The Nutcracker

Irvine Barclay Theater

A A A Comments By STACY DAVIES Thursday, Dec 10 2009

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Yes, it’s once again time for enormous-headed wooden soldiers with broken jaws to fight evil, giant rodents for the honor of little girls in ballet slippers. Starring illustrious guest artists from the American Ballet Theatre, the Festival Ballet Theatre’s Nutcracker is always the hottest cracker in town. What you won’t be seeing, of course, is the original 1816 story by E.T.A. Hoffmann that Tchaikovsky’s tale is based on—a dark fable that includes a mouse queen, who, hell-bent on revenge for the murder of her babies, casts a spell on a human infant, giving it a huge head, wide grinning mouth and cottony beard. Un-Christmas-y? Yes. Riveting? Yes, ma’am! As will be this decidedly more pleasant version, which has broken the Barclay’s box office records two-years running.
Fridays, Saturdays, 7 p.m.; Sat., Dec. 12, 2 p.m.; Sun., Dec. 13, 1 & 6 p.m.; Sat., Dec. 19, 2 p.m.; Sun., Dec. 20, 1 & 6 p.m.; Tue., Dec. 22, 6 p.m.; Wed., Dec. 23, 2 p.m.; Thu., Dec. 24, 11 a.m. Starts: Dec. 11. Continues through Dec. 19, 2009

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What's happening in town? From underground club nights to the biggest outdoor festivals, our top picks for the week's best events will always keep you in on the action.