The Marriott Theatre’s children’s production of The Nutcracker is a fantastic experience for young theatergoers. While The Nutcracker that many of us grew up with is the ballet composed by Tchaikovsky, this play is an ideal mix of adventure, entertaining characters, music and dance – the perfect combination for keeping the little ones engaged while introducing them to this classic story.
In this production, we meet Marie and her brother Fritz on Christmas, where they are waiting for dinner with their parents. When their Uncle Drosselmeyer arrives, they are each given a very special gift. These gifts, which Marie cares for, lead us into a fantasy world on an adventure. With her friends Clara, the Soldier and the Nutcracker, Marie must try to reach the Sugar Plum Fairy before the evil Mouse King gets there first. This fun fantasy land is full of glittery penguins, a beautiful snow queen, toys that come to life and a grand performance where we see Clara’s friends perform beautiful dance numbers to classic Tchaikovsky’s music.
One of the things that I have always enjoyed most about the children’s productions at the Marriott Theatre is how they truly play to the youngest audience while continuing to provide a superior quality production. The costumes, lighting, and sets are always on-par with something that they would do on the main stage. The cast is always extremely talented, full of professional singers and actors, but also personalities that naturally look to engage and entertain the children. When you have a love of the theatre and want to help your kids to develop that love as well, this is the kind of performance that will encourage it to blossom. And to top everything off, the actors spend ten minutes after each show having a question and answer session with the kids. This is one to see!
Marriott Theatre: The Nutcracker Chicago Review – The Nutcracker is playing at Marriott Theatre through 12/30/16. Tickets can be purchased at a discount through Goldstar or by calling (847) 634-0200. Marriott Theatre is located at 10 Marriott Drive in Lincolnshire.
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