PNWB’s The Nutcracker

This weekend I got to check three of the Seattle events off my calendar! Shanna and I went to the PNWB’s The Nutcracker. We started the day off at Mecca Cafe in Lower Queen Anne for Brunch, which was arguably the best decision we made that day. Then, after we went to the Urban Craft Fair… more on that next week!

Today’s all about the Nutcracker. 🩰

Table of Contents

PNWB’s The Nutcracker

The Pacific Northwest Ballet generally puts on the George Balanchine’s version of The Nutcracker, which it continued to be this year. I like this version because I love getting to see the little ballet dancers.

Our seats

When we arrived, we made sure to take pictures by the Christmas trees and put in an order for intermission. I really love going to events with Shanna because she’s never shy about her treats. Which makes it easier for me to indulge too. Once we made sure our treats were ordered, we went to out seats to settle in and listen to the orchestra warm up.

We got to our seats and were ecstatic! Past Shanna & Alli absolutely spoiled future Shanna & Alli with floor seats! We had booked our tickets so long ago, we forgot we treated ourselves. 💕 I love gifting myself experiences like that.

Non-realistic societal… standards

Once the ballet began, it was so vibrant & colorful. The dancers did such a phenomenal job. Especially the little ballet dancers.

However, the minute Clara’s family was surrounded by all their neighbors and friends, I started questioning why The Nutcracker hasn’t been updated to be more inclusive. Everyone was in a heterosexual relationship, that you could tell. All the little boys got to play with trumpets… and all the little girls got baby dolls. Which was just annoying because there were so many children in the audience. I know this might annoy people but it’s teaching little girls to be kind, quiet, and caring. Meanwhile, all the boys got to run wild with their noisy instruments, and that straight-up sucks!

I would have been pissed and asked why I don’t get a trumpet. I also would be frustrated that not all my friends were allowed to be invited to this amazing Christmas party.

Revised PC characters

That said, I genuinely appreciated the PC character changes. Instead of the Spanish dancers, they are now called the Hot Cholocate dancers! I think the one that stood out the most though was the Chinese dancers, which is now the Green Tea Cricket. Whom had the most unique costume! I loved all the costumes this year. Oh my gosh, they were so beautiful. I enjoyed the Marzipans the most. I’m sure I can find a photo for you.

Mother Ginger still proved to be my favorite character and, a special shout out to the lead Candy Cane for killin’ his solo.

Intermission

Shanna ordered a beautiful Christmas-themed cupcake from Trophy cupcakes and I, of course, treated myself to champagne. A lot of people don’t know this but I don’t like carbonation so I don’t ever order champagne or sparkling wine. I was feeling fancy and I lucked out. It wasn’t that fizzy. I did have to shoot it at the end though. So classy. 😅

Finale

The second Act was fantastic. I was telling Shanna, after the show, that it was a lot more captivating than I remember. The last time I watched the ballet, I kind of got bored in the second act. I don’t know why. So, I was thrilled at how engaging it was.

However, there was a little girl (a few row up) who thought otherwise. She stood up and announced “I’m ready to go now” to everyone. I damn near died of laughter. HAHA. Her poor mom & grandma.

I’m happy we went this year. I felt like it kicked off our holiday season with a real bang. I’ll make sure to post about our trip to the Urban Craft Fair next week. I’m off to Las Vegas tomorrow and have a few posts already scheduled for you guys.

Have you been to the nutcracker this year? Do you plan to go? I’d love to know which version your city puts on. 🎄