Audience: Praise for the Splendor, Shame for the New York Times (Photos)

By Minghui correspondent Su Qing from New York

(Clearwisdom.net) The last performance of the Chinese New Year Splendor drew to a close amidst thunderous applause at Radio City Music Hall the evening of February 9, 2008.

Last performance of the 2008 Chinese New Year Splendor at Radio City Music Hall

The audience's spirit was not dampened by a deliberately misleading article in the New York Times published on February 6, 2008. A long line of people waited outside the box office to pick up their reserved tickets. The theater was packed, and the audience broke into cheers and warm applause at the end of each program.

Minghui reporter Su Qing interviewed a few audience members during intermission and after the show.

Martial arts instructor: "Shame on them!"

Martial arts instructor Andrew Stigliano and his friend, Michelle Kelly, couldn't wait to share their delight in the show. They said, "I loved it!" "The programs were terrific!"

Michelle Kelly said the Splendor was far better than she had expected

When asked what impressed them the most, Stigliano said, "The whole culture; dance, music, everything was perfect!" Kelly said, "The color, music, dance--all of them were great!"

Mr. Stigliano and Ms. Kelly learned about the show through a TV commercial. When asked whether the show had met their expectations, they answered emphatically, "Far better, so much better, absolutely!!"

They did not know much about Chinese culture and wanted to learn more, and said the show was very helpful in this regard.

When asked if they had read the New York Times article, they replied, "Shame on them! Shame on them!" Andrew added, "The show was excellent!"

Veteran TV producer: "The show is very much worth watching"

A 27-year veteran of the television industry, George Cauttero is an accomplished producer, director, writer, and lecturer. He was a long time member of the Media Communications Association (MCA) and four-term director of the New York MCA. When asked what he thought about the show, he said, "It's very interesting to watch, very colorful, very beautiful. It's very entertaining. I like it. I didn't know anything about Chinese culture; this is a good introduction." He didn't recall seeing the Times article but he said the show is "very much worth watching."

Retired businesswoman: "They are wrong; it's a beautiful show"

Kathy Brand called the Splendor "magnificent," and "beautiful."

Kathy Brand is a retired businesswoman. She told the reporter, "We've been trying to see the show for a while, and we bought the best seats for tonight. I adopted two Asian daughters and I've been trying to get them to come, but they have other things to do. This is so beautiful; it's really magnificent. I hope they continue to do this every year because we'd come back every year."

"I saw it on television. The costumes, the music, the singing, they are all beautiful, I will tell my friends, 'The show is magnificent! Go see it!'"

When asked if she had seen the New York Times article, she said no, but when she was told what the article was about, she immediately said, "I think they are wrong, it's a beautiful show!"

Long Island University librarian: "They don't know what they are talking about"

"Excellent, excellent!"

"Magnificent! Wonderful! Very educational."

"What impressed me the most was the way they did the backgrounds. The costumes are beautiful and magnificent, the singing is beautiful."

"The colors of the costumes are incredible!"

Long Island University librarian Hugh Mahoney and his family poured out praise for the show after it ended.

When the reporter asked whether they could understand the Chinese lyrics, they said, "We could see [the English translation] on the backdrop, you could get the emotion."

The Mahoneys first learned about the Splendor on the campus bulletin at Long Island University. Later they saw an introduction and decided to see it.

They said the Splendor was excellent and they had not read the New York Times article. Mr. Mahoney said, "That's the New York Times--they don't know what they are talking about."

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/2/10/172186.html

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