Fun for the whole family, Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker brings the iconic performance to life.
Mikko Nissinen’s adaptation of “The Nutcracker,” performed by the Boston Ballet, puts the magic back into Christmas and the holiday season. The ballet does justice to Tchaikovsky’s beautiful discography and E. T. A. Hoffmann’s short story, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.
Set on Christmas Eve, young Clara (brought to life by Valeria Franco) falls in love with her toy nutcracker, given to her by her uncle, Drosselmeier, during a family party. Later that evening, Clara sneaks back into the living room after bedtime and falls asleep on the sofa with the nutcracker. The Nutcracker then transforms into the Prince, bringing Clara on a magical journey to the Kingdom of the Sweets, ruled by the Sugar Plum Fairy. The dream goes on, and beautiful dancing is provided by the Snow Queen and King, followed by French Marzipan, Arabian Coffee, Chinese Tea, and other sweet treats from around the globe.
Boston Ballet features a section on their site dedicated to explaining the plot of the ballet, as there is no spoken language and the plot is to be understood through dance and setting. There were a few points throughout the ballet where I wished I had taken a better look at it beforehand—it’s a great idea for everyone going to see the ballet to do the same.
Sets by Robert Perdziola and lighting by Mikki Kunttu convey a balance of realism and whimsy with their designs. Dancers glow underneath the lights, sparkling in intricate costumes also by Robert Perdziola. The ballet enchants the audience from beginning to finish. I found myself feeling warm and fuzzy inside for the whole performance, reminiscent of a child’s Christmas, which was certainly aided by the whimsy I mentioned before.
The ballet comes out to be about two hours in length, which goes by very quickly for the first two acts. Variety in set, costuming, music, and more keeps the audience on their toes. The average audience, casual viewers of the ballet, and younger children, though, may begin to space out or lose interest during the third act of the performance. Even though the dances are beautiful and the display of skill is unforgettable, the longevity of the performances and lack of variation in sets/lighting in this section make the time pass by slower.
Despite the third act’s longevity, this performance is one you can’t miss. It invokes nostalgia for the whole family, bringing hazy memories of childhood to fruition. Even for those, like myself, who didn’t exactly remember what happened in The Nutcracker, just that it’s a holiday staple, it’s so worth it to give it a watch. The gift shop at the Boston Ballet features fun merchandise, including an adorable teddy bear recreation of the bear in the ballet. I will confess that I did take one home, and he’s taken up seasonal residency on my bed—as he should.
*All casting mentioned applies to the December 2, 2023 show at 7:30 pm.
Mikko Nissinen’s The Nutcracker is performing at Citizens Bank Opera House until December 31, 2023.