“The Nutcracker” by the Pacific Northwest Ballet – Seattle, Washington

Attending The Nutcracker is almost a rite of passage in the Pacific Northwest. I’ve rarely met a Seattleite who has not seen the show in question, and even rarer to find someone who is disappointed in the performance.

I myself saw the show years ago as an eleven year old. It was the Maurice Sendak version and I loved the sugarplum fairy. She was gorgeous, knew how to dance, and had excellent fashion. In my tween years, she was EVERYTHING.

Fast forward, and the current rendition being played is George Balanchine. I’m much older now but when I’d heard that the guy I’ve been dating for awhile hadn’t seen the show, I had immediately bought tickets while quoting the commerical at him in all capital letters: “IT’S A PACIFIC NORTHWEST TRADITION!”

Mind you, the show is definitely different from my childhood. The first half is composed mostly of children running amok on stage. And when I say that, it’s a choreographed type of amok, but not nearly as interesting as the second act when the Land of Sweets appears and the different nations perform their acts. That’s when the show becomes magical and also a wee bit racist because let’s be real, the Tea/Chinese performance and Coffee/Arabic performances are liable to draw cringes from the modern crowd. However, when that sugarplum fairy came on stage? She was AMAZING. She made me appreciate ballet in a whole new way. Plus? She still had awesome fashion sense.

I saw this show last year and I know those tickets are probably on sale as we speak for the 2019 performances. If you are in the region, maybe give it a go and take in a performance.