The Joffrey’s ‘Nutcracker’ Returns With New Projections Inspired By 1893 World’s Fair

DOWNTOWN — For the first time in a decade, the Joffrey Ballet’s iteration of “The Nutcracker” will feature brand-new projections, inspired by the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.

Since its 2016 debut, the Joffrey’s take on Tchaikovsky’s ballet has uniquely centered Chicago, venturing away from its traditional German parlor setting. Instead, the Joffrey show — reimagined by director and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, with a story by author Brian Selznick — takes place in a modest shanty home on Christmas Eve in 1892, during the construction of Chicago’s World Fair.

In the ballet, Marie, the daughter of a sculptor, is gifted a nutcracker by The Great Impresario, the man who created the World’s Fair, according to Wheeldon’s website. That night, she dreams of adventuring through the bustling fair, traveling in a gondola to the edge of a lake and from pavilion to pavilion, where various countries are represented. When she awakes, it’s Christmas Day.

To enhance the show this year, the Joffrey brought in Daniel Brodie, an award-winning projection designer of over 20 years, who’s worked on Broadway shows including “The Wiz,” “Aladdin” and “Motown.”

From his Brooklyn studio, Brodie spent the year diving into Chicago history archives from institutions like the Art Institute of Chicago, the Library of Congress and the Chicago Public Library. All the projections are based on “actual research and paper ephemera that we found,” including photographs, posters and ticket stubs from the fair, Brodie said.

“I love to root through old boxes of things, and I really want to make a trip out to see the physical collections,” Brodie said. “But even online, it’s really incredible to find old material. It’s wonderful to unearth things intellectually.”

For example, pavilions in the show’s second act reference real images of the World’s Fair, Brodie said. The fair also debuted the first-ever Ferris wheel, which Brodie found pictures of, using them to help construct a 3D model.

While the Joffrey takes some creative liberties to ensure the projections fit the stage, “all of the material is based directly on the actual research,” he said.

“It’s like, we can count the exact number of rivets on the [Ferris wheel] and we can find the exact way it was constructed and the exact kinds of cars,” Brodie said. “It’s just awesome, it’s fun. It’s like a little research project that turns into a LEGO building project.”

When the Joffrey’s artistic director Ashley Wheater moved to Chicago in 2007, he “had always been taken with the history of Chicago.” He worked with Wheeldon and Selznick to bring their Chicago version of “The Nutcracker” to life a decade ago, sharing history books about the World’s Fair with them, he said.

There are many small details that weave history into the story itself, too — like Marie’s mother being a sculptor.

“Apparently during the World’s Fair, most of the sculpture was done by women,” Wheater said.

“Looking at ‘The Nutcracker’ now, 10 years on, so much has changed in terms of strength of projectors and … content now is at a much higher quality. And so we just got to the point where there were things that we wanted to improve, and it just seemed that if we were going to do something, then we should do it so it’s consistent and do everything from the beginning,” Wheater said. “And the thing about Daniel Brodie is that he’s such a talent … so it’s amazing that he’s actually doing them because he’s a busy man.”

The show’s success “has been extraordinary,” and Wheater encourages Chicagoans to see it.

“If people … haven’t seen our ‘Nutcracker,’ I would say just come be swept away with a really beautiful story and some really beautiful dancing,” he said. “It’s the only production of ‘The Nutcracker’ by Christopher Wheeldon, so we feel very, very proud of that.”

The Joffrey’s “The Nutcracker” runs Dec. 4-27 at the Lyric Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive. Learn more and buy tickets here.

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