A Rockville Centre holiday production reaches its fifteenth season this year. The RVC Guild for the Arts and Leggz Ltd Dance bring Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker back to the Madison Theatre for three performances, Friday, December 4, through Sunday, December 6, with the South Shore Symphony playing the score live.

Who is on stage

The production is led by artistic director Joan MacNaughton. It pairs guest dancers from the international ballet world with young dancers drawn from across the New York metropolitan area, so the cast mixes professional principals with students who have trained for the season's roles.

The live orchestra is the other distinction. Many regional Nutcrackers dance to a recording. Here the South Shore Symphony accompanies all three performances.

Performance times

  • Friday, December 4: 7 p.m.
  • Saturday, December 5: 5 p.m.
  • Sunday, December 6: 3 p.m.

Tickets are sold through the Madison Theatre's website, where each performance links to its own ticketing page with seating and prices.

The rest of the holiday season at the Madison

The Nutcracker is one of three holiday shows on the theater's calendar between Thanksgiving and Christmas:

  • We Three Kings: The Irish Dance Christmas Sensation, November 28 and 29, an Irish dance holiday show built on the story of the Magi.
  • The Madison Theatre Christmas Celebration 2026, the theater's own family holiday show, with 46 performers and musicians plus Broadway guest artists, and sing-along holiday music. Performances are December 17 and 18 at 7 p.m., December 19 at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., and December 20 at 3 p.m.

For a family planning one outing, the Nutcracker's Sunday matinee and the Christmas Celebration's Saturday 1 p.m. show are the two daytime options aimed at younger children.

About the theater

The Madison Theatre sits on the Molloy University campus on Hempstead Avenue in Rockville Centre and programs musicals, concerts, dance and family shows through the year.

Going

Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Ballet plays the Madison Theatre, 1000 Hempstead Avenue, Rockville Centre, on Friday, December 4, at 7 p.m., Saturday, December 5, at 5 p.m. and Sunday, December 6, at 3 p.m. Buy tickets through madisontheatreny.org, and reach the box office through the theater's contact page.

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