Where's Conan? At the Home of the Rockettes, Thank You Very Much

Do you miss Conan and his witty banter (O’Brien, that is)? Wondering what he’s been up to since his unfortunate banishment from late-night TV? Well, New York, despair no more—Conan is headed your way.
The (former) TV funnyman announced yesterday that he is embarking on a two-month, 30-city road show tour, featuring comedy and live music. He’ll be at Radio City Music Hall this June 1 and 2. The show will include his sidekick, Andy Richter, as well as the former “Tonight Show” band. If you were wondering if O’Brien has lost his edge, his tour will be starting in...Eugene, Oregon. Yup, you read that right. The tour will cover 20 states and two Canadian provinces, and will primarily include cities and college towns.
O'Brien, for those of you who have stopped reading AOL headlines, left his post as host of “The Tonight Show” in January, when he was unceremoniously usurped by Jay Leno. Leno, of course, had hosted a daily 10 pm show with notoriously low ratings. He was given the coveted night-night slot--leaving O’Brien essentially nowhere to go on television.
As part of his contract, O’Brien is prohibited from returning to the small screen until September 1 of this year.
O’Brien has been in the news a fair amount lately--he recently announced that he would follow a randomly chosen woman on Twitter.
O’Brien held the coveted 11:35 PM TV time slot starting in May 2009. Does he harbor hard feelings towards the whole fiasco and his exodus from TV?
Well, his tour is called the “Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on television” tour--so you decide.

The Holidays Must Be Close: The Rockettes Have High-Stepped It Into Town

Say what you will, but there’s really nothing like it: The Radio City Christmas Spectacular is once again at, yes, New York’s Radio City Music Hall, heralding the holiday season and bringing high-kicking glory to our fair city once more.
What visitors seem to love is the combination of spectacle and nostalgia; pageantry and familiarity; and of course, the vision of the scantily-yet-absolutely-appropriately-dressed Radio City Rockettes themselves.
Oh-so-familiar numbers include “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers”; Santa’s ride to his workshop at the North People (wait for the rag dolls); and the reenactment of the first Christmas in ”The Living Nativity”(present in the original 1933 version, as were the wooden soldiers!)
It's a truly weird mix of the sacred and the profane, from giant LED screens and 3D glasses to the birth of Christ; showgirls to "The 12 Days of Christmas."
The Spectacular, which is seen by more than a million people each year, runs through Dec. 30; Radio City is at 1260 Avenue of the Americas, between 50th and 51st Streets. The Holiday hotline (no, really) is at 212 307-1000. A touring version of the show also plays in selected venues across the country.
Dancing Santas! Falling soldiers! Live camels and sheep! Endlessly smiling dancers! All on a giant stage!
How much more Christmas-y can you get?

One Ring to Rule Us All: Lord of the Rings Takes Over New York

Frodophiles, Tolkien lovers, followers of Middle Earth and Ring questers, unite: It’s a “Lord of the Rings” weekend in New York.
Tonight and tomorrow (Oct. 9 and 10) is the big event: a screening of the movie on a 60-foot screen at Radio City Music Hall (7:30 pm) while the complete original score (written by Howard Shore) is performed by a live orchestra. Singers including the Brooklyn Youth Chorus and the Collegiate Chorale will accompany Switzerland’s 21st Century Orchestra.
The screening of the 178-minute version of “The Fellowship of the Ring” will include (whew) an intermission, and Maestro Ludwig Wicki will conduct using a laptop computer that will run Auricle, a system that will indicate starting and stopping points as well as tempo. Radio City is located at 1260 Avenue of the Americas (between 50th and 51st Streets; call (212) 247-4777 for more information.
For the more aesthetically inclined, an exhibit entitled “The Beginnings of a Masterpiece: Original Manuscripts from The Fellowship of the Ring” will be on view at the Gerald M. Quinn Library at Lincoln Center (113 West 60th Street) through November 19. Forty items will be on display, including Middle Earth calendars; notes about Tolkien's invented languages; plot notes, and original drawings. (A valid ID is needed to enter the Library.) The manuscripts are part of Marquette’s University’s extensive JRR Tolkien Collection; it's the first time these works have been on view in New York. Admission is free; call (212) 636-6538 for more information.
Everyone together now: One ring to rule them all….