New Nutcracker Exhibit for the Holidays

(Louisville, KY, November 7, 2017) – The Nutcracker has been a holiday tradition in Louisville for 60 years and two local institutions are celebrating its longevity and place in the city’s memory-making customs. The Louisville Ballet and the Frazier History Museum have partnered to present Nutcracker the Exhibition: 60 Years of Magic and Majesty.

For six decades, Louisville Ballet’s iterations of the Nutcracker have been a beloved holiday tradition celebrated by thousands of families from generation to generation. Now, with this Frazier original and visually sensational exhibition, those memories will come to life for grandparents, parents, and children alike.

Nutcracker the Exhibition: 60 Years of Magic and Majesty opens on Thursday, November 9, 2017 and will be on view through the holidays, closing on Sunday, January 7, 2018.

Nutcracker the Exhibition: 60 Years of Magic and Majesty will feature original costumes and costume designs, stage models, set pieces, props, photographs and other artifacts from Nutcracker performances past and present. Drawing from its early amateur company performances in the 1950s to the current lavish production of The Brown-Forman Nutcracker, the interactive exhibition showcases the Sugar Plum Fairy’s tutu, the Rat King’s Cape, the Snow Queen’s tiara, and the original bowing Nutcracker doll from the very first Nutcracker staged at the Kentucky Center for the Arts in 1983.

Among the sights and sounds of the season at the Frazier, visitors will learn how many layers it takes to make a tutu, how stage technicians make it snow on stage, and what it’s like to be a member of the Nutcracker’s children’s cast through hands-on displays and activities. Nutcracker luminaries will be visible from the exterior of the Frazier in the first-floor great hall and on the second floor in the exhibition.

“We’re so excited to be partnered with Louisville Ballet on this amazing holiday tradition and we’re hopeful that it starts a new tradition for Nutcracker fans here at the Frazier,” said Frazier History Museum president Penny Peavler. “Unlike Marie, fans of the Nutcracker don’t have to wait for Christmas Eve for their dream to begin, the dream starts November 9th with this exhibition.”

“The annual tradition of Nutcracker is a wonderful time of the year, especially here in Louisville” said Louisville Ballet’s Artistic & Executive Director, Robert Curran. “Our very own Brown-Forman Nutcracker is such a treat, and it is so exciting to partner with another beloved Louisville institution, The Frazier Museum, to celebrate this tradition and share it with our Louisville community!”

Partnership Discounts

Ticket holders to The Brown-Forman Nutcracker will receive, upon presentation of their ticket stub or e-receipt at our admission desk, $2 off General Admission to the Frazier between November 9, 2017 and January 7, 2018 to explore Nutcracker the Exhibition.

Guests who visit Nutcracker the Exhibition: 60 Years of Magic and Majesty between November 9, 2017 and December 23, 2017 will receive a ticket that offers them a 15% discount to The Brown-Forman Nutcracker. This discount applies to all performances; however, it excludes sections AA and D in the theatre and cannot be applied to previously purchased tickets.