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The Nutcracker On Tour
Every adaptation of The Nutcracker is the same, yet each The Nutcracker is different from all others. Although it premiered in Saint Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre on December 18, 1892, composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker wouldn't become the dependably magical holiday-season reaffirmation of Christmas joy we know and love until decades later.
Marius Petipa, who commissioned Tchaikovsky's music, and Lev Ivanov originally choreographed the world's most popular ballet. It was loosely based on Alexandre Dumas' The Story of a Nutcracker, the French writer's adaptation of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, which was a fantastical story by German author E.T.A. Hoffmann. Mourning the recent death of his sister, Tchaikovsky was often unhappy while composing the work, which he nonetheless imbued with some of his most enduringly gorgeous music. (The descending melody in the adagio section of the "Grand Pas de Deux" is said to reflect his feelings.)
Russian ballet was flourishing at the time The Nutcracker debuted, and no expense was spared. In Petipa's production, 60 snowflakes wore long white tutus and matching crowns adorned with fluff balls. The battle scene's soldiers, meanwhile, were recruited from a military academy rather than ballet school, leading to a less-than-elegant confrontation.
The Nutcracker was fated to become more popular abroad than in its birthplace, and was subsequently tailored to suit its new audiences. Encouraged by local Russian émigrés, Willam Christensen mounted the first full American production in San Francisco in 1944. Ten years later, George Balanchine choreographed a landmark version for the New York City Ballet, imbuing it with what Nutcracker Nation author Jennifer Fisher calls its "familial feeling." Balanchine's version was broadcast on national television a few years later with narration by June Lockhart (of Lassie fame).
While nearly every subsequent version of The Nutcracker contains falling snow, fighting mice, dancing candy, and a growing tree (asked to produce it without the tree, Balanchine reportedly replied, "No, the ballet is the tree"), some intriguing mutations have emerged. These include Nutcrackers on ice, the animated adaptation Walt Disney included in the 1940 movie Fantasia, and The Harlem Nutcracker, a swinging jazz revision by choreographer Donald Byrd.
A remarkably resilient blend of complex classical ballet, popular imagery, and holiday nostalgia, The Nutcracker has taken on a life of its own since it first appeared one cold Russian winter over 100 years ago.
We enjoyed the show, the talent level is not quite to the level of other performances I have seen, but for the price and for my daughters first experience, it was excellent!
This is the most wonderful performance of the Nutcracker! It's very child friendly and the dancers are just beautiful. I highly recommend seeing this production if you can.
Beautiful theater. Great seats. Amazing show. The only thing I can complain about was the people behind us that were disrespectful and kept talking
The play was amazing and the tea was great!! I just would have the tea after the play. The kids were really too sugared up to sit still then fell asleep with the sugar crash.
Performances were amazing. Scenery was beautiful. Closes Hall was the perfect place for this event. I sat front row Orchestra and got to watch orchestra, Indianapolis Children’s Choir perform and the orchestra conductor work his magic.
We are so lucky to have such a professional production in Port Huron. The dancing was superb!
I saw the Joffrey Ballet perform the Nutcracker in Chicago last year and I can honestly say that Butler's production was superior in almost every way. All of the soloists were superbly accurate and very expressive. The production utilized a huge ensemble that was excellent from the children to Drosselmeyer's assistants. Perhaps the only complaint I would make is that the Russian Dance could have been a bit more high flying. The set design was good, but not as good as IU's in Bloomington... but the dancing was top notch.
The play was awesome. The venue location was easy to get in. A huge turn out showed up. As a local, there’s no other place to go.
What an amazing and professional performance of this Holiday favorite! We loved the high caliber of dancing and the unique story line. The costumes were gorgeous and a perfect match with each breathtaking scenery change. Looking already forward to seeing the Nutcracker next year!
This performance was amazing. My family and I really enjoyed it.
Theater was hard to find, no signs to lead us to the right spot. Drove around for an hour then walked around till we found it.No fun when you have a wheelchair.
We truly enjoyed seeing The Nutcracker at McMorran! Everyone participating in this event was perfect for the part. Wonderful way to start the holiday season!
Kids enjoyed - wife enjoyed - well done and you can tell the performers put in a lot of work to do it - well done
All around a very lively, colorful, and well executed performance as performed by an outstanding group of collegiate dancers. The orchestra was massive in size as was the children's choir. Both were superb. One disappointment was the venue. With no center, or other aisles except on the sides of the theater, it makes coming or going almost uncomfortable to a degree. The Clowes theater is quite a large venue and elegant as well. The aisle situation just seems to be an unnecessary distraction.
I felt this production was lacking something. Costumes were beautiful but they changed the plot. Scenery was also disappointing.
What a delight. I laughed and smiled the entire evening. Great performances and fantastic dancing. Would go back again and again. Still smiling.
A lovely FUN time!!! We really enjoyed spending time together and the ballet was OUTSTANDING!
I think it should've been clear that this was a children's ballet. The name of the company is deceiving, however the dancing was beautiful.
The Nutcracker performance was wonderful, the venue beautiful.
The performance was beautiful and so magical for my young, aspiring ballerinas of 4 and 7. My only complaint is that Shea's ran out of booster seats.