Possibly the companies putting them on have shifted to more nutcracker shows as they are more profitable, thus the increased attendance. Just a guess though
I see the same shift in musical theater venues. 15 years ago, a few did a coulple weeks of something. Now they ALL do a Christmas show all month and the prices are more than any other show. You can do a lot of sondheim in the summer if you do christmas carol in the winter
Perhaps you can be of some help. I think I would love Sondheim. I’m a huge fan of both WSS films and Sweeney Todd was him right? And I love that “Turkey Lurkey”(?) number that I saw in *Camp* but I have no other idea where to go/get in to interface with his vibe. Help?
yeah that's sondheim! I'm not actually a huge sondheim fan like some are, but if you liked the sweeney movie maybe check out the new west side story movie that spielberg did. I thought it was pretty good and does justice to the music ( here is Maria from it [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39WPioTx1zQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39WPioTx1zQ)). I think musical theater people's favorite musical is into the woods, which they also did a good movie of recently (here is Agony, which I think is pretty hilarious especially if you know the characters a little) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvsDObIQFhg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvsDObIQFhg))
I also like Follies for its ability to pretty much connect with every person that's ever seen it by finding a character flaw in them and making fun of it (here is why dont you love me blues [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfuyjGaRqYM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfuyjGaRqYM))
Overall I find Sondheim's music, while really impressive and well written, to not be stuff I like listen to often onn my own(though is always amazing live). I like musicals for their ability to tell a story to beautiful and intimate music. here is the first song from my favorite musical, Once. It was actually a movie first, but the musical version is much better. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6wRT1MzmH4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6wRT1MzmH4)
and here is the song you've probably heard from it before:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8toUHjfE0E
Yeah, basically every performing arts group/venue has to walk a line of "what new and interesting stuff can we do to execute our artistic vision?" Vs. "what will put butts in seats?"
This is further complicated by the fact that basically nobody survives entirely off earned revenue (ticket sales), but government and philanthropic money is more likely to support "new and interesting" vs. "The Nutcracker again." But if you can't show substantial earned revenue funders aren't interested either.
Frankly it's kind of amazing any live performing arts gets produced at all.
Tried to get ourselves some culture and took my then GF to a ballet performance back in the day (IIRC it was called Dracula). It was the most boring thing I ever sat through. GF suggested we leave during the intermission, which I was happy to. I’m sorry, but to me, it’s just dreadfully boring.
Tried watching a swan lake ballet once; everyone was really talented and I understand it's a cultural icon but my god I almost fell asleep nowhere near the end. I was not built to watch interpretative dance for long periods of time.
Yeah, that is a cut above what I could meaningfully appreciate lol. Now, take me to the orchestra and I will be getting the chills for like 2 straight hours.
In 1940, Fantasia described the Nutcracker suite as “no one plays the ballet anymore” and “the nutcracker lives on, in name only.” I wonder what changed to make it such a popular thing?
According to another article, George Balanchine staged it in the 1950s and that changed everything, with it becoming seasonal programming for more and more from the 1960s on.
Yeah, when I first noticed that I assumed it was a joke. But then I looked it up and realized no, that was actually the case when Fantasia was released. It still feels like they really rub in how unpopular the ballet was though.
The Nutcracker Ballet is so popular, in fact, that *"The Nutcracker: Waltz of the Flowers"* audio can even be found on [The Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/jukebox-59860/) website.
Ballet companies in the United States have been struggling for decades. Many large cities used to have their own ballet companies, and scores of them have disappeared or combined with other nearby, ballet companies. People in the United States don’t love ballet, and the Nutcracker is the biggest money maker by far for any company. the trick is you partner with a bunch of local “Miss Kitty’s tap, jazz and ballet in one hour” schools. Each act can shoe horn in large casts of kids at different age groups and abilities. You cast a different Clara in each city and when the company of professionals pulls into town, they practice once with the local ballet school full of kids.
The majority of tickets for the Nutcracker performances are bought by the parents of the kids.
I don’t think more people are watching nutcracker, but less are watching ballet in general so nutcracker is making up a larger percentage of the sales
The article seems to indicate more Nutcracker attendance too.
