'The Nutcracker' continues to be magical in Pittsburgh, Greensburg

Although “The Nutcracker” is perfect family Christmas entertainment, surprisingly it was not a hit when it was first performed in Russia in 1892. But when it did finally catch on more than 50 years ago, it quickly became a ubiquitous part of the holiday season. It’s now the most frequently seen ballet every year.

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre will give 24 performances of “The Nutcracker” Dec. 6-29 in Pittsburgh’s Benedum Center.

Laurel Ballet will give three performances of “The Nutcracker” with the Westmoreland Symphony, conducted by Walter Morales, Dec. 14 and 15 in The Palace Theatre in Greensburg.

The ballet is set on Christmas Eve and begins at home at a party for extended family and friends. The protagonist is named either Claire or Marie, depending on the German or French literary sources for the story. She’s a girl on the verge of being a young woman.

Among the guests are her uncle Drosselmeyer, who performs magic and brings magical gifts. His present for her is an animated Nutcracker. After everyone’s gone to bed, there is a battle in the living room between toy soldiers and rodents, which is won by the Nutcracker. He turns into a Cavalier and together they travel to the “Land of Enchantment,” where they are treated to a royal entertainment of dancing in many styles performed in their honor.

The Laurel Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker” takes place in America rather the original Russian setting, and is the only one in Western Pennsylvania to have the advantage of live orchestral performance of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s beautiful music.

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre will present its artistic director Terrence Orr’s production, which debuted in 2002 and is set in Pittsburgh. But although this is his last time preparing this show because he’s stepping down at the end of the season, he’s not misty-eyed over his single most important contribution to the company’s repertoire.

“I feel the way I always do,” he says. “I’m fully invested in all the characters and the artistry and physicality of the program. I’m doing the same things, but it’s always different because the artists change and the circumstances change. Just because it’s my last year as artistic director doesn’t really make any difference to me.”

Orr changes his production a little bit each year to keep it fresh. He also uses rotating casting, dancers taking different roles night to night, to keep it fresh over the course of two dozen performances in a month.

Performing “The Nutcracker” is a thrill for Victoria Watford, who will portray Marie along with 10 other roles during December.

“When I started dancing at the Cleveland School of Dance we performed ‘The Nutcracker,’ ” she says. “I was 6 at the time and remember watching the Snow Queen and being blown away by how elegant and magical she was. Even though we do so many shows and so many rehearsals it still feels magical to me doing it now, especially doing Marie, which I think is every little girl’s dream. Having all this magic happen around you, really putting yourself in the shoes of this little girl is such a wonderful night. It feels incredible.”