With performances of its dramatically revised Nutcracker only two months away, the Pacific Northwest Ballet has just provided fans with an intimate discussion and a glimpse of how it will look.
A small crowd of ballet enthusiasts, both young and older, gathered at Seattle Center's Phelps Center on Tuesday evening to hear PNB’s Artistic Director Peter Boal and his collaborators talk about the ballet's new Nutcracker — the first in more than a generation, which will premiere this November.
When Boal began thinking about a new Nutcracker production four years ago, he enlisted the help of children’s book author/illustrator and scenic designer Ian Falconer. The author is best known for his Olivia books, beloved among children and their parents since debuting in 2000 and the winners of a long series of awards.
Boal’s predecessor, Kent Stowell, had chosen children’s book author Maurice Sendak as the scenic designer for his 1982 Nutcracker production. Similarly, Boal wanted a contemporary artist familiar to 21st century families and theater-goers to design the sets and costumes for the choreography he had selected — George Balanchine’s version of the Nutcracker.
