Houston Ballet Presents: The Nutcracker

A classic Christmas fairytale about a girl named Clara who is at a Christmas Eve party with her brother Fritz and her mother and father who are celebrating with family and friends until the mystifying godfather Herr Drosselmeyer enters the room with a large bag full of gifts for all of the children. He presents Clara with her gift after all of the other children have gotten their presents. He gives her a toy Nutcracker, and when Fritz sees her new gift he is jealous and breaks her toy. Drosselmeyer fixes the toy for her and when the party ends, everyone goes to sleep except for Clara. Once the clock strikes midnight, she hears the sound of mice and the Christmas tree begins to grow bigger and bigger, and the Nutcracker comes to life and a battle commences between the Mouse King and the Nutcracker.

This is where the fairytale really gets started, and the Houston Ballet will be performing this holiday piece from now until December 27th. The ballet features a forty-foot Christmas tree, 200 pounds of “snow”, and even the firing of a canon on the stage. The costumes in the production were designed by Tony Award-winning designer Desmond Heeley, and directed by Ben Stevenson.

Evening performances begin at 7:30 pm, and matinees begin at 2:00 pm.

Performances will be held at the Brown Theater at Wortham Theater Center

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Photo credit: adjustafresh