Review: The Washington Ballet's THE NUTCRACKER at Warner Theatre

The Washington Ballet’s The Nutcracker was a faithful rendition of the holiday classic with a whimsical Washingtonian twist.

When it comes to the ballet classic Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, you'll find that each company strives to find a way to make it new again. And this year, The Washington Ballet’s artistic direction, led by Edwaard Liang, turned to the capital, which they used to produce a portrait of American patriotism and the city in springtime. 

The allusions to Washington, DC start with the setting of the first act: a grand Georgetown mansion in 1882. The opulence of the families and their holiday scene—donned in dense dresses and swaddled in cotton cloaks, their Christmas tree loomed over the crowd, and the presents piled almost as high—made one want to join the party. 

Act one’s motifs were mightiest and most cohesive with the original story of the source material. The Nutcracker’s battle with the Rat King resembled the American Revolution, complete with a portrait-perfect George Washington-Nutcracker in blue coat versus the delightfully campy Rat-King George with white powdered wig, golden garb, and all.

Liam Agnew-Huertas’s casting as the Nutcracker Prince was perfect. He was an immaculate balance of cherubic and strong, which complemented the swaying grace of Ella Fischer as Clara. Most of the performers' energy, especially from the younger cast, went primarily into the dance, which made some of the acting and prop work suffer slightly. The climax of the act, when Fritz threw the nutcracker to the ground, missed going out with a bang. The dancer merely tapped the toy on the ground, and nothing on the nutcracker appeared to break, so the audience wasn’t especially moved to be devastated.  

Once the frenzy of the party and the battle dies down and Clara and the Prince are whisked away to, in TWB’s version, a springtime kingdom, The Nutcracker’s plot turns into a showcase for the ensemble full of immeasurable skills and some questionable frills.

The dances themselves were a flurry of wonderfully executed movements full of merriment. Ashley Murphy-Wilson as the Sugar Plum Fairy could not have been more regal and powerful when warmly breezing through the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” and her pas de deux with partner Oscar Sanchez. The Washington Ballet’s student dancers were diligent and adorable as they made the stage bloom as springtime flowers, mushrooms, and butterflies. As many of the motifs of the numbers were altered to reflect the natural world and history of DC, a particularly vivid and enthralling alteration was that of Mother Ginger into “Mother Barnum.” Dancer Joshua Linkhorn perched atop a gilded, life-sized, functional carousel skirt that brightly colored clown children clamored in and out of.

The Nutcracker’s legacy already has a questionable history of appropriation, and TWB’s rendition also features dances dedicated to more local cultures and stereotypes. In the most tactless portrayal, the Arabian dancers were replaced with a scantily clad pair in loosely attributed Native American garb and labeled the “Anacostians,” who inhabited the land of DC before European occupation. The Russian dancers were exchanged for “Frontiersmen,” the very group of Europeans who often displaced Native American populations. To represent both aesthetically, seemingly without considering the contentious history, added a heavy note to what most expect to be a lighthearted holiday romp. 

The Nutcracker is a staple of ballet for a reason; It contains winter whimsy in its purest form and has inspired a hearty, dependable tradition of families' Christmastime patronage to the performing arts. The Washington Ballet specifically had an inspired take, utilizing the capital’s local history and motifs, but since it is a staple, it is a challenge to make it a standout. Still, if you’re craving the comfort of a Christmas tradition, you can find The Nutcracker at the Warner Theatre through December 28. 

Runtime: 2 hours, with a 15-minute intermission 

Photo credit: ​​Sonia Bartolomeo for TWB