The House Theatre of Chicago to Present THE NUTCRACKER, 11/6-12/28

The House Theatre of Chicago brings holiday cheer with its fifth annual return of their all-original, family-friendly The Nutcracker playing at the The Chopin Theatre Upstairs Theatre, 1543 W. Division, November 6 - December 28. The book is written by Company Members Jake Minton and Phillip Klapperich with music by Kevin O'Donnell. Company Member Tommy Rapley once again reprises his role as director and choreographer of the holiday production based on the story by E.T.A. Hoffmann. Previews take place November 6 - 13 following the regular schedule, excluding matinees. The press opening is Friday, November 14 at 7:30 p.m. Regular performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m. with 3 p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sunday. Preview tickets are $15 with regular run tickets ranging from $25 - $45. Student and industry same-day discounted tickets are available for $10 for all dates, based on availability. Tickets are currently on sale and may be purchased by calling 773.769.3832 or by visiting www.thehousetheatre.com.

The House's fantastical expansion of this holiday classic centers on young Clara's journey to save Christmas. With the help of a magical nutcracker, this brave little girl will fight the Rat King and save her family. This modern holiday production weaves together riveting dialogue, astonishing puppetry, original song and spellbinding spectacle to tell a heartwarming, darkly moving story of magic and hope -- a fun outing fit for the whole family.

The House's original play version of The Nutcracker first premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre in 2007 under the Visiting Company Initiative and enjoyed highly acclaimed new productions at The House in 2010 and 2011, as well as simultaneous 2012 productions in Chicago and Miami.

The Nutcracker is adapted by Jake Minton and Phillip Klapperich from "The Nutcracker and the Mouse," a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann. The production is directed and choreographed by Tommy Rapley with original music by Kevin O'Donnell.

The cast for The Nutcracker features the return of House Company Member Michael E. Smith in the role of Monkey, and welcomes back past cast members and guest artists Ericka Ratcliff (first appearing in the premiere 2007 cast and recently seen in Rose and the Rime) as Martha/Really Scary Rat and Karl Potthoff (reprising his role from last year as Uncle Drosselmeyer/Really Quite Scary Rat). Returning guest artist Paul Fagen (last seen in 2008's The Attempters) plays David/Quite Scary Rat. Guest artists rounding out the cast include Jacklyn Hennell (Clara), Andrew Lund (Hugo the Robot), Krystal Worrell (Phoebe the Babydoll) and Shaun Baer (Fritz the Nutcracker).

Photo by Michael Brosilow

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