Neighborhood News: Experience a winter miracle in Old Town’s ‘Immersive Nutcracker’
One hallmark of every holiday season is the performance of ‘The Nutcracker.’ For 130 years, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet has been a Christmas tradition everywhere.
Now, thanks to the company that gave us ‘Immersive Van Gogh’ and ‘Immersive Mozart,’ the magic that is West Town’s Lighthouse ArtSpace Chicago, 108 W. Germania PIace, brings Chicagoans ‘Immersive Nutcracker: A Winter Miracle.’ The show runs from Friday, November 24 through Sunday, January 7.
The Story of ‘The Nutcracker’
As the Chicago Loop Alliance describes it, ‘The Nutcracker’ is based on E.T.A. Hoffman’s 1816 fairy tale ‘The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.’
As Smithsonian Magazine recounts, the story involves a little girl, Marie (some who follow the ballet may know her as Clara), who, through the conjuring of her godfather, Herr Drosselmeier, is given a nutcracker doll who becomes a prince, (as well as) a Christmas tree that grows like Jack’s beanstalk, toy soldiers battling mice, and a blizzard,” wrote Laura Jacobs for Vanity Fair. “Act Two alights in the Land of Sweets, where the Sugarplum Fairy reigns.”
Sweeping music features iconic selections like “The March of the Toys” and “The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” as they are immersed in holiday wonder.
The Nutcracker has become a holiday classic, taking the form of ballets, films and more.
Expansive Technology
The Immersive Nutcracker: A Winter Miracle is the newest rendition of this timeless classic, using the latest projection mapping technology. According to their website, the 30-minute, immersive experience of whimsical animated characters alongside footage of professional ballet dancers is composed of over 1 million frames of video across 500,000 cubic feet, captivating audiences from opening scene to the epic finale.
Lighthouse Immersive was founded in 2019 by Toronto-based producers, Corey Ross and Svetlana Dvoretsky and Toronto-based developer – Slava Zheleznyakov, Lighthouse Immersive is the first experiential entertainment multi-plex, aiming to cultivate community and creativity through large-scale events and exhibitions of all art forms. For tickets and information, click here.
Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago
