Review : The New York Ballet's Nutcracker

     A few nights ago, Derreck, Franco, Lewis and I enjoyed 1st-tier seats to lovingly admire NY Ballet's Nutcracker.  Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (gay) and choreography by NY Ballet "founding father" George Balanchine (gay).  The annual performance is one of the most complex theatrical, staged ballets in the Company's active repertory, involving 57 people backstage.  To begin our enjoyment, we stopped at the bar on the second floor for some champagne to toast the season!

     The ballet is based on a fairytale The Nutcracker and the Mouse King written in 1816 by a Prussian named E.T.A. Hoffmann.  The storyline encourages people to preserve their creativity and imagination, and it emphasizes the importance of being--and having--mentors.  It is one of the few stories where a girl rescues the prince, which is the opposite of the plots of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White!  Another undertone is the inclusion of all races/creeds to foster a harmonious society.  In the 1845, the story was translated and publicized by Europe's most successful author: Alexandre Dumas.  As the grandson of a French aristocrat and an African slave, he was determined to promote a world where different nationalities coexisted.  

     We had great First Balcony seats and savored the amazing form of the hard-working/immensely talented dancers (90 dancers, with 50 children from different dance schools/academies around the city).  Every instrument imaginable is used in the 62-person orchestra, and it is a percussionist's wet dream!  

     Since it was Derreck's first NYC Christmas, Lewis delighted in highlighting his favorite parts of the performance: the twinkling Christmas tree that magically grows to reach the top of the 41' stage (it really does weigh 1 ton), the swordplay, the beautifully form-fitting tights, the blustery on-stage snowfall (those poor girls!), the 150 gorgeously colorful costumes (144 jingle bells on each of the Candy Cane dancers, the Sugarplum Fairy's tutu has 7 layers of tulle, the grandmother's cape is original from the first 1954 production, the Dewdrop costume has 65 hand-applied crystals, and Lewis really adores the Mother Ginger scene--where a lovely male dancer in drag (great makeup) seems to be on stilts while wearing a huge dress--supported a 40-pound metal frame!  From under the dress, 8 kids run out, dance about and scamper back under… all-the-while, he admires himself in a hand mirror, bangs a tambourine and cutely blows kisses.  

     Of course, the sprightly music is captivating and toe-tapping: strong brass, plucky reeds (all that bassoon), triangle, tambourine, tympani, crash cymbals, harps, the celesta and lots of pizzicato! 
     More champagne sipped on the outdoor balcony at Intermission!
    Afterwards, we bundled up and crossed Broadway quickly for a good dinner at The Smith: a rye Manhattan, lamb chops and friend string beans for me.  Chatty dinner talk about the show, as we each gushed about our favorite parts, made it extra nice!