Nutcracker - The New Jersey Civic Youth Ballet - Centenary Stage Company (CSC)

The Centenary Stage Company will present The New Jersey Civic Youth Ballet's (NJCYB) performances of the annual Nutcracker this year in the David and Carol Lackland Center in Hackettstown. With a cast of 60 talented dancers from Morris, Sussex and Warren Counties, The NJCYB's Nutcracker is unique because it's narrated by Janine Byrnes who tells the story from the perspective of young Clara Stahlbaum.

In this dramatic presentation, the audience is invited to Dr. And Mrs. Stahlbaum's Christmas Party. As the theater darkens, and some of the world's most beautiful music plays, Ms. Byrnes takes the audience on a storybook adventure. Clara's Godfather presents his magic show of dancing dolls enchanting the children who attend the party. He has gifts for all, but one touches the young Clara's heart, an ugly Nutcracker. As Clara falls asleep under the beautiful Christmas tree, the noise of mice wake her. To save Clara, the Nutcracker and his army battle the giant Mouse King. The Nutcracker turns into a handsome prince, and takes a grown-up Clara through the enchanted forest into the land of Christmas. "This is the most enchanting fairy tale of a child's most unforgettable Christmas," says NJCYB Director, Christine Taylor, "Through Ms. Byrne's narration, young children understand a fanciful story, while the rest of us realize that his is truly a story of life, love and the holiday spirit."

The role of Clara will be shared by Emily Pesce (Mt. Olive) and Lilla Smith (Washington). Both dancers have performed in the Nutracker for years but this marks their first appearance as Clara. The role of Fritz will be performed by Hadley DeGregoris (Independence) and Emelia Belet (Belvidere). Guest performer Matt Varvar and partner Alexandra Dresser join the company this year to dance the Arabian Dolls and Parents. Varvar currently performs with MM2 a modern dance company in the Philadelphia area. Guest artists Kirk Henning and Elisabeth Holowchuk Sollog, from the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, in Washington, D.C. will dance the roles of Sugar Plum Fairy, Cavalier, and Godfather Drosselmeyer.

Schedule
New Jersey Civic Youth Ballet's narrated version of the Nutcracker will be performed:
   Fri., Dec. 14, 2012 / 7pm
   Sat., Dec. 15, 2012 / 2pm and 7pm
   Sun., Dec. 16, 2012 / 3pm

Location
Sitnik Theater of the Lackland Center
On the Campus of Centenary College
715 Grand Avenue, Hackettstown, NJ
Directions Directions-Print Copy

Tickets
Tickets are available through the Centenary Stage Company box office by calling 908-979-0900, and online using our Secure Online Tickets/Ordering System.

$25.00 Orchestra
$22.50 Balcony
$15 for children under 10 seated anywhere in the theatre

The Centenary Stage Company has found its new home with construction the Carol and David Lackland Center (located at 715 Grand Ave, Hackettstown), completed in August, 2010. With a 22,000-square-foot performance space, the facility is the most sophisticated performing arts venues in northwest New Jersey. The center includes a new state-of-the-art 500-seat theatre (Sitnik Theater), a black box theater (The Edith Bolte Kutz ’42 Theater), a dance studio, scene shop, a costume shop, green room and dressing rooms. In addition to housing the theatre, the 68K square foot Lackland Center is home to a variety of cultural activity, and including WNTI, the College's listener-supported public radio station, CCTV, Centenary's Comcast-licensed television studio, and gallery space for visual artists.

Named in honor of Carol Burgess Lackland, A Centenary graduate (Class of 1954), and her husband, David A. Lackland, a Centenary College Trustee, The David and Carol Lackland Center, has been designed to enrich student life and bring new cultural opportunities to northwest New Jersey. ...more (including photos, progress reports, and 'Tour Lackland with Carl')

Secure Online Tickets/Ordering

Performances at CSC are made possible through the generous support of The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Platinum season sponsor - Heath Village Retirement Community (the CSC 2011 Platinum sponsor), Panther Valley Pharmacy, Helga and Ed Coyne, Hackettstown Regional Medical Center, The Residence Inn- Marriott Mt Olive, Fulton Bank of New Jersey and Centenary Stage Company Members and Sponsors.