The Nutcracker Suite & Spicy at The Aetna Theatre at The Wadsworth Atheneum

The Nutcracker Suite & Spicy is back at the Aetna Theatre at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford Dec. 19-21st!

It is the only immersive Nutcracker of its kind!

This fun for all ages holiday show is totally unique and features a fully immersive show with award-winning projection design that enhances and interacts with the incredible professional dancing. The story follows the holiday ballet classic-but is not your grandmother's Nutcracker. It is updated for the modern audience and features all kind of dancing from ballet to tap to hip hop to Latin ballroom!

A dancing dog, the villainous breakdancing Rats, the hilarious and high energy “Ugly Sweater Party Scene,” and the inventive and iconic “Snowball” scene all make this show special. The curtain in Act I opens on a raucous Ugly Christmas Sweater Party and the energy continues with the “SnowBall”—with dancers gliding across the stage and performing a ballet of acrobatics on large pearly white balls. Act 1 also features an eye-popping dream sequence in which dancers interact with the projections to be chased by an army of Nutcrackers and magically manipulate the falling snow with their movements.

Act II takes us to the Sugar Rum’s Club of Sweet Temptations, where cocktails from around the world dance their unique flavors, led by the sassy, male hip-hop Sugar Rum, again brilliantly portrayed by acclaimed CT-based dancer PopT art. There is also a brawl between the breakdancing Club Rats and the Tap Dancing Soldiers and of course the signature Florettes, who perform a Rockettes-inspired Waltz of the Flowers.

With a cast of world class professional dancers and a compilation of music inspired by Tchaikovsky’s original score, “The Nutcracker Suite & Spicy” breathes new life, imagination, and technology into the timeless tale.

The production is created and choreographed by Carolyn Paine. Projection Design by Emmy-winning filmmaker Ryan Glista of The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts. Lighting Design by Robyn Joyce.

See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQWz5K3b_Qo

Performances

Dec. 19 and 20 at 7pm

Dec. 21 at 2pm