Boston Ballet Nutcracker 2004

ncgnet · **Joined:** Sun Oct 27, 2002 12:01 am **Posts:** 1845

Two articles from today's paper about BB's new Nutcracker:

From Keith Powers in the Boston Herald: ‘Nuts’ to the Rockettes: Boston Ballet vows holiday success despite move

Quote:

As the season’s first snowfall fittingly swirled around their South End headquarters, Ballet leaders unveiled the changes facing this season’s “Nutcracker,” which opens Nov. 26 at the Boylston Street theater.
....
At a press conference in the Ballet’s offices on Clarendon Street yesterday, Executive Director Valerie Wilder and Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen took turns explaining the new partnerships (with Broadway in Boston/Clear Channel) and new artistic direction (extensive reworking of Act I, advanced lighting technology) that will characterize this year’s production

And from Geoff Edgers of the Boston Globe: ‘Nutcracker’ is given new look for new home

Quote:

Boston Ballet has talked for months about reinventing “The Nutcracker” in the cozy confines of the Colonial Theatre. Yesterday, company leaders unveiled a long list of changes the audience will see when the curtain opens on a 45-show run Nov. 26.

There will be new sets, new costumes, and new choreography. The opening and closing scenes of the story will be different.

<small>[ 13 November 2004, 07:51 AM: Message edited by: BBalletFan ]</small>

fromthebalcony · **Posted:** Sat Nov 13, 2004 3:02 pm

I understand from a friend that ticket sales are down for the Boston Ballet Nut. I hope the two posted articles will help remind Bostonians what Valerie Wilder emphasized. The Boston Ballet dancers are part of the Boston community and that the Boston Ballet is a longtime Boston institution. The Rockettes are a New York institution in my eyes, and I will not support them over the Boston Ballet. If I had to make a choice between tickets, I would buy Ballet tickets. Personally, I wouldn't buy Rockette tickets anyway, so I'll go see the Nut several times.

elizavetagerdt · **Posted:** Sat Nov 13, 2004 4:17 pm

Be that as it may, however, the companies (and there are a few) touring the US with the Radio City Christmas Show are not employing the Rockettes who dance at Radio City, but are rather pickup companies (there aren't THAT many Rockettes, after all).

fromthebalcony · **Posted:** Sun Nov 14, 2004 9:18 am

Yes, that is true, but I would venture to say that the Rockettes dancing in Boston this year are probably not from Boston. Perhaps I am wrong. I know of one girl from the Pennsylvania area who auditioned in NYC and has ended up dancing for them somewhere in the mid-West. In addition, let me just mention that as a parent I would not buy tickets to this show just because of what I read on the Radio City website. I quote, "'White Christmas in New York' glistens on stage with The Rockettes donning a sexy new costume" and "'Santa's Workshop' ... these leggy reindeers, portrayed by the Rockettes, are bound to make Santa's ride much more exciting." With all of those innuendos, I'll stick to having my kids see Clara, the Snow Queen and the Sugar Plum Fairy, all of whom live and work in the Boston area.

Azlan · **Posted:** Sun Nov 14, 2004 12:08 pm

BBalletfan, should we move this topic to the Holiday Performances forum or leave it here? Your call.

ncgnet · **Joined:** Sun Oct 27, 2002 12:01 am **Posts:** 1845

Funny you should ask! I just spent some time searching for a Holiday Performances thread, having forgotten it is a forum. Missed the forest for the trees I guess. Let's move it there.

ncgnet · **Joined:** Sun Oct 27, 2002 12:01 am **Posts:** 1845

Meanwhile, the "Rockettes" ticket sales are above expectations, according to a brief blurb in the Boston Herald earlier this week: Hotline: Rockettes selling big for Wang

ncgnet · **Joined:** Sun Oct 27, 2002 12:01 am **Posts:** 1845

In the Boston Phoenix, Jeffrey Gantz writes about BB's new Nutcracker production:
A whole new Nutcracker - Boston Ballet unveils its Colonial Theatre production

Quote:

The production Boston Ballet is bringing to the Colonial is being billed as “more spectacular than ever,” and though that has the sound of hype, the details that Wilder and Nissinen provided Friday were all substance.

