Ordway Center for the Performing Arts Presents THE HIP HOP NUTCRACKER

The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts is excited to present a return engagement of The Hip Hop Nutcracker, a holiday mash-up for the entire family, Nov. 22-23. The show returns to the Ordway after a near sell-out run in Nov. 2015. Tickets for The Hip Hop Nutcracker start at $24 and can be purchased online at www.ordway.org, by phone at 651-224-4222 or in-person at the Ordway ticket office.

Directed and choreographed by Jennifer Weber, The Hip Hop Nutcracker is an evening-length production performed by a supercharged cast of a dozen all-star dancers, DJ and violinist. Through the spells cast by the mysterious Drosselmeyer, Maria-Clara and her Nutcracker prince travel back in time to the moment when her parents first meet in a nightclub. Digital scenery transforms E.T.A. Hoffmann's story of a palace of sugarplums into a romance set in 1980s Brooklyn. The dance work celebrates love, community and the magic of New Year's Eve.

Special guest MC Kurtis Blow, one of hip hop's founding fathers, will appear as the special guest MC, opening the show with a short set before rapping the introduction to The Hip Hop Nutcracker.

The cast includes Ann-Sylvia Clark as Maria, Yorelis Apolinario as Mom, JD Rainey as Dad and SHEStreet as Drosselmeyer. Rounding out the cast are Randi Fleckenstine, Richard Flores, Liliana Frias, Illjaz Jusufi, Alex Laya, Maria Malstrom and Evan Moody. The creative team includes Andrew Diaz (set), Whitney Anne Adams (costumes), Burke Wilmore (lighting), Moe Shahrooz (video design) and DJ Boo (performance DJ).

The Hip Hop Nutcracker is produced by the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. For tickets and more information, visit www.ordway.org.