THE NUTCRACKER
After its landmark opening year earning universal critical acclaim, Michael Pink’s The Nutcracker: Drosselmeyer’s Imaginarium is back and more magical than ever!
Journey into the Imaginarium to experience the wonder of the holidays with our full Company of dancers, students from Milwaukee Ballet School & Academy, and Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra performing Tchaikovsky's beloved score live.
Show Dates & Tickets
This production will be performed at Marcus Performing Arts Center. Recommended for ages 4+.
Questions or need help? Contact the Box Office at 414.902.2103 between 10AM-6PM.
Saturday, December 7, 2024 - 2:00pm
Saturday, December 7, 2024 - 7:30pm
Sunday, December 8, 2024 - 1:00pm
Wednesday, December 11, 2024 - 6:00 pm - SENSORY-FRIENDLY PERFORMANCE
Friday, December 13, 2024 - 7:30pm
Saturday, December 14, 2024 - 2:00pm
Saturday, December 14, 2024 - 7:30pm
Sunday, December 15, 2024 - 1:00pm
Thursday, December 19, 2024 - 7:30pm
Friday, December 20, 2024 - 7:30pm
Saturday, December 21, 2024 - 2:00pm
Saturday, December 21, 2024 - 7:30pm
Sunday, December 22, 2024 - 1:00pm
Sunday, December 22, 2024 - 6:30pm
Monday, December 23, 2024 - 7:30pm
Tuesday, December 24, 2024 - 1:00pm
Student Matinees
Milwaukee Ballet is proud to offer three discounted student matinee performances for The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty for the 2024/25 Season.
This opportunity is exclusively for public, private, and home-schooled student groups.
Sensory-Friendly Performance
The 2024/25 Season will mark the 9th annual presentation of The Nutcracker Sensory-Friendly performance. This adapted performance is made for children, families, and individuals with autism or other sensory processing needs.
Production Team
Michael Pink
Michael Pink
Conception & Choreography
December 2002, he has collected many accolades and established an exciting artistic vision for the Company.
Pink is known internationally for his theatrical productions including Dracula, Esmeralda, Swan Lake, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Romeo & Juliet, La Bohème, Don Quixote, Mirror Mirror, Dorian Gray, and Beauty and the Beast, which have been hailed as “Classical Ballet for the 21st Century.” His production of Peter Pan signified a major landmark in the Company’s history and was broadcast nationally by PBS in 2014.
Pink trained as a classical dancer at The Royal Ballet School and danced with English National Ballet. He was the founding director of Ballet Central in London and the associate artistic director of Northern Ballet in England.
Todd Edward Ivins
Todd Edward Ivins
Set Design
Todd Edward Ivins designs scenery, costumes, and projections spanning works of dance, opera, plays, musicals, stand-up comedy, corporate events, and newsrooms. He is elated to return to Milwaukee Ballet, having previously designed scenery for Beauty & the Beast and scenery and costumes for both Dorian Gray and Mirror Mirror. He has also worked with Michael Pink on many musicals and A Christmas Carol at Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Also at the Rep, Ivins has designed 14 shows, including Othello, Cabaret (scenery and costumes), West Side Story, Dreamgirls, The Color Purple, Ragtime, A Christmas Carol, Junk, Next to Normal, Of Mice and Men, and Assassins (scenery). Career highlights include The Illusionists Turn of the Century on Broadway, Circus 1903, and one of the first regional productions of Les Misérables. He sends love to his muses: his daughter, Agatha, and wife, Abigail Trueblood. Learn more about Ivins’ shows at www.ivinsart.com and Instagram: @ivinsart
David Grill
David Grill
Lighting Design
David Grill is a Drama Desk Nominee, fourteen-time Emmy® Award Nominee, and five-time Primetime Emmy® Award winner. He has also won a 2015 and 2016 Telly Award for his Lighting. His Broadway musical and dance credits include Bob Fosse’s Dancin’, The American Dance Machine, and works for Milwaukee Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Ballet Met, Houston Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Northern Ballet Theatre, Cincinnati Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and numerous choreographers. Grill is also responsible for lighting The Drew Barrymore Show and New York Philharmonic, providing Lighting Direction for the National Memorial Day and A Capitol Fourth concerts on PBS, and lighting over 17 Super Bowl Halftime Shows. He has been featured in numerous publications and is an Associate Professor and Co-Chair of the Design / Technology Program at Purchase College, State University of New York.
Gregory A. Poplyk
Gregory A. Poplyk
Costume Design
Gregory A. Poplyk is an Emmy® nominated costume designer whose work has been seen in New York both on and off Broadway and for the New York City Ballet, as well as on television as part of HBO’s The Gilded Age and TNT’s The Alienist. Regionally, he has designed for theatres such as the Paper Mill Playhouse, The 5th Avenue Theatre in Washington, Goodspeed Musicals, Theatre Under The Stars in Texas, and the Ordway in Minneapolis. Among his favorite projects he lists Ringling Brother’s, Barnum and Bailey Circus, The Big Apple Circus and Disney on Ice’s production of Frozen. Internationally, his work has been seen in England, Hungary, and South Korea. He is a member of the TDF Costume Collection Advisory Committee, which presents the TDF Irene Sharaff Awards recognizing outstanding contributions in the field of costume design. His work can be seen at www.gregpoplykdesign.com.
Audience Guide
Get to know the synopsis, characters, history, and fun facts of The Nutcracker before seeing it onstage this winter.
Milwaukee Ballet Company | Photo Rachel Malehorn
Milwaukee Ballet Company | Photo Rachel Malehorn
Milwaukee Ballet Company | Photo Rachel Malehorn
Milwaukee Ballet Company | Photo Rachel Malehorn
Milwaukee Ballet Company | Photo Rachel Malehorn
Milwaukee Ballet Company | Photo Rachel Malehorn
Marize Fumero and Randy Crespo | Photo Rachel Malehorn
Milwaukee Ballet Company | Photo Rachel Malehorn