Let me start by saying we have seen the Joffrey Nutcracker every year for the past 10 years. We brought our daughter for the first time when she was only 3 and were all completely enchanted by the talented company, brilliant choreography, the beautiful sets and costumes and the magical quality of the perfomance. It was opulent, over-the-top eye candy!! We looked forward each year to planning our new Christmas tradition and learned which dancers we enjoyed in specific parts. Our dream team was Fabrice as the Nutcracker Prince and Victoria Jaiani as the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Grand Pas De Deux!!! We were stunned when we heard last year was the last time we'd see the show as we knew it but looked forward to the new iteration. Well...to say we were disappointed last night is an understatement.
I understand Christopher Wheeldon had a problem with the notion of a rich girl who has everything falling asleep and getting more. As a result, the reimagined Nutcracker is dull and dreary. The first act was in a word - gloomy. Gone is the joy of the opening party scene, the hilarity of the life-sized toys come to life, the battle between the mouse king and the nutcracker prince and Clara hitting the mouse king with her shoe. Even the Land of Snow scene that was once lush and magical seemed tired. The second act was much of the same. All of the divertissements have been changed. With the exception of Coffee, all were dull and flat. Mother Ginger is now a campy obvious man sitting on top of a house. Buffalo Bill was humorous but the 3 floozies were completely out of step and looked like strippers!! White thigh highs and garter belts? Seriously?? The Waltz of the Flowers, once so enchanting with all of the dancers throwing petals in the air was distracting with dancers again out of sync. The sugar plum fairy needs a sparkly tutu, not a long, gold dress!!
We heard this was a "brilliant" reimagination to the tune of $4 million. We didn't see brilliance. We saw change for sure, but not for the better. We did see many empty seats, maybe due to the weather, but can't imagine anyone thinking this new production is an improvement. Our tradition has sadly, ended.