The Hip Hop Nutcracker: A Perfect Way to Celebrate the Holidays

Sunday November 28, 2021 – Orpheum Theater – Omaha, NE

If someone told me there’s such thing as the Nutcracker, hosted by world-renowned rap artist and hip hop legend, Kurtis Blow, with hip hop dancers and remixed tracks, I would have thought they were crazy!  However, on Sunday November 28, 2021, at the Orpheum Theater in Omaha, Nebraska, I witnessed it myself!

Hundreds of people packed the theater for this special matinee performance, and not knowing what the show entailed, I went into it with no expectations.  Simply put, I was blown away.  The level of talent in this group is amazing.  

Special emcee for the production, Kurtis Blow, welcomed fans and kicked off the party with some old school jams, courtesy of DJ Boo, that had the crowd on their feet, and singing along.  This guy really knows how to prep a crowd, and what followed, was simply awe-inspiring.

The Hip Hop Nutcracker is in its seventh season on tour, and if future performances are anything like I witnessed, it’ll be around for a long time to come.  After Kurtis Blow got the crowd pumped up and dancing in the isles, the show began.  The concept of the Hip Hop Nutcracker is simple.  They took the timeless Christmas production, the Nutcracker, and re-imagined it with a hip hop flare.  Remixing Tchaikovsky’s music and substituting hip hop dance in the place of classical ballet, the production commands your attention from the very beginning.  The set changed throughout the show, the sound quality in the theater was amazing, and large video screens with digital graphics served as a perfect backdrop.

The two main characters, Maria Clara, played by Ann Sylvia-Clark, and the Nutcracker, played by Gabriel Emphasis, had amazing chemistry.  Joined on stage with DJ Boo, violinist, Jarvis L. Benson, and over a dozen hip hop dancers, Sylvia-Clark and Emphasis took the crowd on an emotional journey throughout the show.

From the old school hip hop tracks that opened the show, to the amazing performances from the cast, this is one production you don’t want to miss.  Celebrating love and a sense of community, the Hip Hop Nutcracker is the perfect way to celebrate the holiday season!  This production was awesome!