I bought a ticket to the Nutcracker on Christmas Eve Day, thinking it would be the perfect activity on the culmination of the holiday season. The Los Angeles Ballet company (LAB) did not disappoint, with a festive traditional show that was fun for the whole family.
Arrival
The Dolby Theatre is best known for hosting the Academy Awards (the Oscars) every year, and in fact it was designed expressly for that purpose. The LA Metro’s red line (aka the B train) takes you practically to the front door of the Dolby, with the subway exit just a couple doors down the same block.
A gigantic Christmas tree marked the spot.
Walking in, I realized that this building wasn’t just the theatre itself, but a whole shopping center called the Ovation Hollywood. In fact, I’d actually been to a place called Japan House also in this mall. The theatre is the center of the action, though, with previous Oscar winners named up and down the hallway and a particularly grand staircase up to the doors.
The Dolby itself is grand and impressive, with multiple levels and a spiraling stairway structure in the middle of the massive lobby.
I found that the bar on the top level had next to no lines before the show, while the bars on the main levels were backed up like crazy. It’s worth walking up the flight of steps.
When doors finally opened, I made my way to my seat ahead of the masses and marveled at the theater’s interior space.
I don’t actually watch the Academy Awards, so I was really unprepared for what this place would look like. I was blown away by the majesty. It was so impressive, I loved the levels of box seats on the sides too.
The crowds slowly filtered in around me and the show soon began.
The Performance
Here is my view from Section “PART,” Row F, Seat 12. It was nice and central, but a little further back than I would’ve liked. Still, I didn’t think I was too far away.
The curtain rose on an introductory scene with children running around. As the program established, “it is Christmas Even in LA, 1912, and the city is buzzing with holiday excitement.” LAB was not trying to reinvent the wheel or put their own spin on the classic tale–this was a fully classic and traditional Nutcracker production, narratively speaking.
The children, especially Clara and Fritz Staulbaum (Taylor Hugens and Luca Aguilar), play and dance and interact while the parents set up for the Christmas party. Fritz and his boyish friends are always spoiling Clara’s fun. Guests arrive to the party, including–finally–Clara’s beloved Uncle Drosselmeyer (Evan Swenson), who gifts Mr. and Mrs. Staulbaum a grandfather clock, and also gives the other children dancing dolls, such as the Russian Cossack (Evan Gorbell), the Harlequin (Poppy Coleman), and the Columbine (Stephen Kessler). Of course, each of these is a ballerina, and they each show off their skills, whetting the appetite of the audience.
Then, of course, is Clara’s gift: the Nutcracker (Jacob Soltero)! She falls in love with the doll, especially when Fritz tries to mock her and the doll seems to thwap him on the head in response! Or is she just imagining things? The scene ends with a large dance between hosts, guests, servants, and everyone celebrating the holidays together.
Clara establishes herself early on as being a fine dancer, and Uncle Drosselmeyer is suitably majestic in his performance, effortlessly filling the role of the grandiose, slightly eccentric uncle.
The next scene is where the magic truly begins. Clara falls asleep in her bed with her new Nutcracker doll standing firmly at her bedside. And as her bed moves on its own, she enters into a wild dream. Waking, she finds herself surrounded by terrifying mice, each the size of a human child! A battle soon starts between Clara, Uncle Drosselmeyer, the Nutcracker, and the army of toy soldiers, against the army of mice led by their regally-crowned Mouse King (Rony Baseman).
It’s not uncommon for this scene to steal the show at Nutcracker performances, since it has all the action and drama, and the most plot occurring. It’s natural that a ballet company would want to inject as much fun into the scene that gives the most opportunity for that fun as possible, especially since changing much more would render it no longer a traditional performance. Sure, they could add a bunch of new action to the second act to better balance the whole show, but then it wouldn’t be Tchaikovsky’s classic as written, would it? There’s always a trade-off.
LAB chose to make the mouse battle scene as exciting as possible, and I’m glad they did, because it was the highlight of the show. The young mice were hilarious, over-acting their parts theatrically in the masks with their tails flopping about, each of them hamming it up to big laughs and applause. A couple modern dance moves were snuck into the murine repertoire, which could have been overdone, but on a small level works well to separate rodent from human. When a mouse is finally shot and killed, the death scene is morbidly comedic, with the poor pawed prey curling up and striking a pose on the ground.
Nutcracker victorious, Drosselmeyer leads them into the land of snow, and the “dancing snowflake” show arrives, with snowflake ballerinas dancing in precise lines as approximately three feet of fake snow falls all around them. This was a magical surprise and a delight to see. It was sweeping, dazzling, and made you feel like you were a kid again, no matter your age.
There was a generous intermission, and the show soon started up for Act 2.
The second act of this Nutcracker is more interesting on a choreography level, but less interesting to watch overall after seeing the narrative drama of the mouse battle and the visual spectacle of the falling snow.
In act two, Drosselmeyer has brought Clara and the Nutcracker to the Palace by the Sea, a stage that seemed inspired by Mediterranean villas and Arabian nights. Clara’s dolls have all come to life, and take turns dancing for her, resulting in masterful displays of talent for the audience.
