MPAC, NJ Ballet and NJSO to collaborate on Nutcracker
14 performances from December 11–December 26, 2015
(Morristown)—New Jersey Ballet’s 45th-anniversary season presentation of the holiday classic Nutcracker will feature musical accompaniment by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. The collaboration marks the first time that MPAC, New Jersey’s leading ballet company and symphony orchestra have worked together to present the seasonal favorite in Morristown.
Fourteen performances of Nutcracker will take place at Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) from December 11–December 26, 2015. Tickets are $29–$69. Tickets go on sale to the public on Monday, June 15, at 9 am at www.mayoarts.org.
“Adding the prestige of New Jersey Symphony Orchestra to the artistry of New Jersey Ballet is sure to make the 45th anniversary of Nutcracker a memorable event for all who attend,” says Allison Larena, President and CEO of MPAC. “There will be extra magic in the air when two of the state’s most acclaimed artistic organizations collaborate, along with MPAC, for this must-see holiday experience.”
"We’re looking forward to the 45th season of our holiday classic, and we’re especially delighted that the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra is joining us at the Mayo Performing Arts Center to create this powerful collaboration of three great New Jersey cultural institutions," adds Carolyn Clark, Director of New Jersey Ballet.
NJSO President & CEO James Roe says: “The New Jersey Ballet has presented its stellar Nutcracker production for 45 years, and we are proud to partner with this fine arts institution—as well as the Mayo Performing Arts Center, one of New Jersey’s finest arts venues—for this year’s performances. The magical combination of live music and dance in this Christmas classic will make for truly special, festive experiences for audiences and performers alike.”
“What makes the New Jersey arts community so special is the degree to which we all work together for the good of everybody,” says Nick Paleologos, Executive Director of the NJ State Council on the Arts. “This production of Nutcracker literally embodies that unique spirit of cooperation. Put one of New Jersey’s world-class dance companies together with its finest symphony orchestra, inside our most recently (and beautifully) renovated performing arts center, and you have a match made in heaven! Congratulations to our longtime grantees: the New Jersey Ballet, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and the Mayo Performing Arts Center for this very special collaboration—and yet another shining example of how excellent and often groundbreaking work continues to put Jersey Arts on the map!”
New Jersey Ballet’s Nutcracker is the longest-running original professional production in the state. It debuted in Millburn in 1971 with international star of New York City Ballet Edward Villella as the Cavalier. Since then, the company has given approximately 800 performances in theatres throughout New Jersey, with more than 5,000 dancers and children, and more than a million viewers. Many in the audience who saw the production as children now bring their own children and grandchildren to see this cherished holiday tradition.
New Jersey Ballet’s Nutcracker at MPAC will feature the NJSO under the baton of Gary S. Fagin. When the curtain rises, audiences in Morristown can expect the eye-popping special effects, brilliant dancing, glorious costumes and the magic and pantomime that have inspired critics to call it “A spectacle that never seems to age…magic that should go on and on,” and “One of the best…as good as it gets.”
About NEW JERSEY BALLET
This season, New Jersey Ballet marks its 56th year as New Jersey’s premier classical ballet company. It performs in nine venues from Bergen to Cape May and has performed internationally with tours to Russia, Taiwan, Bermuda, Italy and India. Its programs have introduced countless children and adults to the magic of dance theatre and inspired in many a lifelong love of the arts. The company’s extensive performance schedule is made possible in part by support from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and by other generous corporate, foundation and individual contributors. New Jersey Ballet has been designated a Major Arts Institution by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for “artistic excellence, substantial programming and broad public service,” and is a three-time winner of the title New Jersey’s Favorite Dance Company. For more information and a complete performance schedule, please visit New Jersey Ballet’s website at www.njballet.org.
About THE NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Named “a vital, artistically significant musical organization” by The Wall Street Journal, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra embodies that vitality through its statewide presence and critically acclaimed performances, education partnerships and unparalleled access to music and the Orchestra’s superb musicians. Under the bold leadership of Music Director Jacques Lacombe, the NJSO presents classical, pops and family programs, as well as outdoor summer concerts and special events. Embracing its legacy as a statewide orchestra, the NJSO is the resident orchestra of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark and regularly performs at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, Richardson Auditorium in Princeton, Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown and bergenPAC in Englewood. Partnerships with New Jersey arts organizations, universities and civic organizations remain a key element of the Orchestra’s statewide identity. In addition to its lauded artistic programming, the NJSO presents a suite of education and community engagement programs that promote meaningful, lifelong engagement with live music. For more information about the NJSO, visit www.njsymphony.org or email information@njsymphony.org. Tickets are available for purchase by phone 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476) or on the Orchestra’s website.
About MPAC:
Mayo Performing Arts Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, presents a wide range of programs that entertain, enrich and educate the diverse population of the region and enhance the economic vitality of Northern New Jersey. The 2015–16 season is made possible, in part, by a grant the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as support received from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, F.M. Kirby Foundation and numerous corporations, foundations and individuals. The Mayo Performing Arts Center has been designated a Major Presenting Organization by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
Nutcracker performances at MPAC:
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Friday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 pm
- Saturday, Dec. 12 at 1 pm
- Saturday, Dec. 12 at 6 pm
- Sunday, Dec. 13 at 1 pm
- Sunday, Dec. 13 at 6 pm
- Friday, Dec. 18 at 7:30 pm
- Saturday, Dec. 19 at 1 pm
- Saturday, Dec. 19 at 6 pm
- Sunday, Dec. 20 at 1 pm
- Sunday. Dec. 20 at 6 pm
- Wednesday, Dec. 23 at 7 pm
- Thursday, Dec. 24 at 1 pm
- Saturday, Dec. 26 at 1 pm
- Saturday, Dec. 26 at 6 pm
Mayo Performing Arts Center
100 South St., Morristown, NJ 07960
box office (973) 539-8008
online: www.mayoarts.org
fax 973.455.1607 / admin 973.539.0345, ext. 6505
All Programs Subject to Change.
PHOTOS AND INTERVIEWS FURNISHED UPON REQUEST
PRESS CONTACTS
MPAC: Ed Kirchdoerffer, 973.539.0345, x. 6505; edk@mayoarts.org
NJSO: Victoria McCabe: 973.735.1715; vmcabe@njsymphony.org
NJ Ballet: Nancy Hartmann: 973.597.9600; nancy.hartmann@njballet.org
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