Overall, my young daughter and I enjoyed the ballet and the theatre. I think the Dolby theatre location in Hollywood made the ballet a bit more magical and fun.
The afternoon show was filled with young girls and their parents, wearing pretty holiday dresses and tiaras. There's a photo spot (with Santa) in the lobby where they'll take your photos (for free) before the show and during the break, as well as a table selling nutcracker dolls and pretty tiaras.
Our tickets were in the second row, which was great for seeing everything close up (sometimes too close!) but there were heads directly in our way in the front row, so we still had to move around the see parts of stage. Next time, I'd recommend getting front row seats in the next section if you want the best unobstructed view.
There was no live orchestra, so I felt half the performance was missing, since I think the orchestra and the dancers should work together as a team. Hopefully, someday soon, this ballet company will be able to afford live musicians to play with them. The recorded music was nice, though, and never overwhelmed the dancers. I'd expect good sound in a Dolby theatre.
The dancers themselves were professional and looked like they were having fun, even with a few minor stumbles. I wondered why they didn't use the Sugar Plum Fairy in this ballet? She's my favorite character, after Clara, so I really missed that.
Since we were sitting so close, I had a good view of the costumes and set. I liked the simple, elegant look of everything. My daughter liked the mouse costumes.
I was a tiny bit disappointed with the final grand pas de deus. I preferred the Clara dancer over the "Sugar Plum Fairy" dancer, but that's just my preference. I thought Clara's dancing was softer and more feminine.
The Drosselmeyer character was awesome and fun--he really commanded the stage whenever he was on it. It was also fun to watch him carry the various human-sized toys around the stage.
Overall, the performance was enjoyable. I would recommend it to families with girls who love the ballet. I look forward to seeing how this ballet company grows and improves over the years.