'Nutcracker' Returns To Chopin Stage

The House Theatre of Chicago is bringing an updated take on a Christmas classic to Wicker Park's Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St., for the third year in a row with this year's production of The Nutcracker.

While the show is based on the same source material as the iconic Russian ballet—E.T.A. Hoffmann's novella The Nutcracker and the Mouse King—it implements original music and a more contemporary take on the tale to create a more intimate and human story, according to House Theatre Director of Audience Development Chelsea Keenan.

In this version of the story, a young girl named Clara and her family are awaiting the return of Clara's brother Fritz, a soldier, for the family's Christmas party, only to learn that Fritz has died in the war. The next Christmas, the family has lost its holiday spirit and is still in mourning when Clara's uncle gives her a toy nutcracker that looks exactly like Fritz.

"Like the ballet, all her toys, including the Nutcracker, come to life, and she goes on adventures with them of baking cookies and trying to regain her Christmas spirit," Keenan said. "But she's doing it with the help of her now-older brother come back to see her. So we see them go on that journey together, instead of her going on that journey with just the toys."

The House version of The Nutcracker also features original music by Kevin O'Donnell with lyrics by Jake Minton and custom puppets made by designer Dan Kerr-Hobart. The show was originally mounted at The Steppenwolf Theatre in 2007 as part of its visiting company initiative and was remounted at the Chopin Theatre every year since 2010 with a script and design elements that are continually being reworked and updated, according to Keenan.

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"We've evolved that same production from 2010 both last year and this year, so what's great is that we get to invest more resources and, of course, artistic meaning into it every year because we get to revisit it," she said. "So it's not like we put it up once and we go, 'Oh, it would have been great if XYZ,' we actually get the opportunity to act on those things and make them better each year."

The show is recommended for ages five and up, and while Keenan said she's seen children as young as three or four see it and have a good time, she said there are a few things parents with very young children should be aware of before bringing them to see it. The show has a runtime of two hours, which could present problems for very young kids, and there are some dark moments during the show's climax that may frighten some children.

"It certainly is for families and it's very family-friendly, and I would say anybody 8 and up is going to be just fine," Keenan said. "It's not super scary, and it's certainly nothing not appropriate for children. But it's not short, and it's dark and scary at a part."

The Nutcracker has become an annual part of the company's production schedule, and Keenan said that, given the amount of support the show sees from audiences, it's likely to continue as such.

"It's definitely a tradition for us," Keenan said. "And we are hearing from lots of families that it's becoming theirs as well, so that's nice to hear."

The Nutcracker opened on Nov. 18 and runs through Dec. 30. For tickets, showtimes and more information, see The House Theatre's website.