Cabaret Tony winner Alan Cumming is getting into the holiday spirit with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Check out the star narrating a scene above in an exclusive clip from The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, during which Marie and Fritz eagerly await the arrivals for their family’s annual Christmas party.
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King will air December 14 at 9 PM ET (check local listings) on PBS and stream on PBS.org and the PBS Video app. The special was recorded at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in December 2019.
Conceived by Grammy, Emmy, and Tony winner John Mauceri, the show is a reimagining of Tchaikovsky's holiday favorite, The Nutcracker. Based on the original E.T.A. Hoffmann novella published in 1816, this new musical production features Cumming recounting the three-part tale: the Nutcracker’s origin story, the well-known events on Christmas Eve, and what happens to the girl and the prince after the beloved ballet ends.
Music from Tchaikovsky’s score for The Nutcracker ballet helps tell this cherished and expanded tale. Mauceri also provides commentary and additional context for the story’s long history.
“It makes for a great tale, one that is both familiar and unknown,” says Mauceri. “Perhaps it can do what Hoffmann intended: encourage children to follow their dreams and never stop believing in the power of imagination and the possibility that we can all live together in raucous harmony and understanding.”
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King features the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, conducted by Mauceri and led by Maya Iwabuchi. The associate producer is Thiago Tiberio, with Mauceri and Andrew Young producing for television.
