Roxey Ballet’s production of Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” returns to The College of New Jersey this holiday season, marking the company’s 31st year presenting the holiday tradition in the region.
The production opens Thanksgiving weekend at Kendall Hall and continues through Sunday, Dec. 6.
The return also marks the beginning of a new long-term partnership between Roxey Ballet and TCNJ. Rather than simply renting a stage, the company is working with college leadership to build connections across TCNJ’s music, design, education and theater programs, giving students hands-on experience alongside working professionals.
“Coming back to TCNJ feels like coming home,” said Mark Roxey, founder and artistic director, who created and directs the production. “This partnership lets us do more than perform. We get to grow artists, educators and audiences together, right here in New Jersey.”
Choreographed by Roxey, the production follows Clara through the Stahlbaum family’s Christmas party, the battle with the Mouse King, the Land of Snow and the Kingdom of Sweets. The production features hand-built sets and original costumes.
Roxey Ballet’s professional dancers perform alongside a community cast of young dancers, actors and residents from Mercer, Hunterdon, Somerset and Ocean counties in New Jersey and Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Santa Claus greets families before the performances.
“The Nutcracker is where so many families in our region first fall in love with live theater,” Roxey said. “Thirty-one years in, we still build every season around that first moment the curtain rises, and Kendall Hall lets us give our audiences the fullest version of this production we have ever staged.”
Performances are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 28, and Sunday, Nov. 29, at 2 p.m.; a relaxed, sensory-friendly performance Friday, Dec. 4, at 10 a.m.; and Saturday, Dec. 5, and Sunday, Dec. 6, at 2 p.m.
Tickets start at $30. Livestream options also are available. For tickets and information, visit www.roxeyballet.org/nutcracker.
