Theater for the New City - Nutcracker: Rated R

Angela Harriell, David F. Slone, Esq. and Theater for the New City present

NUTCRACKER: RATED R
A Full Length Modern Ballet

Returning for its Fourth Year at Theater for the New City,
December 17 - January 2

NEW PERFORMANCES ADDED!
SATURDAY, JANUARY 2, 2010 at 3pm and 8pm!

After the last three years' sold-out runs, Nutcracker: Rated R returns for its fourth season! This year the show is on a bigger stage than ever with an all new set, plus exciting new choreography including a beautiful ribbon dance by Katrin "Lucy" Hoffmann of the 1996 German Olympic Rhythm Gymnastics Team!

Nutcracker: Rated R cracks open the heart of the classic children’s ballet to uncover drugs, sex, family secrets and all the other delights that make the Holidays so special. Little ballerina Clara is now a rebellious teen. Her disdain for her bourgeois family is challenged when her uncle Drosselmeyer takes her back in time to early 1980s New York. There, she discovers the seamy underground club scene and her family's untold history. Echoes of the original Tchaikovsky score mix with contemporary, unexpected beats to complement a range of movement from ballet to breakdance and burlesque. Ms. Harriell's interpretation is a dark, witty and satirical homage to (and cautionary tale about) the excesses of nightlife.

Critics have raved about Nutcracker: Rated R for the past three years:

“It sure isn't your New York City Ballet Nutcracker, but it's a hell of a lot more fun... classic elegance peppered with contemporary grit.” -- Kerri Allen, Backstage.com

"...the brilliant Angela Harriell...could be the next Susan Stroman." -- Richmond Shepard, Performing Arts INSIDER, totaltheater.com and lively-arts.com

and

“Angela Harriell has created a unique and intriguing work that is at once an elegant homage to Tchaikovsky’s original, a sly send up of New York in the 1980s and today, and a showcase for her considerable talents as a choreographer and dramatist and her cast as dancers and actors.” -- Byrne Harrison, Stagebuzz.com

Angela Harriell is an accomplished choreographer, crafting dance numbers with narratives that are simultaneously autobiographical and universal. A graduate of Fredonia University, she has worked with Elisa Monte and David Brown dance, Randy James Danceworks, and Binghamton University. Since moving to New York and founding The Love Show in 2002, Angela’s work has been seen at The Flea Theater, HERE theater, The New York Burlesque Festival, White Wave Dance Festival, The Philly Fringe Festival’s Late Night Cabaret, and different nightclubs throughout New York. She has also set and directed two Off-Off-Broadway productions, the most recent, Nutcracker: Rated R, selling out runs in 2006, 2007 and 2008. A piece from the show was selected to be presented at the National Arts Club, where Angela performed as part of a special gala with such luminaries as Elaine Stritch, Tammy Grimes, Charles Busch and Julie Halston. Angela recently finished a stint performing as a Hammerstein Beauty at Simon Hammerstein’s notorious downtown supper club, The Box, as well as runs with Brooklyn Ballet, Brooklyn Repertory Opera and Opéra Français de New York. She has been spotted amongst the glitterati in the pages of Patrick McMullan’s website. Angela has also appeared in several television and music video spots, with the most recent being an ABC Primetime documentary on connections in the dance world. Angela has performed with such legendary recording artists as Gloria Gaynor, Shannon, France Joli, Peaches and Herb, Sugar Hill Gang, The Trammps and Bonnie Pointer.

The cast, comprised of dancers who have performed at venues that run the gamut from The Box to The Metropolitan Opera, includes Jennifer Carlson, Hyosun Choi, Sarah Conrad, Amy Daulton, Gregory Dubin, Glenn Giron, Eddie Gutierrez, Angela Harriell, Denis Hyland, Valton Jackson, Christina Johnson, Rachael Ma., Michael MacLaren, Joseph Schles, Ryan Schmidt, David F. Slone, Esq., Juliana Smith, and Clare Tobin.

Theater for the New City is a Pulitzer Prize-winning community cultural center known for its high artistic standards and widespread community service. Its Presenting Program provides a showcase for performing groups without a permanent base. Mabou Mines, the Living Theater, Bread and Puppet Theater, and the TEBA Group, are among the companies that have been presented by TNC.

December 17–31. Mondays-Saturdays: 8pm. Saturdays: 3pm. $20 Adult. $15 Student/Senior. (Saturday matinée special: pay- what-you-will.) No shows on December 24, 25.

Running time: 90 minutes.

For more information and a video montage of the first season's production, please visit: http://www.nutcrackerratedr.com
To hear clips from the score, visit our MySpace profile: http://www.myspace.com/nutcrackerratedr
High-resolution images available at: http://www.nutcrackerratedr.com/nutcrackerratedr/hires/index.htm