Cheer and loathing

Photograph: Chad Batka

Adam Medway

Adam Medway has seen the Radio City Christmas Spectacular every December for the past 75 years, and he hasn’t once spotted a mistake in a performance. It’s certainly not a result of nosebleed seats—the 81-year-old New Jersey native has enjoyed a first- or second-row view since the show’s inaugural season in 1932, when he was six—so we’ll chalk up the blunder-blindness to his rose-colored appreciation for all things holidayish. “I go wild and nuts,” Medway chuckles about his enthusiasm for the season, admitting that he pretty much lives for this time of year. “I start thinking about it in July, when we make our reservations for Carmine’s.” That’s where Medway has dinner after the Spectacular, along with his two dozen guests. (Yes, two dozen: He now buys a block of 25 seats for his family and friends.) So what is it about the holidays that appeals to this cheery octogenarian, who sold Christmas trees for pocket money as a teenager and whose seventh child (of eight) was born on Christmas Day? “The show is beautiful, dazzling,” he says. “And when you walk out and see the tree, the ice skating and all the people, you feel wonderful.” All the people? Really? Including those ever-denser throngs of tourists? “You know all those people are enjoying it, too—you see their faces and it’s just great,” says Medway. “The more the merrier.” Rose-colored, indeed.

SEE IT
The 75th annual Christmas Spectacular runs through December 30. Call 212-307-1000 for tickets.

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