The Radio City performer who saved the famed venue
By Stephanie Banat
Editor’s note: This story, produced as part of Banat’s fall 2021 internship at Herald Community Newspapers, originally appeared on liherald.com.
For many people around New York, Radio City Music Hall evokes the spirit of the holidays, and this week, the Seaford Public Library hosted its first virtual event to discuss the precarious time more than four decades ago when the famed music venue was nearly demolished.
“Saving Radio City Music Hall: A Dancer’s True Story,” held Dec. 7 via Zoom, welcomed presenter Rosemary Novellino-Mearns, a former dance captain of the Radio City Music Hall Corps De Ballet from the mid-1960s through the ’70s. The corps was disbanded in 1974, but the hall itself continued on, thanks in no small part to Novellino-Mearns.
Novellino-Mearns, originally from Glen Rock, N.J., joined the Radio City Music Hall ballet company in 1966 and danced at Radio City for 12 years, according to The New York Preservation Project. In April 1978, former Rockefeller Center President Alton Marshall announced that Radio City Music Hall would close owing to a projected $3.5 million loss for the upcoming year. Reportedly, there were plans to transform the building into office space.
Novellino-Mearns led the effort that prevented Radio City’s downfall. She became president of the Showpeople’s Committee to Save Radio City Music Hall. The art deco structure was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1979, which saved the building and the jobs of the hundreds of employees who worked there.
“I booked this particular event because with the upcoming holiday season, Radio City Music Hall is probably the most frequently visited landmark in New York City,” said Kristen Jording, Seaford’s adult programming librarian. “I thought it would be nice to have a program about how this particular iconic building became what it is today.”
Ahead of the event, Jording said Novellino-Mearns was expected to show media coverage from the period to tell the David-and-Goliath story of how she motivated a small, but dedicated group of colleagues and friends to join forces and challenge the Rockefeller establishment, saving the iconic music hall.
“Against all odds,” Jording said, “Rosemary led the fight to save the showplace of the nation.”
In addition to this presentation, Jording said the library would host a bus trip to Radio City Music Hall to see the “Christmas Spectacular” on Dec. 8. The trip sold out.
“Before going to the show, I think it would be nice for our patrons to understand the backstory and acknowledge the fact that if it wasn’t for Rosemary, her colleagues and their bravery, many people wouldn’t have been able to experience fascinating shows like the ‘Christmas Spectacular,’” she said.
Library Director Frank McKenna said the event is important for Seaford. “Having programs such as ‘Saving Radio City Music Hall’ is important. … The patrons of Seaford are interested in a broad range of historical topics like this one. Seaford residents have attended many productions at Radio City, including the Christmas show with the Rockettes.”
Ida Zaharopoulos, the library’s head of reference and computer services, said she looked forward to the presentation “because Radio City Music Hall is a landmark of New York City.”
“As residents, we should be familiar with [Radio City’s] history and its culture,” Zaharopoulos said. “We have previously done bus trips to see the Radio City ‘Christmas Spectacular,’ including a tour of Radio City Music Hall, but many people probably don’t know the backstory to this landmark.”
The library aims to host similar virtual events in the future, Jording said.
“Having these virtual events has been a savior during these difficult times,” she said, “and I will continue to plan a range of different events to educate our community on important topics like this one.”
