As the clock ticked toward 6 p.m. on Sunday, the energy backstage at the Warner Theatre became increasingly charged. The show was running a little behind. Normally, the curtain falls and doors open 30 minutes before showtime. But a change in the crew’s schedule threw things off. And earlier in the day, one of the pyro cues didn’t fire — an electrical issue that had to be solved before the evening performance.
But it takes a lot more than that to bring down a holiday machine like “The Nutcracker.”
Now in its 64th run, the Washington Ballet’s production of the classic tale has become a beloved tradition for local families and sugarplum enthusiasts: a chance to get dressed up, head downtown and feel the familiar rush of Tchaikovsky reverberating through a grand, century-old venue. And for the company, it’s a linchpin; the production introduces young audience members to ballet, helps attract dancers to its academy and generates critical revenue.
A lifeline of the ballet world, “The Nutcracker” feels especially crucial in today’s shifting arts landscape. And for the Washington Ballet, the production arrives at a moment when the company is hitting its stride again. Executives say they saw a tremendous financial turnaround this year, reporting a $1.4 million operating budget surplus this year after 10 years of operating deficits. Last season was the most successful “Nutcracker” run in the company’s history, and this year the goal is to match or surpass that record.
“It’s the only performance that we’ll do all season where there will be surplus revenue,” says Executive Director Jason Palmquist. “So that helps support essentially the rest of our performances across the season.”
After a bustling opening weekend, the company is barreling into the biggest and most ambitious stretch of its season, with “Nutcracker” shows scheduled through Dec. 28.
To understand what it takes to bring this city’s “Nutcracker” to life, we broke the production down by the numbers.
21
Years of Septime Webre
Part of what makes the Washington Ballet’s “Nutcracker” distinct is its D.C.-centric reimagining, created by former artistic director Septime Webre.
Septime and the Washington Ballet were among the first to create a locally focused retelling of “The Nutcracker,” says Artistic Director Edwaard Liang. “The history and the identity of ‘The Nutcracker’ really belongs to D.C.”
Since then, other ballet companies across the country have replicated that formula.
Though the production still feels classic, D.C. details are everywhere once you know where to look, says Sara Lange, a board member and former student of the company’s ballet school.
It turns the production into an Easter egg hunt for audiences trying to count all of the references — starting with the sets, which include a Colonial-era Georgetown mansion and a cherry-blossom-filled Tidal Basin. Eight historical figures make appearances, including George Washington, who trades his general’s uniform for the role of the Nutcracker and leads toy soldiers modeled after the city’s monuments. The cavalry riding in to save the day includes a playful roll call of historical figures, including Benjamin Franklin, Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass.
35
Performances
“It’s like a ‘Nutcracker’ factory,” Liang says on a Thursday in late November, as dancers rehearse at the company’s headquarters in Tenleytown, spilling out of three studio spaces.
The company will perform 35 shows between Black Friday and New Year’s Day. Coordinating the rehearsals required to pull it together takes a level of orchestration that Liang compares to air traffic control.
Auditions begin in mid- to late September, immediately followed by six to eight weeks of rehearsals among five or six casting groups — labeled in jewel tones like rubies, emeralds and diamonds to avoid any sense of ranking.
“The spreadsheet is unbelievable,” Liang says, explaining that the casting rotation is arranged to allow each dancer to perform between six and 12 shows over the course of the run.
“They really have to be all in,” he says. “The amount of rehearsals, the amount of driving back and forth, the amount of dedication in terms of weekends — basically, they sign a contract that they cannot miss and need to be available for the weekends.”
Once prep moves into the theater, every minute is spoken for: Tech and dress rehearsals are timed down to the minute so that each student and company member can run every role at least once or twice onstage. “It’s nutso,” Liang says. “But it’s also 35 performances for me to be in front of the curtain and speak to the community that we serve — talking about the school, bringing out kids, showing … the transformational power [of the arts].”
225
Costumes (plus endless tulle)
For the costume department, “Nutcracker” season restarts shortly after the final curtain comes down on closing night, says assistant wardrobe supervisor Carolynn Hawthorne. In January, a team of three people — Hawthorne, wardrobe supervisor Monica Leland and wardrobe assistant Sasha Zabela — head back to the studio to wash, clean, sanitize and store about 225 costumes. But the strenuous work of dancers after a long season run means much of the preparation is dedicated to inspecting costumes for repairs.
“It’s the things that are in peril that kind of set the stage for our season,” Hawthorne says, “as to what we need to work on in [what] priority.”
