Good things come in threes.
Last week, we mentioned three Queens presentations of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol. This week, we have the pleasure of describing three versions of The Nutcracker that are coming to borough stages.
Queensborough Performing Arts Center goes first with a grand spectacle by the 55-member State Ballet Theatre of Ukraine on Friday, Dec. 15, at 8 pm. The audience will ooh and aah at the stunning sets, elaborate costumes, and breathtaking choreography.
Ticket prices run from $43 to $68, and QPAC is at 222-05 56th Ave. in Bayside. There’s a large parking lot nearby.
Queens Theatre is next with This ’70s Nutcracker on Saturday, Dec. 16, at 3 pm.
Long Island City Ballet spins this psychedelic yarn, which features LICSB students. Set in the 1970s, a strange relative named “Chick” magically transports the young protagonist to the Land of Television, where he discovers ballet. Wonder ensues.
Admission is $32, and Queens Theatre is located at 14 United Nations Ave. S. inside Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Two parking lots are nearby.
LaGuardia Performing Arts Center keeps the spirit going with The Nutcracker and Santa Visit on Sunday, Dec. 17, at 3:30 pm.
The Manhattan-based Joffrey Ballet School offers dance and music designed for school-age children, and after the show, the public is invited to meet cast members and visit Santa Claus in a magical toyland.
With an address at 31-10 Thomson Ave. in Long Island City, LPAC’s Mainstage Theatre seats 740 guests on a single level plus up to 12 guests in a wheelchair section. It also has a Little Theatre where the Santa Toyland will be. The general price is $30 with discount options for LaGuardia Community College employees, students, and bulk purchasers.
Created in 1892, The Nutcracker is a two-act Russian ballet with libretto by Marius Petipa and music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It varies from production to production, but the original plot follows a German girl, Marie, on Christmas Eve. At first, family and friends are in the parlor of a home in Nuremberg, marveling at the Christmas tree. Later that night, Marie (Clara in some versions) returns to the parlor to find everything from a life-size nutcracker to a battle between gingerbread soldiers and mice that involves tin soldiers and a multi-headed mouse king. The nutcracker transforms into a prince who leads the female protagonist through a pine forest where snowflakes dance in the moonlight. The next stop is the Land of Sweets where Sugar Plum Fairies rule the roost. There’s some drama with the mouse king and other characters, but the show ends well with a candy-heavy celebration and dances.
