The New York Times' reports that a production of The Nutcracker by choreographer Alexei Ratmansky for American Ballet Theater is slated for BAM in 2010. Producers hope the Brooklyn production will be a hearty competitor to New York City Ballet's canonic annual production of the Balanchine classic at Lincoln Center, quite a schlep for Brooklynites.
The new version will be performed just days after Mark Morris' The Hard Nut, a more adult version that has graced BAM's stage before.
This should all make for quite a nutty—and fun—holiday season over at BAM, Brooklyn's capital of culture:
starting with two weeks and growing to four. That will give the company
something it has never had: a permanent home for a holiday
“Nutcracker.” Since 1993 it has taken a version by Kevin McKenzie, its
artistic director, on tour and staged it several times in New York but
only in the spring. The Brooklyn Academy then will be able to present a
fixed run of shows around the holidays, something that has proved
elusive.
"The show will also give Ballet Theater a critical source
of income. A holiday run of “The Nutcracker” is generally the financial
foundation of an American dance company and an important introduction
to the art form for children, the ticket buyers of the future. Ballet
Theater’s touring “Nutcracker” usually runs a shortfall of up to
several hundred thousand dollars, said Rachel S. Moore, the company’s
executive director."