A first: Las Vegas company takes on classic holiday show

“George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker” is playing Las Vegas for the first time. Even for someone who has spent nearly a lifetime on stage, there is added … emphasis, shall we say, on this production.

“I don’t know that I feel added pressure,” Nevada Ballet Theatre Artistic Director Roy Kaiser says. Then he self-corrects, “I’ll take that back. I feel pressure in that, I want to do the work justice. I want to do the ballet justice. I want to be the company to perform it at the highest level.”

The 18-show run of the Balanchine Trust-authorized production opened 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, continuing through Dec. 28. The Las Vegas Philharmonic plays the readily recognizable Tchaikovsky score in the first four shows, including 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday.

The production was brought to life by a $2.5 million capital campaign launched at the NBT Black & White Gala in March.

Expect to see numbers featuring The Sugarplum Fairy; Dewdrop; and Mother Ginger with her Polichinelles Coffee, Tea and Hot Chocolate, leading Marie Stahlbaum and her Nutcracker Prince into the Land of Sweets.

This is all familiar fare to those who have experienced “The Nutcracker” over the years. The original Balanchine version was first performed by the New York City Ballet in 1954. The seasonal classic is a masterpiece from Balanchine, considered the most influential ballet figure of the 20th century.

Nostalgia drips from the production like so many strands of tinsel. but the show will invoke some Las Vegas-specific effects.

“We’ve been able to do a few things here that probably wouldn’t have done in another city, because it wouldn’t have made sense,” says Kaiser, who danced the show with Philadelphia Ballet Company since he was age 21. “The use of projection wasn’t around in 1954. But we are using that while still being to the (Balanchine’s) aesthetic and to his choreography.”

Balanchine himself might have been willing to experiment with modern effects.”

“If he was creating today, my guess is that he would utilize that technology,” Kaiser says. “We’ll never know, but that’s my guess.”

Reps from the Balanchine Trust work as consultants in the show’s staging and choreography. You don’t stray, accidentally or incidentally, from the Balanchine original. Las Vegas is just the seventh ballet company to present the authorized Balanchine “Nutcracker” in the U.S., joining Miami City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet of Seattle, Alabama Ballet, Philadelphia Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet.

Kaiser and NBT President and CEO Beth Barbre have extensive experience in the Balanchine production.

Kaiser brought the Balanchine classic to Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. in 2009, while he was the artistic director at Pennsylvania Ballet. Barbre spent five years as an administrator from The George Balanchine Trust in New York. She was also company manager of New York City Ballet.

NBT’s production presents more than 140 roles danced by its professional company artists. Another 69 roles are danced by students from the School of Nevada Ballet Theatre.

“One of the great things I love about this production, about Mr. Balanchine’s telling of this story, is that he really tells it through the eyes of children,” Kaiser says. “We have some really talented young, young students performing with us.”

The return of Philharmonic musicians is a welcome touch to the “Nutcracker” show. The live music in the opening weekend settles a dispute from last holiday season, when NBT and the Musicians Union of Las Vegas Local 369 fell short of an agreement to include Vegas musicians. In the months since, the two sides’ executive committees worked together a three-year agreement to feature Philharmonic.

“It was a long time coming, and I am very happy. I’m very pleased,” Kaiser says. “My ultimate goal is to have live music whenever we can afford it.”

To the community, we say, support the cause. The more you give, the more you get. And “Nutcracker,” the gift that keeps giving, is designed run in Las Vegas in perpetuity.

“I hope so,” Kaiser says. “This production is made to last a long, long time.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.