Nutcracker...The Musical was dramatized from E. T. A. Hoffman's The Nutcracker and the Mouse King with Tschaikovsky's music arranged by Wayne Larrivey. This dramatization by Debbie Meyer gives theatres the opportunity to mount the immortal story on stage as a musical play, minus the ballerinas. However, dancing may be added if the director chooses. The fantasy elements may be spectacularly displayed or simply presented; the story and the audience's imagination will fill in any missing details. Young and mature audiences alike will love this story of the personified Nutcracker, the Mouse King, the Sugar Plum Fairies, and the other enchanting characters.

The story: When Marie's godfather gives her a toy nutcracker for Christmas, she puts it under the Christmas tree just as a mouse scampers by. As we watch, the Nutcracker grows to life-size as a handsome soldier; the mouse grows into a man-size Mouse King, and Marie is transported to the Land of the Sugarplum Fairies, where duels are fought and romance blossoms.

The ballet based on Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite is one of the world's best-loved Christmas entertainments (suitable any time of year). Tchaikovsky composed the passionate music in 1892, the year before he died.

Debbie Meyer, the producer of The Sky Is the Limit Community Theatre in Baltimore, has directed many acclaimed productions of important plays. Fascinated by Tschaikovsky's music and the plot of Hoffmann's story, she searched for a good dramatization of The Nutcracker. Finding none, she wrote her own. It was a resounding success in Baltimore, where audiences were delighted with the opportunity to see Hoffman's story and Tchaikovsky's music in play form.

Very flexible cast may be as small as 17 (many may be male or female) or as large as your stage can hold. Two acts. Set, ballroom in Act I with forest and Land of the Sugar Plum Fairies in Act 2; Costumes from the 1800's.

See also: Christmas Musicals, Adaptations of the Classics