And in the Boston Herald there is a brief note of a free concert being given by the BB Orchestra on Nov 30:
Hotline: Here come the holiday events

Weren't we going to move this to the Holiday Performances thread? I don't have the skills/permissions to do this myself....

ncgnet · **Joined:** Sun Oct 27, 2002 12:01 am **Posts:** 1845

Two articles relevant to BB's Nutcracker from Geoff Edgers in the Boston Globe today.

One is a short description about the new Mouse King costume: Remaking the costume of a menacing Mouse King

And the other is a report on the impact of "Lion King" and Rockettes' Christmas show on local arts organization, including the ballet: Local shows strain to outkick holiday rivals

Quote:

.... local arts leaders haven’t had much fun visiting their box offices in recent weeks. They’ve seen ticket sales soften and their high hopes of hitting revenue goals dwindle during the all-important holiday season.

While Radio City officials say they’re selling more tickets than they expected, the locals who once owned the holiday box office -- including Boston Ballet, Revels, and the Handel and Haydn Society -- are sharing an unwelcome problem: They’re all running behind last year’s pace for ticket sales.

ncgnet · **Joined:** Sun Oct 27, 2002 12:01 am **Posts:** 1845

By the way, in an effort to increase ticket sales Boston Ballet is offering $10 off the regular ticket price for many tickets during the first couple of weeks' performances, including Friday nights and late Sunday afternoons. Details are found here.

ncgnet · **Joined:** Sun Oct 27, 2002 12:01 am **Posts:** 1845

From Theodore Bale in the Boston Herald: A new stage: Boston Ballet updates ‘The Nutcracker’

Quote:

If “The Nutcracker” hadn’t been kicked out of the Wang Theatre this year, would Boston Ballet have bothered to update its production?

Anyone who’s followed the beloved tradition knows Boston Ballet delivers a big, spectacular “Nutcracker” every Christmas season, well-coordinated through its lavish set designs, costumes, lighting and first-rate orchestra, but choreographically a sort of vaudeville.

ncgnet · **Joined:** Sun Oct 27, 2002 12:01 am **Posts:** 1845

From Suzanne Sataline in the Boston Globe: A nimble 'Nutcracker' - Boston Ballet fits plenty of fantasy into a smaller new venue

Quote:

.... Nissinen worked with set designer Walt Spangler and lighting designer Pierre Lavoie to craft a tighter, more disciplined production that retains most of the elements of Boston Ballet's original work (a relief to Marzipan fans worldwide). Nissinen has reworked staging, choreography, and parts of the story line to make clear that all this is springing from the dreams of the young protagonist, Clara.

Xanga · **Joined:** Thu Oct 21, 2004 11:01 pm **Posts:** 9

Did anyone see the opening night performance?
Would love comments! Thanks.

ncgnet · **Joined:** Sun Oct 27, 2002 12:01 am **Posts:** 1845

From the Boston Globe: Toe-to-toe: Rockettes vs. ‘Nutcracker’: Let the dancing begin

Quote:

Forget the Red Sox and the Yankees - there’s a new Boston-New York rivalry in town. .... Like their hometowns, “The Nutcracker” and the “Christmas Spectacular” are as different as clam chowder and cheesecake, the Hancock Tower and the Empire State Building. Call it a holiday dance-off between high art and high kicks.

ncgnet · **Joined:** Sun Oct 27, 2002 12:01 am **Posts:** 1845

Reviews from the Boston papers:

By T.J. Medrek in the Herald: New ‘Nutcracker’ sweet

Quote:

What a difference a stage makes. For years, Boston Ballet’s spectacular production of “The Nutcracker” dazzled at the spacious Wang Theatre.

This year’s new version, tailor-made to the more intimate specifications of the Colonial Theatre, does something better: It touches the heart.

And from Christine Temin in the Globe: In new site, ‘Nutcracker’ has same old charm

Quote:

“Reduced” doesn’t have to be a negative term. It can mean the concentrated essence. Think of lobster stock, becoming more intense as it boils. .... In Nissinen’s new “Nutcracker” the dancing and the dancers shine, reminding you of what you never get to see in the barn-like ambience of the Wang.


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