is set in 1958 when a Philadelphia heiress named Maggie (Mason) puts her high-society wedding plans, to a man she doesn’t love, on hold in order to sneak up to New York City and make her secret dream come true: dancing live on stage in the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. While her family thinks she’s staying in New York City with an “approved” friend from boarding school, Maggie is living a completely different life than she’s ever known. She falls in love with New York and dancing with the Rockettes. Maggie soon feels caught between two worlds, made even more complicated by her chance encounter with young U.S. Navy photographer John (Klena). Will Maggie find the courage to tell her family what she wants for her future instead of accepting the future that was decided for her?
“A Holiday Spectacular” is a Choice Films Production. Dustin Rikert is Executive Producer. Tony Glazer and Summer Crockett Moore are Producers. John Putch is directing a script by Julie Sherman Wolfe. The all-new original movie will premiere during Hallmark Channel’s annual Countdown to Christmas programming event.
