NJ Ballet’s Nutcracker with NJSO returns to MPAC in Morristown

New Jersey Ballet’s celebrated Nutcracker featuring the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra returns to the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown tonight, with 14 performances from December 9–24. Ballet and live music come together to bring Tchaikovsky’s beloved work to life.

“The music is so fabulous,” Nutcracker conductor Gary S. Fagin tells The Daily Record, “[that you come back] looking forward to it each year.”

Highlighting some of the ballet’s most well-known themes, like “The Nutcracker March,” “The Waltz of the Flowers” and “The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” The Daily Record writes:

Perhaps the element that most captivates Fagin is the fact that he is playing live for the accomplished dancers of the New Jersey Ballet ... He said he also appreciates the acoustics of the Mayo PAC. “Musicians are sensitive to their environment. We love the Mayo Center. The volume and the size of the space works beautifully for us.” ...

“The Nutcracker” has become one of the company’s most anticipated productions each season, according to New Jersey Ballet founder and artistic director Carolyn Clark.

“It’s wonderful to dance with a live orchestra,” Clark said. “We’re very happy with this arrangement, and we’re very pleased to be at the Mayo PAC.”

Fagin feels that audiences will continue to support the collaboration between the ballet and the orchestra on “The Nutcracker.” “It’s a live acoustic performance,” he said. “There’s nothing like it in the world. That’s what makes it special.”

» Read the full story at www.dailyrecord.com.

» NJArts.net: Nutcracker opening performances among weekend's top NJ arts events

This year marks the 46th anniversary of New Jersey Ballet’s Nutcracker, making it the longest running original professional production in the state. The production debuted in Millburn in 1971; the company has since given approximately 800 performances throughout New Jersey for more than a million viewers.