BWW Exclusive: Alan Cumming Narrates THE NUTCRACKER & THE MOUSE KING on PBS

A new musical production of Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award winner John Mauceri, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King is coming to PBS! This new musical production features Alan 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.

Watch an exclusive clip of Cumming narrating the story below!

Music from Tchaikovsky's tone poems, orchestral suites, and the magical score for The Nutcracker ballet help tell this cherished-and now complete-tale. Performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under the musical direction of Mauceri, with Cumming narrating the story live on stage, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King premieres Tuesday, December 14, 2021, 9:00-10:30 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS, PBS.org, and the PBS Video app.

Commentary from Mauceri provides additional context for the history behind this classic, pointing out that Hoffmann's original narrative is about a young girl who saves a prince-the opposite of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White. Carved wooden nutcrackers dressed as soldiers first appeared in Germany in the early 1800s, providing inspiration for Hoffmann. Alexander Dumas, the most successful French author of the 19th century, translated Hoffmann's work in 1845.

Mauceri believes that Dumas, the grandson of a French aristocrat and an African Haitian slave, was drawn to a story where the young girl grows up to become the queen of a land of tolerance and imagination. It was the version by Dumas that was adapted by Tchaikovsky in 1892. The composer was actually writing the score when he travelled to New York City to conduct the grand opening concert of Carnegie Hall in 1891.

Alan Cumming won a Tony Award for his performance as the Emcee in the 1998 revival of Cabaret, a role in which he revived in 2014. He has also been seen on Broadway in Macbeth and The Threepenny Opera.

The Nutcracker and the Mouse King will stream simultaneously with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS Video app, available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast, and VIZIO.