Godfather Drosselmeier gives his goddaughter Marie a nutcracker for Christmas. She falls asleep and dreams about a battle between the mice and her nutcracker. She tells her uncle, and he tells her the story of how it all came to be. He says that after the Queen ran all the mice from the castle because they stole the King’s sausages, the Mouse Queen (Mouserinks) sneaked in and placed a spell on the King’s and Queen's baby girl, Pirlipat, making her as ugly as a nutcracker. Pirlipat can only be restored to beauty by eating the fabled nut Krakatuk, which must be given to her by a young man who has never shaved and never worn boots. It takes 16 years, but the court astrologer Arnold finds Krakatuk and the young man. But just as she is about to eat the nut, Mouserinks appears and knocks the young man over. Pirlipat is now beautiful, but the young man has been changed into a nutcracker! To be changed back into a young man, he must battle the 7-headed Mouse King. When the nutcracker seems to have lost the fight, Marie is upset and throws her shoe at the Mouse King, slaying him and winning the day! The Nutcracker Prequel: A Hard Nut To Crack is full of magic and fun and music, perfect for a winter's night at the theatre.