Thanksgiving Day Parade

The 85^th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will be here before you know it, and we couldn’t be more excited!

Featuring the amazing Broadway casts of

“How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”

“Sister Act”

“Spider-Man”

“Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”

“Memphis”

“Anything Goes”

Tune in 9 a.m. - noon on NBC and CBS.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2010

The 84th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will kick off the holidays in New York City and on NBC on Thursday, November 25th! Every year, Macy’s exciting holiday tradition is seen by more than 3.5 million people who line the streets in New York and another 50 million people who tune into NBC to watch the giant balloons, one-of-a-kind floats, the nation’s best matching bands, hundreds of cheering clowns and a host of celebrities!

Something WE look forward to every year is the Broadway performances. Word on the street is that this year there will be performances from Billy Elliot, Memphis, American Idiot, Elf, Million Dollar Quartet and the Radio City Rockettes. Also look out for RAIN, A Tribute to the Beatles.

Other fun things include a giant balloon of Shrek, a float of Dora’s Christmas Carol Adventure from Nickelodeon, clowns and talent.
For a full list of line-up click HERE.

Broadway on Turkey-day

Some people look forward to Thanksgiving football. I, on the other hand, grab a cup of coffee and turn on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It seriously doesn't feel like Thanksgiving until I've listened to Matt Lauer describe a giant balloon or two. (Is it wrong that I secretly find it thrilling to watch what happens when a gust of wind comes by? ... but I digress.)

Now to the good stuff... Broadway performances during the parade. Depending on what network you watch, there will be different shows highlighted. CBS will feature performances by the cast of Mary Poppins (who will be flying in for the 2009-2010 Tampa season), Grease and Clay Aiken in Monty Python's Spamalot (coming to Tampa in March 09). NBC will show performances by The Little Mermaid, South Pacific, In the Heights and Irving Berlin's White Christmas.

If you happen to miss any of these special performances, keep an eye out for the floats. There will be performances by the cast of the new revival of Hair as well as a songs from Broadway favorites Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel.

From all the bloggers of Culture Shock and the TBPAC... Happy Thanksgiving!

A little Broadway on turkey-day

There are two things that I love about Thanksgiving... my mom's gravy (you can pour it on everything) and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Sorry guys, football didn't make the cut.

Even though there is an ongoing stagehand strike, it has been confirmed that the shows originally scheduled will still be able to perform. Those Broadway shows are Legally Blonde, Xanadu, Mary Poppins and Young Frankenstein. Plus there will be the traditional performance by the Radio City Rockettes!

Other Broadway stars will also make appearances. Included in the line up are Bob Saget currently staring in The Drowsy Chaperone, Sarah Brightman will perform as the Pirate Queen and Spring Awakening's Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff perform "Give My Regards to Broadway."

For more information, check out this story on playbill.com. The parade starts at 9 a.m. on your NBC station.

Spamalot Thanksgiving

Spamalot will perform "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" with a cast of 16 on NBC's Macy's Thanksgiving Parade on Thursday November 23. They are the fourth musical, and are scheduled to appear between 9:30-9:45 AM. That line-up and timing is subject to change. The other shows are A Chorus Line, The Color Purple and Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas. This airs live on the east coast and is held in other parts of the country. Check News Channel 8 here locally (7 on Bright House cable) to see the show!

Spamalot will also be featured on NBC's Today Show in a taped segment in which Natalie Morales, one of their hosts, appears in the show briefly in the French Taunter scene. The segment will also capture her fitting, rehearsal, pre-show prep and curtain call. This is one in a series in which the various hosts "face their fears." This is scheduled for Tuesday November 28 in the 9-10 AM hour. If they get more specific with timing next week, we will let you know.

Enjoy and have a Happy Thanksgiving!