The Long Beach Ballet will present its production of “The Nutcracker,” boasting a full symphony orchestra, surprise guests and live animals, at the Terrace Theater starting this weekend.
This production, hailed as the “best-loved Nutcracker in the nation” by Goldstar audiences, features a cast of more than 200 people and has been seen by millions worldwide, according to a recent news release.
Director David Wilcox, a former ballet virtuoso, infuses the show with both classical beauty and thrilling surprises, ensuring it transcends ballet preferences.
“It has pyrotechnics, it has magic; it’s got everything I can think of to make it thrilling,” Wilcox said in the release. “This production is not just for people who like ballet — you can hate ballet and you’ll still like this production.”
The LBB is also among the few ballet companies in Southern California that perform “The Nutcracker” with a full symphony orchestra, the release said, and is one of just two to use harps — as its original composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, intended.
This year marks the 41st anniversary of the LBB’s “The Nutcracker,” and this production will feature just six special performances.
The six performances will run from Dec. 16 to 23. Tickets range from $35 to $125 and are available, along with more details about each show, at longbeachnutcracker.com.
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