A FAIRYTALE REBORN ON THE SOUTH SIDE

Wheeldon’s Chicago-set Nutcracker still casts a decade-long spell

Ten years in, Pyotr Tchaikovsky and the World’s Columbian Exposition are still a match made in ballet heaven.

It’s December 24, 1892, in Jackson Park, a working-class neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. A young girl (Amanda Assucena), accompanied by her bratty younger brother (Alan Ruesch), heads back to her humble home, where her mother (Gayeon Jung), a sculptor, prepares for Christmas Eve. Guests trickle in bearing gifts, food, and wine. A fiddle appears, music fills the air, and dancing begins. Then, with a blast of fanfare, Daniel Burnham—er, a mysterious figure known only as The Impresario (Stefan Gonçalvez)—arrives, his apprentice Peter (Hyuma Kiyosawa) in tow. Presents are distributed, none more thrilling than the final gift: Marie’s beautiful nutcracker doll.

The Joffrey Ballet Ensemble and Children's CastThe Joffrey Ballet Ensemble

Thus begins Christopher Wheeldon’s richly reimagined Nutcracker for The Joffrey Ballet—now at the Lyric Opera House, a full decade after its first unveiling. Wheeldon relocates the action to Chicago during the Christmas Eve preceding the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. It’s an elegant shift that allows designer Julian Crouch enormous freedom with the set pieces. But the most affecting change is domestic: Marie’s family is no longer wealthy but working-class, her single mother doing everything she can to raise two children. The emotional stakes rise sharply. When Marie’s nutcracker breaks, her grief lands differently—we feel the full weight of a child who gets exactly one gift a year, and rarely one so extraordinary. And in this production, magical.

Amanda Assucena and Hyuma Kiyosawa

And magical really is the word. Big, vibrant, and stunning, the production had me grinning like a fool for nearly two hours. Honestly? The delight began even before curtain, watching kids and kids-at-heart rush up to the pit to see the musicians tune. The air practically fizzed with anticipation. It’s a minor miracle that, in its tenth year, this Nutcracker remains as enchanting as ever.

The Joffrey Ballet EnsembleGayeon Jung, Stefan Gonçalvez, Amanda Assucena, and Hyuma Kiyosawa

With a story by Brian Selznick (The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Wonderstruck), the classic tale is tweaked only slightly. After the party, Marie goes to bed and dreams the nutcracker into a prince. She awakens to a glorious battle between rats led by the Rat King and tin soldiers led by the Prince. The Rat King falls; the rats retreat. Marie and the Prince fall in love in a luminous pas de deux, the colors of the set shifting gently until snowflakes encircle them. It is as close to a fairy-tale tableau as one is likely to witness onstage.

Jeraldine Mendoza and Dylan Gutierrez

The snow parts to reveal a ship captained by the Impresario, who whisks the pair away to a magical land: the Chicago World’s Fair. Here, the Sugar Plum Fairy becomes the Statue of the Republic brought to life, and the pavilions of the Fair create a clever structure for the Act II divertissements—foods and dances from around the world. The Arabian variation earns pride of place, judging by applause and sheer spectacle. Across the board, the dancing dazzles, and the Lyric Opera Orchestra under Scott Speck does Tchaikovsky proud.

Yumi Kanazawa, Nae Kojima, Ao WangStefan Gonçalvez and Gayeon Jung

When Marie wakes, she is back in her modest cottage. Her brother is still an imp, but the table is set for a humble Christmas meal. The Impresario and Peter arrive, and as Marie retrieves her newly mended nutcracker, the family sits to breakfast. The elaborate dream dissolves, yet none of it compares with the simple richness of a family gathered together on a snowy Christmas morning.

Amanda Assucena, Stefan Gonçalvez and Gayeon Jung

Note: All dancers mentioned are from the opening-night performance on Friday, December 6. The Joffrey rotates dancers through the principal roles over the run. See schedule.

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photos by Cheryl Mann

Christopher Wheeldon’s The Nutcracker
The Joffrey Ballet
Lyric Opera House, 20 North Upper Wacker Drive
ends on December 29, 2025
for tickets, call 312.386.8905 or visit Joffrey

for more shows, visit Theatre in Chicago

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Amanda Assucena, Stefan Gonçalvez, Gayeon Jung, and Alan Ruesch