Wed 12/4 @ 7PM
When something becomes a predictable staple, whether it’s a Shakespeare play or a holiday standby like The Nutcracker, it inevitably produces new takes to freshen it up.
We’ll be seeing a flood of Nutcrackers starting this week, many of them fairly traditional. But if you’d like something more adventurous and modern, check out The Hip Hop Nutcracker, coming to the Connor Palace Theatre at Playhouse Square for one performance.
The production was directed and choreographed by Tony-nominated Jennifer Weber, bending and upending the familiar Tchaikovsky music to support high-energy, athletic hip hop dance. The cast features a dozen dancers, a DJ, a violinist and, of all people, emcee Kurtis Blow, a hip hop pioneer who was the first to sign with a major label and the first to have a gold record, with his 1980 track “The Breaks.” He’ll open the evening with a short set.
The story is basically the same but instead of being set in the usual European-style drawing room, it uses digital graffiti to create a backdrop on modern-day New York City. Go here for tickets.
Cleveland, OH 44115