A new holiday classic has been brought to the stage by Rose Caiola with the Manhattan Youth Ballet. Based on the jocular story by artist Elliott Arkin, this original ballet is a timely tale of American values and folklore with New York City at the center of attention.

The first act, mixed media production, opens with a satirical animated film narrated by Tony award winning actor, Michael Cerveris, revealing a series of imaginative contemporary visual scenarios and characters following in the tradition of the Nutcracker story.

In the second act, the Knickerbocker Suite weaves clever modern interpretations out of timeless scenes and dances in which the land of sweets becomes the cultural cornucopia that is NYC. The arts, sports, fine dining, parks and even the pigeons are magically and cleverly intertwined with the classic Tchaikovsky movements of Candy Canes, Coffee, Waltz of the flowers and more, culminating in a grand finale that is sure to bring joy and a great holiday spirit for audiences young an old.

Choreographers include New York City Balletʼs Daniel Ulbricht, Deborah Wingert (formerly of New York City Ballet), Nick Kepley (last seen on Broadway in Mary Poppins, currently working with choreographer Josh Prince), Marina Stavitskaya (seen in the feature film, Black Swan) and Natalia Boesch (formerly of American Ballet Theatre).