{"id":185518,"date":"2026-05-06T17:54:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T17:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/185518\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T17:54:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T17:54:07","slug":"immersive-awe-inspiring-proud-of-pittsburgh-pittsburgh-ballet-theater-announces-a-new-iteration-of-the-nutcracker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/185518\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cImmersive, Awe-Inspiring, Proud of Pittsburgh\u201d: Pittsburgh Ballet Theater Announces a New Iteration of ‘The Nutcracker’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pbt\"<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO BY OLLIE GRATZINGER<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d is getting a makeover<\/a> \u2014 Pittsburgh-style.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The famed ballet, put on each holiday season by Pittsburgh Ballet Theater at the Benedum Center, is based on German author E.T.A. Hoffman\u2019s 1816 tale \u201cThe Nutcracker and the Mouse King\u201d and performed to the 1892 score composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It follows the adventure of the young hero, Marie, whose coming-of-age story begins when her dolls come to life and transport her to a magical realm called the Land of Sweets.<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh Ballet Theater has performed six different versions since its inception in 1969. Next year, it will debut the seventh.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the choreography is new. All the sets are new. All the backdrops are new. We\u2019re including projections,\u201d teases Adam W. McKinney, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre\u2019s artistic director. While PBT is only able to reveal some of what they have planned, McKinney explains that the revamped production will have a hyperlocal twist; the story will be set in 1906 Pittsburgh, and many design elements will be inspired by the Steel City\u2019s distinct and vibrant history.<\/p>\n

The new production will also be designed specifically for the Benedum Stage \u2014 a unique challenge, McKinney says, since the Benedum boasts one of the largest stages in the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cPittsburgh is a special place,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd so what you\u2019ll see on stage, you\u2019ll get a sense of that. The snow scene will still be full of majesty and magic, and the second act, which is situated in the Cloud Kingdom \u2014 which very much reminds Marie of her Pittsburgh neighborhoods \u2014 is reminiscent of Pittsburgh in terms of the colors that we will see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marie, the Nutcracker and Uncle Drosselmeyer will even take the Duquesne Incline from the snow scene up into the Cloud Kingdom for Act II, McKinney says.<\/p>\n

The new iteration will begin in 1956 with Marie, now a grandmother, telling the story of The Nutcracker to her young granddaughter, Clara. Aesthetically, McKinney adds, the production\u2019s prologue will hone in on the style and couture of the 1950s, and then assume the style of turn-of-the-century Pittsburgh as Marie\u2019s childhood story comes to life on stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve taken into account some of the architectural influences on the city to inform the design,\u201d McKinney says.<\/p>\n

The new production will also bring back a composition from the original Tchaikovsky score, the English divertissement, in which a group of baseball players will dance in a nod to the city\u2019s love of sports. There\u2019s also a \u201csteel dance\u201d that will be performed by the baseball players, along with a special, yet-unrevealed soloist.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some of the dances in Act II are even inspired by Pittsburgh\u2019s distinctive food culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cPierogies, of course, will be central to the production,\u201d McKinney adds, explaining that \u201cbaby pierogies\u201d will be played by students from PBT\u2019s ballet school, dancing to Tchaikovsky\u2019s \u201cTrepak,\u201d or Russian Dance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Sister Bridges, too, will make an appearance in the form of ballerinas, and the Waltz of the Flowers will take place at a recreated version of Phipp\u2019s Conservatory. McKinney and his creative team also have been in talks with the Carnegie Museum of Natural History about its gem collection, which will inform \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d pas de deux, a dance about geodes.<\/p>\n

McKinney describes the production as \u201cimmersive, awe-inspiring, exciting, surprising, amazed and proud of Pittsburgh.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause we love Pittsburgh, and because we understand the importance of place \u2026 I have a sense that audiences are just going to fall in love with \u2018The Nutcracker\u2019 over and over and over and over again, from generation to generation,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Laurie Rieger, PBT\u2019s public relations and media manager, agrees; she says the \u201cPittsburghesque\u201d of the new ballet is something that audiences will enjoy.<\/p>\n