Clara’s dolls Marie and the Prince (Kate Inoue and Marcos Ramirez) take center stage throughout, as the emotional through-lines of the act, and both were magnificent for these demanding roles.
We see the return of the Russian, Harlequin, and Columbine dolls, as well as Spanish and Arabian dancers, dancing flowers, and Mother Ginger and her little Hansels and Gretels. Each have their turn–or multiple turns–performing thematic and cultural variations. They were all such a delight, not a bad one throughout, with my favorites being the Spanish dancers and Arabian dancers, who I thought made the most of their times to shine.
The primary issue in the second act, as I’ve noted, is that the pacing leaves most of the excitement before intermission. While all of this dancing is masterful, it can be hard to keep the attention going when it seems like the “plot” is largely over. I don’t know how to fix this, but I did still enjoy the second act.
The performance ends as Clara seemingly drifts “back to sleep” in her bed, which of course she’s been in this whole time, and then suddenly wakes–back to the reality of Christmas, 1912, a shocked look on her face, and the lights go out. A wonderful ending indeed!
I really enjoyed Los Angeles Ballet’s Nutcracker and am so glad I came to see it.
Be prepared, if you see this (next year, or onwards), it is decidedly a family event, which means there are lots of people talking, lots of older folks with a “different” sense of phone etiquette scrolling on Facebook around you, and lots of children who are bored of ballet and want to make sure everyone knows it. It is a noisy and distracting environment, much more so than any normal ballet. But having this expectation, since it is a social Christmas tradition, can help you be prepared for it in the moment.
Full Cast & Context
Here is the full primary cast of LAB’s Nutcracker on 12/24/2025:
- Taylor Hugens: Clara
- Jacob Soltero: The Nutcracker
- Kate Inoue: Marie
- Marcos Ramirez: The Prince
- Rony Baseman: Mouse King, Party Parent, Russian
- Evan Swenson: Uncle Drosselmeyer
- Luca Aguilar: Fritz
- Adrian Blake-Mitchell: Arabian
- Anna Funakura: Snow, Flower
- Anna Jacobs: Party Parent, Snow
- Anna Jac: Flower
- Arianna Armillei: Clara’s Friend, Page
- Ashley Chung: Snow, Flower
- Aviva Gelfer-Mundl: Arabian
- Brigitte Edwards: Party Parent
- Bryce Broedell: Butler, Spanish
- Cassidy Cocke: Snow, Flower
- Celeste John: Baby Mouse
- Chloe Oronoz: Maid, Snow, Flower
- Cleo Taneja: Flower
- Dallas Finley: Butler, Mouse, Herald
- Evan Gorbell: Cossack Doll, Russian
- Felipe Zapiola: Mouse, Herald
- Holly Bratkovich: Mouse
- Hope Giering: Clara’s Friend, Page
- Jake Ray: Mr. Staulbaum
- Julianne Kinasiewicz: Spanish
- Leya Graham: Flower
- Lilly Fife: Snow, Spanish
- Lilly Leech: Mrs. Staulbaum, Snow
- Lilly Olvera: Maid, Snow, Flower
- Marco Biella: Party Parent, Mouse, Spanish
- Natalia Burns: Snow, Flower
- Nick Sedano: Party Parent, Mouse
- Olivia Flanyak: Mouse
- Paige Wilkey: Party Parent, Snow
- Poppy Coleman: Harlequin
- Sarah Hurty: Snow, Flower
- Sarah-Ashley Chicola: Rose
- Sherwood Sheen: Mouse
- Stephen Kessler: Columbine
- Theo Swank: Party Parent, Mouse, Russian
Additional cast:
- Party Girls: Celestia De Castro, Amélie Arrendondo-Ratcliff, Bee Burnley, Kagua Kawamura, Oto Uetani
- Party Boys: Simon Kakitani, Lucas Gong-Koiso, Marcus Gong-Koiso, Ysé Gazal
- Soldiers: Elia Casias, Ysé Gazal, Kiera Mossman, Ruby Mullin, Gayane Atanesyan, Emily Bektashyan, Olivia Lopez, Emma Gong-Koiso, Dylan Crocker, Ella Abramson, Rineh Hokyo, Kyrstin Nguyen
- Pages: Ruby Mullin, Olivia Belle Fuentes, Emily Sepanian, Erin Kim
- Hansels: Simon Kakitani, Dylan Crocker, Bee Burnley, Emma Gong-Koiso
- Gretels: Celestia De Castro, Kagua Kawamura, Oto Uetani, Olivia Lopez
The LAB team and crew:
- Melissa Barak: Artistic Director
- Julia Rivera: Executive Director
- Thordal Christensen: Choreographer
- Colleen Neary: Choreographer
- Gavriel Heine: Conductor
- JoAnn Tominaga: Orchestra Manager
- Lauren Tominaga: Assistant Orchestra Manager
- Diane Louie: Orchestra Librarian
- Jenna Jacobson: Stage Manager
- Thomas Garcia: Stage Manager
- Aaliyah Northern: Assistant Stage Manager
- Brian Dawson: Technical Director
- Arash Parsee: Music Director
- Catherine Kanner: Set Designer
- Donald Sum: Master Carpenter
- Dannie Garcia: Prop Master
- Penny Jacobus: Lighting Designer
