A unique version of 'The Nutcracker' illuminates the history of Denver鈥檚 Five Points neighborhood

In The NoCo

A unique version of 'The Nutcracker' illuminates the history of Denver鈥檚 Five Points neighborhood

By In The NoCo,

Published December 18, 2024 at 5:35 AM MST

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five performers, dressed in fancy party clothing from the 1930s, laugh together. — "The truths that are locked in that story, that fight against good and evil, that protection for Clara, that love from her family... we are able to tell that because it's our real, actual story using those Five Points characters," says Five Points Nutcracker director Larea Edwards. The production uses a jazz score from Duke Ellington to tell the story of prominent Black figures from Denver's Five Points community.

A unique retelling of the holiday classic 鈥楾he Nutcracker鈥� explores the history and cultural importance of Denver's Five Points neighborhood.

The replaces the story鈥檚 traditional characters with significant figures from Denver鈥檚 African American community. Five Points was once known as the 鈥溾€�

Duke Ellington鈥檚 jazz version of the music is the backbone of the production, and was the inspiration for the show鈥檚 director, Larea Edwards.

The production features actors and dancers from the performing arts group Musicians from the Boulder Philharmonic will join jazz artist Tenia Nelson to perform the Ellington score.

Edwards spoke with ITN鈥檚 Erin O鈥橳oole about the production. take place Friday through Sunday at the .

You can read more about the production and see photos from a rehearsal here.

A group of five jazz musicians play the music of Duke Ellington's The Nutcracker before an audience. At the back of the stage, the shadowy figure of a man in a cowboy hat fills a tall window. the other window shows a group of children and teenagers looking at the stage. — Musicians from the Boulder Philharmonic perform Duke Ellington's jazz version of The Nutcracker

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In The NoCo

KUNC's In The NoCo is a daily slice of stories, news, people and issues. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show brings context and insight to the stories of the day, often elevating unheard voices in the process. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we celebrate the lighter side of things here, too.

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Erin O'Toole

As the host of KUNC鈥檚 new program and podcast In the NoCo, I work closely with our producers and reporters to bring context and diverse perspectives to the important issues of the day. Northern Colorado is such a diverse and growing region, brimming with history, culture, music, education, civic engagement, and amazing outdoor recreation. I love finding the stories and voices that reflect what makes NoCo such an extraordinary place to live.

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Brad Turner

Brad Turner is an executive producer in KUNC's newsroom. He manages the podcast team that makes In The NoCo, which also airs weekdays in Morning Edition and All Things Considered. His work as a podcaster and journalist has appeared on NPR's Weekend Edition, NPR Music, the PBS 暗黑爆料hour, Colorado Public Radio, MTV Online, the Denver Post, Boulder's Daily Camera, and the Longmont Times-Call.

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Ariel Lavery

Ariel Lavery grew up in Louisville, Colorado and has returned to the Front Range after spending over 25 years moving around the country. She co-created the podcast Middle of Everywhere for WKMS, Murray State University鈥檚 NPR member station, and won Public Media Journalism awards in every season she produced for Middle of Everywhere. Her most recent series project is "The Burn Scar", published with The Modern West podcast. In it, she chronicles two years of her family鈥檚 financial and emotional struggle following the loss of her childhood home in the Marshall Fire.

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