#PickoftheWeek | Live Theater Returns to Queens with a Former Rockette’s Dance-Filled Autobiography

Lillian Colón rose from a difficult childhood to become the first Latina Rockette at Radio City Music Hall. Luckily, she’s happy to tell – and dance – her story.

Thalía Spanish Theatre will present Lilly live and in person ─ hooray! ─ from Friday, April 9, to Sunday, April 25.

With lively music, smooth moves, and some carefully placed humor, Colón stars in her one-woman-show. On stage, she conveys how faceless bureaucrats snatched the Bronx native from her Puerto Rican mother’s arms and placed her in the care of Catholic nuns in an orphanage when she was only four years old due to her father’s increasing violence. Nothing was going to stop her from becoming a Rockette, though, and lucky for her, her determination was matched by her beauty and ability to perform eye-high kicks.

Colón graduates from Manhattan’s LaGuardia High School and finds gigs in musicals on Broadway and in other places, despite the constant rejections that characterize the entertainment industry and other setbacks. Eventually, she beats out hundreds of others during an audition with the Rockettes and keeps the job for most of the 1990s. (She actually returns to Radio City after giving birth to work with the wardrobe crew.)

Tickets are $20 each, and performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 4 pm.

Located at 41-17 Greenpoint Ave. in Sunnyside, Thalía has space for about 75 patrons at a time, but it’ll operate at 33 percent capacity during this run to comply with safety guidelines. Seating will be spread out, and masks will be obligatory.

Images: Lillian Colón Facebook