This is totally unbiased as I do not have children, grandchildren or friend's children in the production. It was wonderful! Since the acts are quite different from the traditional Nutcracker there was a narrator before each scene explaining what we would be seeing; that was a stroke of brilliance and kept me from expecting the traditional story. Oh, don't worry there is still a Mouse King and he is still vanquished. The performers ranged from 7 to 17 and displayed incredible talent, I believe all danced multiple roles and maintained energy, focus and straight legs through out both acts. Well, a few of the wee ones didn't but their cuteness factor made you not care. If you like children, Celtic music and Irish dancing; Go see it next year!