Two years ago, it was the flower costumes, which debuted with Webre’s production in 2004. The pink petals were disintegrating, Hawthorne says. “They were all taken apart; we researched fabric, recut every petal and then slowly started putting them back together, and that took until the week before we went to the theater again in November.”
In between repair and research time, the team handles fittings, which begin the moment auditions wrap. They also dye more than 100 ballet shoes every year in a small fenced yard outside the ballet studio. On a mild day in November, the team spray-painted about 80 pairs, with an additional 60 or so that are specialty painted for children’s roles: bees dusted in glitter, mushrooms with striations to match their costumes, tomcats and eagles in their signature yellow.
Once the show is running, the pace only accelerates. Each performance produces a need for five to 10 new repairs. “Five is a light day,” Hawthorne says. “Ten is a ‘Oh, my goodness’ day.” The laundry is always running, with about eight to 10 loads a night. There are weekly tutu baths. And about 50 wigs and hairpieces rotate through twice-weekly cleanings and resets.
Other elements of wardrobe are harder to calculate. Thousands of rhinestones, a zillion crystals. And tulle — layers and layers of pleated, folded and floating tulle. “It feels,” Hawthorne says, “like it’s endless.”
300
Pounds of falling snow
The action behind the scenes of “The Nutcracker” is just as much a production as the actual performance, says Suzi Kilbourne, now in her 14th season as the show’s stage manager. It takes a team of 42 people to run the production — including carpenters, electricians, props handlers, wardrobe crews and children’s coordinators.
Ahead of that first Sunday evening performance, Kilbourne walked through some of the mechanics that power the ballet: about 500 theatrical lights and electrified scenic elements; a system of ropes stagehands use to pull scenery in and out like clockwork; a fog machine squeezed into the cramped space just offstage. Then there’s the snow. Each season requires about 300 pounds of “snow”: paper confetti that sprinkles down from slings of muslin that are suspended overhead — eight to 10 pounds per performance.
In total, 201 props are used in the company’s “Nutcracker,” many of which are original to the show’s 21-year history: fragile German Steinbach nutcrackers; tea carts and baskets; towers of Christmas gift boxes; and a rotating cast of 22 rats (some are stuffed, others are painted) hidden in scenery, worn by dancers or perched on the Christmas tree. Some character heads are built onto hard hats. Others, like George Washington, rest on bicycle helmets and look unsettling up close. It took seven tractor-trailers plus two smaller trucks to haul the whole set from a warehouse to the theater.
Calling every cue and light shift for the show, Kilbourne says her job is part muscle memory, part high-wire problem-solving. “I don’t think it’s possible to have seen it all because there is always something new that can go wrong,” she says. “But I’ve seen quite a lot.”
441
Dancers
There are 441 dancers in this year’s production, of which 399 are student dancers. It’s a full-season commitment for not only the kids, who are as young as 7, but also their parents.
Lange, the board member and former student, has seen all three of her children cycle through the production and take on a variety of roles: mushrooms, bumblebees, mice, snow angels, party girls and boys — even a pair of “military twins.” Each part comes with its own expectations, and all families are required to sign a contract to be in town for every weekend of the run. “My kids have missed friends’ birthday parties and sleepovers,” Lange says. “So the kids in the show are really dedicated. They’re very committed. It’s a whole family commitment because you can’t leave town for the holidays.”
One year, cast obligations conflicted with her brother’s wedding rehearsals. “I arranged for someone to scoop my children up after they walked down the aisle, take them to their rehearsal and drop them back off at my house,” she says.
The trade-off is an experience that quietly transforms everyone involved, parents say. The backstage world becomes its own universe of Secret Santa gift exchanges and cookie swaps and stocking stuffers. “They get so bonded, and they get into the holiday spirit, and it’s just so lovely to see that,” says Lange.
63,000+
Seats to fill
For the Washington Ballet, “Nutcracker” season starts in the summer when the company kicks off the first of its marketing campaigns for the production, “Christmas in July,” a promotion allowing families to save on holiday tickets. With a theater capacity of more than 1,800 seats, Palmquist says, the company is watching audience trends closely.
But Liang, the artistic director, suspects the city’s current arts climate may help drive demand. Plus, he adds, “People really need some joy. … We are thirsty for it.”
Last year’s record-breaking “Nutcracker” sales brought in $3.9 million for the company. They hope to hit a new mark this year.
“The stakes are high for us,” Palmquist says. “But it really is, at least in my opinion, an expression of the institution at its best.”
correctionAn earlier version of this story included a photo caption that incorrectly spelled Louise Jeffries Bloom’s name.
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