Joffrey Ballet reimagines 'The Nutcracker' set in Chicago

CHICAGO (WLS) -- You've never seen "The Nutcracker" the way it will look this December in a Joffrey Ballet extravaganza.

Tony Award-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon has reimagined the classic as set during the World's Columbian Exposition.

"I think it was more about how can we make 'The Nutcracker' Chicago, because it's a wonderful score. It's sort of a treasure trove of melodies we all know and we all love and it's very much a part of the Christmas tradition in this country," Wheeldon said.

This will not be your typical "Nutcracker", but more like something bound for Broadway.

"What Chris does really beautifully is he makes us dance, and I think that's dance that we can understand and identify with, whether it's here at the Joffrey Ballet, whether it's on Broadway," said Ashley Wheater, artistic director.

On Thursday, ballet fans here and around the world will see a two-hour live stream of this creative process on the Joffrey's online YouTube channel.

"The value of the live stream is that to understand what happens in this building, to understand the creative process and how we arrive at where we arrive when the curtain goes up at the theatre, it takes a lot of sweat a lot of tears," Wheater said.

"There are going to be cameras there but I've got to be forging ahead. It's going to be, I think, interesting for the audience because it will be a real "fly on the wall" experience," Wheeldon said.

But if you think this new production of The Nutcracker will be seen with another ballet company, you are wrong.

"We're making it tailor made for this company and this city," Wheeldon said.