Chris Van Allsburg Premieres “The Nutcracker” with Grand Rapids Ballet Company

Stamps School alum (BFA 1972), award-winning children’s book author and Grand Rapids native Chris Van Allsburg has teamed up with Tony Award-winning set designer Eugene Lee and the Grand Rapids Ballet to re-imagine the set and production design of the classic ballet ​“The Nutcracker.” The world première of this new take on the family favorite will open on Friday, December 12. 

The new production, which is the largest that the Grand Rapids Ballet has held, runs from December 12 to 14 and 19 to 21 at the DeVos Performance Hall at 303 Monroe Avenue, NW in Grand Rapids, MI 49503. Buy tickets and learn more about this unique production here.

Additionally, the Grand Rapids Art Museum is exhibiting ​“Re-Envisioning The Nutcracker” from November 20, 2014 to January 11, 2015. This show provides a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process of designing and staging the collaborative production. Items to be included are Chris Van Allsburg’s original drawings for the set and production design, scale models of the sets, and examples of all the costumes designed by Patricia Barker, artistic director of the Grand Rapids Ballet. More information about the exhibition.