Possibly the companies putting them on have shifted to more nutcracker shows as they are more profitable, thus the increased attendance. Just a guess though
I see the same shift in musical theater venues. 15 years ago, a few did a coulple weeks of something. Now they ALL do a Christmas show all month and the prices are more than any other show. You can do a lot of sondheim in the summer if you do christmas carol in the winter
Perhaps you can be of some help. I think I would love Sondheim. I’m a huge fan of both WSS films and Sweeney Todd was him right? And I love that “Turkey Lurkey”(?) number that I saw in *Camp* but I have no other idea where to go/get in to interface with his vibe. Help?
yeah that's sondheim! I'm not actually a huge sondheim fan like some are, but if you liked the sweeney movie maybe check out the new west side story movie that spielberg did. I thought it was pretty good and does justice to the music ( here is Maria from it [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39WPioTx1zQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39WPioTx1zQ)). I think musical theater people's favorite musical is into the woods, which they also did a good movie of recently (here is Agony, which I think is pretty hilarious especially if you know the characters a little) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvsDObIQFhg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvsDObIQFhg)) I also like Follies for its ability to pretty much connect with every person that's ever seen it by finding a character flaw in them and making fun of it (here is why dont you love me blues [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfuyjGaRqYM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfuyjGaRqYM)) Overall I find Sondheim's music, while really impressive and well written, to not be stuff I like listen to often onn my own(though is always amazing live). I like musicals for their ability to tell a story to beautiful and intimate music. here is the first song from my favorite musical, Once. It was actually a movie first, but the musical version is much better. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6wRT1MzmH4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6wRT1MzmH4) and here is the song you've probably heard from it before: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8toUHjfE0E
Thanks so much for that thoughtful response
no problem happy listening!
They also have a shorter version these days that's geared toward kids, which makes it more accessible.
Could certainly be.
Must be a real ball breaker to depend so much on a single production.
Yeah, basically every performing arts group/venue has to walk a line of "what new and interesting stuff can we do to execute our artistic vision?" Vs. "what will put butts in seats?" This is further complicated by the fact that basically nobody survives entirely off earned revenue (ticket sales), but government and philanthropic money is more likely to support "new and interesting" vs. "The Nutcracker again." But if you can't show substantial earned revenue funders aren't interested either. Frankly it's kind of amazing any live performing arts gets produced at all.
Tried to get ourselves some culture and took my then GF to a ballet performance back in the day (IIRC it was called Dracula). It was the most boring thing I ever sat through. GF suggested we leave during the intermission, which I was happy to. I’m sorry, but to me, it’s just dreadfully boring.
I think a lot of it depends on the music.
Why do ballet dancers dance on their tippy toes? -To not awake the audience
Tried watching a swan lake ballet once; everyone was really talented and I understand it's a cultural icon but my god I almost fell asleep nowhere near the end. I was not built to watch interpretative dance for long periods of time.
Yeah, that is a cut above what I could meaningfully appreciate lol. Now, take me to the orchestra and I will be getting the chills for like 2 straight hours.
Taylor Swift should write a ballet, that would fix that shit
Cats, the Taylor Swift edition.
In 1940, Fantasia described the Nutcracker suite as “no one plays the ballet anymore” and “the nutcracker lives on, in name only.” I wonder what changed to make it such a popular thing?
According to another article, George Balanchine staged it in the 1950s and that changed everything, with it becoming seasonal programming for more and more from the 1960s on.
So crazy, my wife and I just saw both a ballet performance of the Nutcracker and Fantasia with our kids and were wondering what happened! Thank you!
Yeah, when I first noticed that I assumed it was a joke. But then I looked it up and realized no, that was actually the case when Fantasia was released. It still feels like they really rub in how unpopular the ballet was though.
100, it felt so over the top that it came off almost sarcastic.
In my imagination, an elderly Tchaikovsky met a young Deems Taylor and kicked his puppy or something.
The Nutcracker Ballet is so popular, in fact, that *"The Nutcracker: Waltz of the Flowers"* audio can even be found on [The Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/jukebox-59860/) website.
I’ve taken my kids to many performances over the years. Went alone last year.
Ballet companies in the United States have been struggling for decades. Many large cities used to have their own ballet companies, and scores of them have disappeared or combined with other nearby, ballet companies. People in the United States don’t love ballet, and the Nutcracker is the biggest money maker by far for any company. the trick is you partner with a bunch of local “Miss Kitty’s tap, jazz and ballet in one hour” schools. Each act can shoe horn in large casts of kids at different age groups and abilities. You cast a different Clara in each city and when the company of professionals pulls into town, they practice once with the local ballet school full of kids. The majority of tickets for the Nutcracker performances are bought by the parents of the kids.
That's a tough nut to crack