The “Ellington Strayhorn Nutcracker” from Jazz St Louis and St. Louis Dance Theatre will take audiences into the lives of Duke Ellington and LGBTQ composer Billy Strayhorn. Combining the holiday classic with a story set in 1960s St. Louis' Gaslight Square, the production represents “a love letter” to Strayhorn as an “unsung genius, who dared to live authentically in the face of adversity,” said choreographer Kirven Douthit-Boyd. Douthit-Boyd is joined by Jazz St. Louis CEO Victor Goines to discuss the importance of Strayhorn’s legacy, and the enduring significance of Strayhorn and Ellington’s 1960 album “The Nutcracker Suite.”