Nevada Ballet Theatre has performed The Nutcracker for almost as long as the company has existed: For many Las Vegas families, the holiday season doesn’t begin until the curtain rises on that Victorian dollhouse set. But for 2025, the tradition will have a new twist — one with a Gatsby-esque glitter.
“The story remains the same, the intent remains the same, but we’re setting it in the 1930s, so it has an art deco feeling to it,” NBT Artistic Director Roy Kaiser says. The new production’s visual inspiration comes not just from the era’s luminously flamboyant style, but also from the graceful curves and grand staircases of The Smith Center itself, where the performances will take place.
The set and costumes are not the only part of the show that will get a bold new look. Nevada Ballet has retired the James Canfield choreography it has been using since 2012 in favor of the George Balanchine version, making NBT one of only a handful of companies the estate has approved to perform his production. “I think Balanchine’s is brilliant in being able to tell this story through the eyes of children. Marie and her prince are played by youngsters from our school, not adults,” Kaiser says. “I wanted to take his production into a different era and create a different world.”
Michael Raiford, who designed the company’s recent production of The Wizard of Oz, created the new Nutcracker sets and costumes. “I wanted someone where I might want to say, ‘That’s a little too much’ and pull them back, instead of having to encourage them,” Kaiser says. The first-act party scene features an enormous, sparkling tree that owes as much to Erté as to St. Nick. The second act’s nighttime visit to dreamland is lit by a crescent moon that looks like a silent-movie starlet’s silvery profile.
“The costumes match the art deco opulence of the period and The Smith Center architecture,” says Amanda Williams, the troupe’s wardrobe manager. In the opening party, the women swirl in silk velvet bias cuts partnered by men in tuxedos, while Drosselemeyer’s top hat and tails are as much Fred Astaire as mysterious magician. The second act’s trip to the Land of Sweets allows for even more extravagance, from waltzing Flowers in orchid ombré tulle to iridescent spangled Dewdrops to boldly dotted and striped Hot Chocolate.
“We are very excited about the elevated level of costuming,” Williams says. “We still ooh and ah over these pieces in our shop, so we know it’ll be even more once they hit the stage.”
Over the years, artistic directors and designers have offered multiple interpretations of The Nutcracker — Mark Morris’ mid-century-styled slapstick version; Seattle’s dark rendition, with Maurice Sendak’s art design; Donald Byrd’s Harlem Nutcracker, set to music by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. “Ballet companies around the country reimagine The Nutcracker periodically,” Kaiser says. With this art deco take on George Balanchine’s version, Nevada Ballet Theatre hopes to create a new tradition, uniquely its own and unique to Las Vegas.