The Hip Hop Nutcracker, a contemporary work set to Tchaikovsky’s timeless music, embarks on an international tour on the strength of last December’s sold-out performances of the world premiere at New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) and United Palace of Cultural Arts (UPCA) in New York City. The Hip Hop Nutcracker will make a stop at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre Saturday, Nov. 28 at 2 p.m.
Tickets, priced at $25.50, $35.50, $55.50 and $75.50, go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 29 (tomorrow) at www.FoxTheatre.org, by calling 855-285-8499, or at the Fox Theatre Ticket Office. Discounted tickets are available for groups of 10 or more by calling 404-881-2000.
The inaugural tour, produced by NJPAC, spans 11 American cities starting in November – Atlanta, Miami, St. Paul, Minn. and Charlotte, N.C., among them – before concluding with a three-city tour of Russia, including Moscow, from Jan. 12-17, 2016.
The Hip Hop Nutcracker is directed and choreographed by Jennifer Weber, artistic director of the all-female hip-hop crew Decadancetheatre in Brooklyn. It is adapted to today’s New York by Mike Fitelson, executive director of UPCA – the work’s original producer – and includes hip-hop interludes remixed and reimagined by DJ Boo and violinist Filip Pogády.
For its stop at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre on Saturday, Nov. 28, The Hip Hop Nutcracker features special guest MC Kurtis Blow, one of the founders and creators of recorded rap music.
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 prince, Myron, 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.
Virgil Gadson and Megan “Megz” Alfonso, dancers from last year’s cast of The Hip Hop Nutcracker, are currently competing as top finalists in So You Think You Can Dance, the hit series on Fox television.
Other members of the creative team include Andrew Diaz (set), Whitney Adams (costumes), Burke Wilmore (lighting) and Moe Shahrooz (video design).
The following is an itinerary of The Hip Hop Nutcracker tour:
NOVEMBER
19-21: United Palace of Cultural Arts, New York City
24-25: Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, St. Paul, Minn.
28: Fox Theatre, Atlanta
29: Ritz Theatre, Jacksonville, Fla.
DECEMBER
2: Ferguson Center for the Arts, Newport News, Va.
3: Strathmore, North Bethesda, Md.
5-6: Studio Theater at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Miami
17: North Charleston Performing Arts Center, North Charleston, S.C.
19: New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, N.J.
21: Proctors, Schenectady, N.Y.
29-Jan. 3: Booth Playhouse at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, Charlotte, N.C.
JANUARY 2016
12-13: Regional Drama Theatre, Kaliningrad, Russia
15-16: Moscow Stanislavsky Theater, Moscow
17: Concert Hall, Voronezh
This sounds like a really fun twist to a classic story we all know and love. Telling a background story where the little girl’s parents first meet at a nightclub? With the backdrop being 1980s Brooklyn? This sounds so creative and exciting. We’re glad tickets go on-sale tomorrow!