\u201cA new \u2018Nutcracker\u2019 is literally a once-in-a-generation kind of thing that happens every 20-25 years,\u201d she says. \u201cThey might be a little nervous about what it\u2019s going to be like, but I think people are going to be excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

The time was right for a new iteration, McKinney and Rieger say. Over time, the production\u2019s costumes break down from steady use; the revamped \u2018Nutcracker\u2019 will feature a completely new wardrobe, made fresh for the 2027 holiday season. Similarly, new innovations in both dance and production technology offer opportunities to tell the same traditional story in a modern way. Thus, a new generation can grow up with their own version of the classic ballet.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy question as a director is, \u2018How do we create a ballet for audiences now who will be 5 years old coming to the ballet and who will be coming to the ballet in 25 or 20 years when they\u2019re 25 or 30?\u2019\u201d McKinney says. \u201cThe choreography itself, the technology itself, has to remain relevant. The way we perform ballet now, the stories that we perform, continue to evolve, and so must \u2018The Nutcracker.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Making changes to such a cherished Pittsburgh production is not something PBT takes lightly; McKinney says he\u2019s been working on developing the new show and putting together its creative team since he came on board at PBT in March 2023. That team now includes Trey McIntyre, who developed the new choreography and who worked alongside McKinney to develop the concept for the show; Susan Roemer on costume and set design; Japhy Weidman on lighting design; Stefania Bulbarella on projection design; and magician Dr. Kenrick Ice McDonald on magic tricks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just been such a pleasure working with the staff; everyone is jumping on board and understands the importance of collaboration,\u201d McKinney says. \u201cWe are all going full force toward this beautiful, beautiful production.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKinney echoes that changes to the show are a rare and special thing that must be handled with care.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to get it right and to provide Pittsburgh with this beautiful gift,\u201d he adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Indeed, the last time anything changed in the production or performance of \u2018The Nutcracker\u2019 was 2002, when Terrence S. Orr choreographed and conceived its current iteration, which will conclude its 24-year run Dec. 4-27. Starting next year, new characters, costumes and choreography will complement the original story and score, which McKinney says will mostly remain the same.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom a directorial perspective, you don\u2019t want to change too much,\u201d McKinney says. \u201cThis is not a \u2018Nutcracker\u2019 that is indecipherable; this is a Nutcracker that we know and love and that has a Pittsburgh flair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of the ballet\u2019s beloved characters<\/a>, including Marie, Fritz, Uncle Drosselmeyer, the titular Nutcracker, Rat King, Snow Queen and King, Snowflakes and Sugar Plum Fairy will remain in this new version. Traditional dances such as \u201cWaltz of the Snowflakes,\u201d \u201cWaltz of the Flowers\u201d and the \u201cDance of the Sugar Plum Fairy\u201d will also remain the same. Other dances will have the same music with new characters performing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Traditional characters who were missing from PBT\u2019s previous version will once again be included in the new show, including the Dew Drop Fairy and Mother Ginger. New characters inspired by Pittsburgh \u2014 including the pierogies and Three Sisters Bridges \u2014 will also be introduced in Act II divertissement dances.<\/p>\n

McKinney stresses the importance of \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d to PBT, to Pittsburgh and to ballet as a whole.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the ballet that people see for the first time, and it is the ballet that people fall in love with, and so for that very reason, it\u2019s important to build a production that is both accessible and awe-inspiring,\u201d he says. \u201cThe first weekend of December 2027 is going to be monumental for Pittsburgh, for PBT and for the field of ballet. We\u2019re creating a beautiful, beautiful production.\u201d\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOTO BY OLLIE GRATZINGER \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d is getting a makeover \u2014 Pittsburgh-style.\u00a0 The famed ballet, put on each…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":185519,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[6889,32243,1338,73,82844,75,74,82845,24056],"class_list":["post-185518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-art","tag-ballet","tag-dance","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-ballet-theater","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news","tag-the-benedum-center","tag-the-nutcracker"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/185519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}