- Nathan Scheuer: Resident Lighting Designer/Supervisor
- Eden Palomino: Assistant Lighting Supervisor
- Ryan Cartony: Master Electrician
- Dewain Robinson: Electrician/Spot Light Operator
- Ashe Duke: Electrician/Spot Light Operator
- Chloée O’Hayon-Crosby: Costume Director/Designer
- Priscilla Turner: Assistant Costume Director
- Valerie Wright: Costume Couturier
- Mykie Gaitan: Costume Fabricator
- Kevin Chen: Costume Fabricator
- Maria Fernandez: Costume Fabricator
- Erica Schwartz: Costume Fabricator
- Emily Stansbury: Costume Assistant
- Kaliyah Rabb: Costume Intern
- Miriam Florentino: Costume Intern
- Shizuka Ono: Costume Intern
- Lizzy Rothstein: Physical Therapist
- Naomi Shapira Robinow: Physical Therapist
- Christina Stroh: Conditioning Coach
- Laura Chachich: Pilates
Here is the full Los Angeles Ballet orchestra:
- Violins: Bruce Dukov (Concert Master), Ana Landauer (Assistant), Irina Voloshina (Assistant), Christian Fatu, David Ewart, Susan Chatman, Rafael Rishik, Susan Rishik, Ina Veli, Kathleen Robertson, Michelle Kikiuchi, Pam Gates, Mark Cargill, Mario DeLeon, Nicole Garcia, Marisa Kuney
- Viola: Rodney Wirtz (Principal), Linnea Powell (Assistant), Tianna Heppner, Lynn Grants, Si Tran, Erik Rynearson
- Cello: Erika Duke Kirkpatrick (Principal), Paula Hotchhalter (Assistant), Stefanie Fife, Nika Stein Ross, MaryAnn Steinberger, Janet Shulman, Adrinne Woods
- Bass: Steve Dress (Principal), Frances Wu (Assistant), Tim Eckert, Thomas Harte
- Flutes: Sara Andon (Principal), Jamie Pedrini, Eileen Holt (flute/piccolo), Patricia Cloud
- Oboe: Rong-Huey Liu (Principal), Kathy Oh, Alessandra Ramos (cor anglais)
- Bassoon: Damian Montano (Principal), Alex Rosales-Garcia
- Clarinet: Juan Gallegos (Principal), Joanne Kim, Michael Yoshimi (bass clarinet)
- Horns: Dylan Hart (Principal), Jason Mason, Teag Reaves, Danielle Ordarza
- Trumpets: Jon Lewis, Daniel Rosenboom, Jim Grinta
- Trombones: Alan Kaplan (Principal), Carlie Morillas, Steve Trapani (bass)
- Tuba: Gary Hickman (Principal)
- Percussion: MB Gordy (Principal), Scott Higgins
- Timpani: Jason Goodman (Principal)
- Harp: Marcia Dickstein (Principal), Ko-no Choi
- Celeste: Alan Steinberger (Principal)
The Nutcracker started as a story by E.T.A. Hoffman in 1816, later softened and adapted by Alexandre Dumas. The version that most people know today is the 1892 ballet choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov in St. Petersburg. It follows young Clara, a mysterious nutcracker doll, a battle with the Mouse King, and a journey to the magical Land of Sweets. It’s half Christmas party and half showcase of divertissements, and it’s a ballet school rite of passage; in the US, Nutcracker productions can often fund the ballet company’s entire next year.
The score for The Nutcracker was written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who also wrote Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. Born in 1840 in Russia, he built upon his formal conservatory training to write with emotion that pushed his work far beyond Russian borders. The celesta in “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” was a brand new instrument at a time, which he closely guarded before the premiere; unfortunately, he died in 1893, just a year after the Nutcracker debuted, without seeing how successful it would become.
Dolby Theatre opened in 2001 (originally as the Kodak Theatre) as part of the Hollywood & Highland complex. It was built with the Academy Awards in mind, and it’s hosted the Oscars almost every year since 2002 (other than COVID, where they relocated to Union Station). The room seats around 3,300, with that deep proscenium and sweeping staircase you always see on TV. It’s very polished and red-carpet-ready, but it also hosts touring Broadway shows, concerts, and big televised events. It’s meant to be the height of glamour.
Los Angeles Ballet was originally founded in 2006 by husband-and-wife team Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary, both with Balanchine backgrounds. The company tends to mix classical story ballets (The Nutcracker, Swan Lake) with Balanchine works and contemporary pieces. Their style tends to run clean and musical rather than flashy or experimental. It’s not yet a massive institution like New York City Ballet, but it’s carved out a steady place in the LA scene and built a loyal audience over the last couple decades.
