Ballet Theatre of Scranton scored a home run with their spring premiere (May 7 & 8, 2026) of The Cracked Nut, an evening-length ballet choreographed by Joanne Arduino, the company's artistic director An original reimagining of the beloved holiday classic, The Nutcracker, this new work has music by Tchaikovsky, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Pentatonix, and the Brian Setzer Orchestra to swing with its 1940s New York City setting.
”Swing music versions of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker began the inspiration of re-imagining the ballet into The Cracked Nut, set in the1940’s time period, with the traditional opening party scene taking place in a dance hall. I also always envisioned a tap dance “duel” for the battle. New York City just seemed like the perfect location for my idea, with the last scene of the ballet being set on a Coney Island boardwalk with all the confections,” says Arduino.
“An exciting thing about mounting an original production, is that the creative team has input to enhance the concept. The traditional fight scene between the Nutcracker Prince and the Mouse King takes place in a NYC alleyway, and features that tap dance duel between the soldiers – dressed as period green army men – and the sewer rats," the choreographer continues. "In this case, one of the concepts our lighting designer, the uber-talented Dennis Size, suggested was during the big battle scene: the addition of LED gloves on the rats and LED head lamps lights on the soldiers' helmets incorporated into the choreography added to the drama of the scene and was visually effective. As the ballet’s creator, it is so gratifying to see the end result, when all of the theatrical components come together.”
Gear List:
2 Source 4 5 degree 575W ETC
13 Source 4 10 degree 575W ETC
9 Source 4 14 degree 575W ETC
4 Source 4 50 degree 575W ETC
6 Source 4 19 degree 575W ETC
14 Source 4 26 degree 575W ETC
20 Source 4 36 degree 575W ETC
15 Source 4 par WFL 575W ETC
1 18P Hex ADJ
8 RGBAW LED Brick
9 Sixpar 300 Elation
12 VL2500 Wash Vari-Lite
9 VL3500 Spot Vari-Lite
8 Halcyon Silent ETC/High End Systems
9 Meteor Par
6 CYC Light (3-Cel)
2 Starklite II Followspot Lycian
2 Fog Machine
1 Bubble Machine
ETC Ion XE console (with fader wing)
PRODUCTION STAFF
Scenic/Lighting Designer: Dennis Size
Costume Designers: D. Bruce Kozar, Jennifer Karpiak
Sound Designer: Paul Arduino
Associate Lighting Designer/Programmer: Lesli Tilly
Assistant Lighting Designer/Draftsperson: Casey Duke
BTOS Technical Director: Ryan Carey
Theatre at North House Electrician: Ryan Houser
Properties: Chris Yevitz