Overview:
Blending Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker with local Black history, “The 5 Points Nutcracker” returns to The Savoy Denver Dec. 26–28.
As traditional “Nutcracker” productions take over stages across Colorado, “The 5 Points Nutcracker” offers a radically different holiday story rooted in jazz, Black history and the lived legacy of Denver’s Five Points neighborhood. The immersive production was created by Larea Edwards with Leah Casper, founder of the performance collective LuneAseas, who set out to reimagine the familiar ballet using the real people who shaped Five Points during its rise as the “Harlem of the West.”
That concept emerged during an early conversation between the two collaborators, when Casper introduced Edwards to Ellington’s “Nutcracker” score.
“Leah told me, ‘Have you heard this Duke Ellington version of the Nutcracker?’” Edwards recalls. “And I said, ‘This would be really cool; we could make a play.’”
After a lengthy writing process, the team premiered the show in 2022. Because it has been so successful in previous years, “The 5 Points Nutcracker” will return to the Savoy Denver for the third year in a row, from Dec. 26 to 28.
Described as an interactive, multimedia jazz experience, “The 5 Points Nutcracker” explores the true history of Denver’s now-gentrified Five Points neighborhood. The show recreates the lives of the Cousins family, Clara Brown and other prominent Black figures in Denver history who retell the original story, which is staged inside the iconic Savoy Building and set to Duke Ellington’s jazz reinterpretation of “The Nutcracker.”
“It’s twofold,” said Edwards’ sister and co-writer Christin Grant. “It’s a fun experience, and on the other hand, it’s showing the lesser-known parts of American history.”
Edwards notes that “The 5 Points Nutcracker” aims to give Denver a true representation of what has been lost in the neighborhood where she was raised. “That’s why this story is so important,” Edwards says. “Here’s the people that were really there. Here’s how it started. This is why you see pictures of Black people all up and down Five Points.”
Instead of the Stahlbaums and Drosselmeyer, “The 5 Points Nutcracker” bases its story in the house of Denverites Charles (Charlie) and Dorothy Cousins, Black business owners and real estate investors in Five Points. The Cousins family hosts the party that mirrors the first two acts of “The Nutcracker,” drawing from historical accounts of the Cousins’ legendary Christmas gatherings.
“They were throwing crazy parties. Every Christmas they would have Billie Holiday, Muhammad Ali and Duke Ellington,” Edwards said. “Whoever was in Colorado at Christmas would go to the Cousins’ house.”
In addition to these parties, the Cousins were responsible for much of the early development of Denver’s Black community in the early twentieth century. The show highlights their efforts in establishing the self-proclaimed “Harlem of the West,” which served as a safe haven and thriving cultural epicenter for many Black figures throughout history.
“The Cousins were instrumental in providing food and jobs for [Black people] in our community and revitalizing the Five Points area,” Edwards said. “That area—until the gentrification came—it was mostly Black-owned.”
This year, the production expanded its historical research through a collaboration with Eleise Clark of the Black American West Museum, alongside Grant, who wrote much of the script.
“In partnering with the Black American West Museum, we have period-appropriate costumes,” Grant said. “We’re able to better tell the story of these people, not just through the play but also printed in the program so people can understand exactly what happened.”
Clark, an expert in genealogy, anthropology and early African American history, has played an instrumental role in bringing the history of Five Points to life.
“Black people lived all over Denver, and what happened is that when the rise of the Klan came to Colorado, they started instituting that ‘separate [but equal]’ law,” Clark said. “Then, they told [Black] people that they had to move to the Five Points, Curtis Park area.”
As Black residents were pushed into specific neighborhoods, community survival became increasingly dependent on shared resources, informal lending and collective care, paving the way for figures such as Clara Brown, whose wealth and generosity would help define early Black life in Denver.
Brown, who inspired the Clara character in “The 5 Points Nutcracker,” was a formerly enslaved woman who migrated west to start a new life. She began working as a washerwoman and later invested in mining companies, earning a substantial fortune.
“[Clara Brown’s] story is one of amazement and triumph,” Edwards said. “And it lends itself to the triumph of the little girl Clara in ‘The Nutcracker’ tale.”
When Brown arrived in Auraria in 1859, she amassed more than $10,000 within years of her emancipation. She used that wealth to uplift others in the Black community in Denver and Central City, earning her a place in the stained-glass rotunda of the Colorado State Capitol.
“She took care of anybody,” Clark said. “That’s why she’s known as the ‘Angel of the Rockies.’”
When the Klan introduced Jim Crow principles into Colorado, wealthy Black people like Clara Brown became prime targets for those in power. “The one thing that scared the dominant society was the economic success of people of color,” said Clark.
Using Clark’s historical knowledge of these events, Edwards and Grant were able to bring to life the true story of the neighborhood in “The 5 Points Nutcracker.”
“They took everything they could and they built it up so that no one could live there,” Edwards said. “That’s why this story is so important … Five Points is crap now. Five Points has been completely colonized. It’s been completely colonized, and I remember when they were buying my friend’s house for $60,000 and when we looked to see how much it was, it was $880,000.”
Since putting pen to paper with her sister, Edwards has transformed “The 5 Points Nutcracker” into a colorful, jazz-infused time capsule for Denver audiences. The “Harlem of the West” is brought to life through multiple mediums, including swing, ballet and breakdancing, alongside the musical direction of Tenia Nelson.
As an immersive production, the show activates the Savoy’s hallways and hidden staircases. For instance, audience members can descend into the basement to meet the Rat King in his lair, which is an installation built from remnants of Denver’s history with the Ku Klux Klan.
“We use actual photos of the mayor and governor in their Klan robes,” Edwards said. “We had an artist create a full installation, so when you go down there, it’s very uncomfortable. Most people just spend their time reading.”
Motivated by the changing face of their neighborhood, Edwards and Grant designed the show to be educational. “[Five Points] is famous because these Black people were awesome in the face of all kinds of adversity,” Edwards said. “And you need to know that; otherwise, you won’t understand how Colorado got to be what Colorado got to be.”
“The 5 Points Nutcracker” runs Dec. 26–28 at the historic Savoy Building in Five Points. All tickets to “The 5 Points Nutcracker” include a $5 discount on tickets to the Black American West Museum, and vice versa.
