The New York City Rockettes have brought their famous Christmas Spectacular to the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach.

This world-famous musical treat of the season began in 1933, and has now been seen by 73 million people. Having attended the performance at Radio City Music Hall in 2011, I can say this show at the Kravis Center is even better.

This is largely due to a state-of-the-art LED screen spanning an amazing 50 feet. On it is projected the actual streets of New York City, through which a tour bus on stage appears to travel along from Radio City Music Hall to Times Square. The word “spectacular” is over-used, but in this case it fits the bill.

The large cast of characters, led by Santa himself (perfectly portrayed by Brent Bateman), performed a dozen scenes ranging from a new take on the Nutcracker ballet to a traditional performance of the Three Wise Men (in sumptuous attire) at the Nativity.

The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers was a particular favourite of the capacity crowd at the opening show on Nov. 29. The slow-motion fall backwards of a ranked mass of soldiers is a feat that is quite astonishing.

As a world-class celebration of Christmas, it doesn’t get any better than this. Performances run through Dec. 9.

For ticketing info, visit the website www.kravis.org

Photo shows the closing moments of the show at the Kravis Center.