A quartet of singing sisters from North Tonawanda got a taste of the bright lights, the big city and the Broadway life on Dec. 12, when they shared a bill with the Rockettes at the storied Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
The Gabel sisters sing Frank Sinatra's version of "Jingle Bells."
The Gabel sisters – 14-year-old Macy, 12-year-old twins Ashlyn and Grace and 10-year-old Piper – were part of the opening program for the Christmas Spectacular starring the Radio City Rockettes, a Radio City Music Hall and New York City tradition since 1933. They were among a cast of teens and young people from 10 states chosen by Spotlight Kidz, a performing arts group that celebrates the talents of young artists aged 6 to 18. Current Broadway performers Emily Hoder and Benjamin Pajak ("The Music Man") were also among the ensemble.
During the performance, the Gabel sisters joined in an ensemble interpretation of Gordon Jenkins' arrangement of "Jingle Bells," recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1948, and a staple of holiday radio programming and playlists every year since. Lea Michele's 2019 original song "Christmas in New York" provided an apt second song for the sisters' Radio City debut.
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"I will remember this night and their performance forever," their mother, Tara Gabel, said.
The Gabel Sisters outside Radio City Music Hall in New York City, where they performed as part of the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular on Dec. 12.
The sisters, students at the Academy of Theatre Arts in Williamsville, spent several days in New York City with their parents, rehearsing for the Radio City gig, taking in the sights, and attending a Broadway production of "Hadestown."
If they seemed to take performing at the largest indoor theater in the world in stride - “It’s such a big theater, but it was surprisingly calm on stage – it wasn’t nerve-wracking, it was actually calm and we felt comfortable,” Macy said – that’s because all four girls have been working toward this moment for most of their lives.
The Gabel Sisters with the Spotlight Kidz ensemble at Radio City Music Hall on Dec. 12, 2022.
Back in the summer of 2020 when the pandemic limited live performances, the sisters took the time to deepen their craft and to fully explore their possibilities as a vocal quartet. They began using social media as an avenue to share their talents. A video of the sisters singing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” in four-part harmony – a birthday gift for their mother – caught the attention of Tony Award-winning singer and actress Laura Benanti, who signed the Gabels for her July 2020 virtual concert, “Sunshine Songs.”
“They doubled up on their voice lessons during the worst year of the pandemic, because they were so bored,” Tara Gabel said with a laugh. “That really did a lot for them. And then, because of Buffalo having such a strong film community, they were able to audition for films that were being shot regionally."
In the time since, the girls have been involved in multiple regional productions, and have even begun branching out into the world of film.
Ashlyn and Grace auditioned for the supernatural film franchise “Paranormal Activity,” and were cast as Amish sisters singing in German – something their mother said was highly appropriate, since their father is a German language teacher and their grandmother is from Germany. “When I saw that casting call, I told my husband, ‘The girls are perfect for this, I don’t care if it’s Paramount Pictures, they’re going to be in this movie,’ ” Tara Gabel said, laughing again. “He was like, ‘What???’ ”
Grace also had a sizable role in the film “Cabrini,” which was filmed last summer in Buffalo. Most of Grace’s 31 scenes in the film found her appearing alongside Virginia Bocelli, daughter of renowned Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.
Gabel Sister Grace, Macy and Ashlyn perform "Nothing Changes" from "Hadestown."
Once theaters started opening up again, the girls went back to the Academy of Theatre Arts and began working in school productions. Macy was Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz,” Piper starred in “Annie,” Grace and Ashlyn are currently involved in a school production of “Matilda the Musical,” and all four girls were in a production of the same musical at the Lockport Palace. The girls also continue to be involved with the North Tonawanda music school Matt’s Music’s Vocal Performance and Care Teams, performing many regional gigs, including at last summer’s Lewiston Jazz Festival.
Zach Carr and Kimberly Potfora, two of their teachers at Matt’s Music, traveled to New York for the Radio City show. "They sat in the third row, and were so proud of their students, which was incredibly special for the girls,” Tara Gabel said.
This wasn’t the Gabel family’s first visit to the big city. Macy sang at Carnegie Hall as a winner of the "American Protege" competition in 2016 and 2018. She also won the "Amherst Teen Idol" competition in May and "The Voice Box Competition" with guest judge Josh Vacanti (of NBC’s "The Voice" fame), in July. But things felt different this time around, as all four sisters performed together for the first time.
“It was really, really fun, and so cool, not only because we got to be on the same stage that the Tony Awards are on, but also that we got to see the show,” said Piper who, like her sisters, was left somewhat awestruck by the Broadway adventure, despite the calm and poise with which they approached the performance.
All of these experiences have opened doors for the sisters, which has in turn created “a pretty intense life” for their parents, Tara Gabel said. “With all of these auditions and call-backs and performances, for a lot of the parents we meet out there, it’s all they do,” she said. That’s not the case with the Tara and her husband, Matt, both of whom are full-time teachers.
“But we make it work," she said. "And we keep the balance tilted toward fun.”
