On Thursday morning, my two children and I ventured downtown through the rainy mist to see a showing of Nutcracker in a Nutshell at the beautiful Louisville Palace Theater. We were among a dozen or more school groups who were visiting The Palace on field trips to see the show. The Palace was full of lads and lasses all decked out in their Christmas attire, awaiting the theatrical performance of the condensed version of the classic tale, The Nutcracker.
My children and I absolutely loved the show. From the start, the audience is captivated by the holiday gathering of friends and family, and little Clara who meets with and plays with the nutcracker doll. Clara falls asleep, and in her dreamland state, she embarks on many adventures with the Nutcracker Prince, the Rat King and his mice, the sweet Sugar Plum Fairy and the Land of Sweets, and more from the classic story. You’ll hear the familiar music of Tchaikovsky as the ballet dancers bring the story to life on stage. They are performers with the group MAGIC. Read more about that in this preview for the show.
It truly was a magical encounter, and it was our first time seeing the show. It is a perfect show for young children at a fantastic venue, the Palace Theater. Children will be drawn into the performance and the beauty of the theater itself. At just about one hour in length, it is a perfect timeframe for antsy little ones, like my young three year old little boy. He loved the sword fight between the Rat King and The Nutcracker Prince, and he loved the lights and music and the snow scene. But toward the end of the show, he was starting to get a little bit off-track and it ended at just the right time. We had an absolutely wonderful time, and it’s a great show to get your holidays rolling this weekend.
See Nutcracker in a Nutshell this Saturday, December 6th with performances at 2pm and 7pm. For ticket information, click here or call 502.583.4555. Ticket costs are $17.50 for children and $20.00 for adults.
Louisville Palace Theater is located at 626 S. Fourth Street.
Cover photo courtesy of nutcrackerinanutshell.com; others by Erin Nevitt
