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‘A Nutcracker Christmas’: Hallmark Mesmerizes With Beloved Ballet In Spectacular Holiday Movie Event

By Traciy Reyes
Published on: 01:05 PST, Dec 9, 2016

Hallmark fans are bound for joy with the premiere of A Nutcracker Christmas, an original two-hour family movie this Saturday. With the end of Hallmark’s “Countdown to Christmas” fast approaching, fans definitely won’t want to miss this spectacular movie about a woman’s childhood dream of dancing in the New York Ballet’s The Nutcracker. A Nutcracker Christmas is directed by Michael Lembeck and written by Nicole Avril. It stars Amy Acker as Lily, Sascha Radetsky as Mark, Katherine Barrell as Beth, and Sophia Lucia as Sadie.

Synopsis For The Movie: A Nutcracker Christmas On Hallmark (HMC)

A Nutcracker Christmas centers around Lily, a former dancer who is raising her niece, Sadie. Sadie’s mother was Lily’s sister, Beth, who died in a car crash years earlier. Since then, Lily has raised Sadie in a loving environment while nurturing Sadie’s love of dance.

Watching her beloved niece glide across the stage is a warm reminder of herself as a child. Back then, the only thing that mattered to Lily was to fulfill her dream of dancing in The Nutcracker. When she was actually chosen to play the part of the Sugar Plum Fairy, she couldn’t have been more excited. However, her excitement turned to immense sadness after her sister was tragically killed.

Even through her grief, Lily still wanted to fulfill her wish of dancing in the New York Ballet’s The Nutcracker. However, her boyfriend Mark wouldn’t allow her to perform, believing that the stress of losing her sister would mean disaster for her and for the play.

At that very moment, Lily lost two loves: her sister and The Nutcracker performance. What Mark didn’t know was that dancing in the ballet would have been a way to express her sadness and would have allowed her to honor her dead sister.

Crushed, Lily stopped dancing and never saw Mark again.

Pushing forward eight years later, Lily has enjoyed helping her niece grow into a beautiful and talented ballet dancer. And when Sadie is asked to perform in The Nutcracker as Clara, Lily is overjoyed.

When Lily takes Sadie to her first rehearsal, she is immediately shocked to see that the dancing director is none other than her ex Mark.

Mark is just as shocked as Lily. But for him, it’s more of a pleasant surprise. He still has deep feelings for Lily, and he was hurt when she left.

Now it’s crunch time. They need to get the production moving along and with all of the walkouts they are losing people fast. The production is thrown into chaos when the dancer who is playing the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy storms out.

With time running out, Mark asks Lily to dance the part. She already knows it, and it will give her a chance to live her dream, even for a moment. Though it’s been eight long years, Lily accepts the role and begins rehearsals.

As the two reconnect, Mark tries to win back Lily’s heart. Now, it seems that life has come full circle for Lily, until the original Sugar Plum Fairy dancer comes back to reclaim her role.

Combining two of America’s loves, the Christmas season and The Nutcracker, should be a dazzling television experience. The performance outfits amaze with their intricate designs, and the dancing is graceful and effortless.

Hallmark Channel’s Bowl of Jolly Interviews

The actors seemed to enjoy their time on the set. While filming, producers caught up with the cast to discuss some of their favorite Christmas traditions.

  • For Amy Acker, snowmen and a flavorful hot toddy are among her favorites. For Christmas Eve, they always have a delicious ham and a turkey for Christmas Day.
  • Sascha Radetsky says he used to go for hot chocolate as his favorite Christmas drink of choice. Now, it’s none other than a hot toddy. Oatmeal raisin cookies are also a delight.
  • Sophia Lucia says she has no idea what a hot toddy is since she always drinks hot chocolate. As for decorations, she enjoys both white and colored candy cane lights.

What are some of your Christmas favorites? Let us know in the comments.

A Nutcracker Christmas was filmed in Canada and produced by A Crown Media Production. The executive producers are Michael G. Larkin and Howard Braunstein, according to IMDB. It airs Saturday, December 10, at 8/7 p.m. Central on the Hallmark Channel.

[Featured Image by Hallmark Channel]

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