Macy’s One-Block Thanksgiving Parade to Show Pre-Recorded Performances



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New York’s annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade will be a little different this year where helium balloons will float in a block of houses with no audiences and four Broadway musicals will feature prerecorded numbers for the televised event.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the parade, which typically draws 3.5 million participants along its traditional 2.5-mile route in Manhattan, will be converted into an exclusively televised event that will air on NBC and Telemundo.

The 94th special edition of the parade will feature Broadway performances by actors from Hamilton, Mean Girls, Jagged Little Pill, Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and the Times of the Temptations – not all of whom have been on stage since March.

The event will see Broadway actors and dancers dust off their costumes and return to the stage for the first time in months and the acts will be filmed in the coming weeks.

The show will also include celebrity appearances, Rockettes performances, and a visit from Santa.

New York's annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade will be a little different this year where helium balloons will float in a block of houses with no audiences and four Broadway musicals will feature prerecorded numbers for the televised event.  A view of last year's parade above

New York’s annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade will be a little different this year where helium balloons will float in a block without an audience and four Broadway musicals will feature pre-recorded numbers for the televised event. A view of last year’s parade above

This will be the first Broadway performances for Hamilton, Mean Girls, Jagged Little Pill, Ain't Too Proud: The Life and the Times of the Temptations since Broadway closed in March due to the pandemic.  A view of the Hamilton cast iron above

This will be the first Broadway performances for Hamilton, Mean Girls, Jagged Little Pill, Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and the Times of the Temptations since Broadway closed in March due to the pandemic. A view of the Hamilton cast iron above

All Broadway performances will be pre-recorded and some will be social distancing.  All performers will wear masks and undergo a COVID-19 test and controlled temperature before rehearsals.  A view of the little jagged pill above

All Broadway performances will be pre-recorded and some will be social distancing. All performers will wear masks and undergo a COVID-19 test and controlled temperature before rehearsals. A view of the little jagged pill above

However, due to the virus, rehearsals require planning to ensure that the cast is in good shape and that proper coronavirus safety measures are taken.

Tony Award-winning Aint Too Proud choreographer Sergio Trujillo said he choreographed a special number for a mix of two Temptations stories – My Girl and Get Ready for the performance. He did it with social distancing in mind and only five dancers will participate.

“Anything we can do to make sure our Broadway lovers stay engaged and invested,” Trujillo told The New York Times.

The show will also include the appearance of a New York City Ballet ballerina who will dance as the Sugar Plum Fairy of the Nutcracker show, a holiday classic, which has been canceled entirely this season.

All performers will receive coronavirus tests and temperature checks before they meet and everyone must wear masks on set, but performers can remove them to sing.

Tony Award-winning Aint Too Proud choreographer Sergio Trujillo said he choreographed a special number for a mix of two Temptations stories - My Girl and Get Ready for the performance.  He did it with social distancing in mind and only five dancers will participate.  The cast of Aint Too Proud above

Tony Award-winning Aint Too Proud choreographer Sergio Trujillo said he choreographed a special number for a mix of two Temptations stories – My Girl and Get Ready for the performance. He did it with social distancing in mind and only five dancers will participate. The cast of Aint Too Proud above

Usually Broadway shows perform live on the parade, but this year the producers said it would be impossible because some of the cast are avoiding the pandemic out of state or out of the country.

All four included performances are paid for by NBC.

There are typically between 8,000 and 10,000 people working at the parade, but this year there will be around 1,500, according to the event’s executive producer, Susan Tercero.

Usually, millions of people arrive in Manhattan early, braving the cold and the long wait to grab a good spot to watch the parade.

This year there will be no in-person hearing and the area surrounding the course will be closed.

Giant balloons that are typically guided through the city by uniformed handlers will be pulled by utility vehicles to limit the number of people involved.

Any parade participant must also be at least 18 years of age and cannot come from outside the tri-state area.

This year, the parade will only run one block along 34th Street.  The empty commercial street pictured above during the April pandemic

This year, the parade will only run one block along 34th Street. The empty commercial street pictured above during the April pandemic

Despite the differences this year, parade organizers have ensured that Santa will make his annual appearance (pictured above at least a year) with the Rockettes

Despite the differences this year, parade organizers have ensured that Santa will make his annual appearance (pictured above at least a year) with the Rockettes

“ We always wanted to give what people expect on a Thanksgiving morning. But it will look like a parade during the Covid era: we’re going to have people in masks and we’re going to be socially left behind, ” Tercero said.

This year’s parade will be hosted by Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker and will feature a slew of celebrity appearances as usual including names like Jimmy Fallon and The Roots, Karol G, Tori Kelly, Patti LaBelle, Ella Mai, Miss America 2020 Camille Schrier, Lauren Alaina, Jimmie Allen and Noah Cyrus, Ally Brooke, Sofia Carson, CNCO, Sesame Street Actors and Muppets, Leslie Odom Jr., Keke Palmer, Dolly Parton, Pentatonix, Bebe Rexha, Jordin Sparks, Sebastián Yatra, and Brett Young.

The parade will also feature performances by talent that were supposed to happen at the canceled St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Pride March, Puerto Rican National Day Parade and the West Indian American Day Carnival Association.

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