Tchaikovsky Gets Extreme Makeover with ‘The Nutty Cracker Christmas Sweet’

Cornerstone was created in 2000 by the writers of The Nutty Cracker Christmas Sweet, Karl Gasteyer and Hunter Charnow. The two had their own production companies and decided to collaborate. The production company partners with Foxwoods and the Mohegan Sun, as well as other entities such as the Olde Mistick Village merchants for this production.

“By doing so we can add a lot of value to the cost of the outing. That’s something everybody is looking for,” explains Charnow.

This particular production is brand new and written by Gasteyer with Charnow’s collaboration.

“Christmas and the holidays have a limited repertoire of songs you can work with, but we have a really fun way of really changing things up. There are lots of numbers in the show from the Nutcracker, but instead of doing them as ballet we’re doing them as tap. It’s right out of the box to see tap dance versions of the Nutcracker,” says Charnow.

The most important reason they produce shows such as The Nutty Cracker “is for people to have fun. There’s no heavy message, there’s nothing down about it. It’s upbeat, lively, fun, and entertaining. We interact with the audience and are all professional performers,” he says.

There’s no doubt that Charnow believes there’s not enough fun in the world.

“There really isn’t a whole lot of it. Our tagline is ‘Join the fun.’ That’s our goal­—to give someone who isn’t necessarily having a good day and flip it and make it one of the best days they’ve had in a long time.”

Cornerstone, he explained, is an Equity company.

“Actors Equity is the oldest union in the nation. This is the acting union for Broadway performers. We’ve pulled our cast out of New York City.”

Entertainers from the region, however, have not been excluded. In fact, Cornerstone has made several from the area members of the union.

“They were high enough caliber that we invited them to become part of the union. Now they are able to go to New York City and audition for any upcoming Broadway show,” he said.

On stage, there are five performers in the show plus Charnow and Gasteyer, who emcee, and the rest of the cast does the singing and dancing.

With only 243 seats, the Cornerstone Playhouse, he says, “is really intimate.” The stage is not much bigger than 24 feet wide.

“This is the perfect venue. We love interacting with the audience. It’s not unusual for a cast member to go into the audience. You can’t do that in a big house. [There’s] 2,300 seats in the Tropicana­—one guy going out or one pretty girl going out to sit on someone’s lap, it doesn’t read. You get lost in a mammoth musical like that,” Charnow says. “Here it’s like stepping right off of the stage and into your arms…it makes everyone really smile when she sits on Dad’s lap, or some really good-looking guy sings to Mom, or we’re interacting with the kids.”

While everyone is “weeping the blues of the economy,” this company is “moving forward and flourishing,” he says. At the time of this writing, the day after the first show, 5,000 advance tickets had been sold.

Because of Cornerstone’s partnerships with the casinos, packages including Cornerstone’s performances are available. Cornerstone is also working with the Village merchants to put together a treasure hunt.

Tickets for The Nutty Cracker Christmas Sweet can be purchased online, at the box office in Olde Mistick Village between 1 and 7 p.m., or by calling the box office at 888-838-2906, option 6.