Segerstrom Center for the Arts announces the return of Southern California’s favorite holiday tradition – American Ballet Theatre’s captivating production of The Nutcracker coming to Segerstrom Hall stage with 13 performances from December 12 – 22, 2024.
This year marks the ninth season that the Center has presented ABT’s The Nutcracker, Southern California’s grandest and glorious production of this beloved holiday ballet, featuring ABT’s international all-star cast under ABT Artistic Director Susan Jaffe, who was appointed in 2022.
Co-presented by the Center and American Ballet Theatre with choreography by Alexei Ratmansky, The Nutcracker is the beloved holiday story based on The Nutcracker and the King of Mice written by E.T.A. Hoffmann and set to Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky’s magical score performed live by Pacific Symphony.
American Ballet Theatre has produced several critically acclaimed productions of this family-friendly classic tale of Clara and the Nutcracker over the years.
The Nutcracker, with its timeless music by Tchaikovsky and splendid costumes and scenery, is the perfect way to introduce children to ballet and inspire them to study dance and become a little Clara or Nutcracker Prince themselves. This production, with choreography by Alexei Ratmansky, scenery and costumes by Tony Award® winner Richard Hudson (Disney’s The Lion King), and lighting by Tony Award® winner Jennifer Tipton, received its World Premiere in 2010.
Casting for The Nutcracker
ABT Artistic Director Susan Jaffe has released principal casting which will include Hee Seo as Clara, the Princess, and Cory Stearns as The Nutcracker Prince on Opening Night, Thursday, December 12.
ABT Principal Dancer Chloe Misseldine will debut as Clara at the evening performance on Saturday, December 14. Of Misseldine, The New York Times said that in Swan Lake this summer she gave “an extraordinary performance of the kind that reminds us how rare it is for a dancer to have not only access to strength and delicacy, but also the ability to weave them together in real time. [When] after a tremendous Swan Lake performance, Chloe Misseldine was promoted onstage [to principal dancer] at the Metropolitan Opera House. The audience went nuts.”
Thursday, December 12 at 7 p.m. Hee Seo, Cory Stearns
Friday, December 13 at 7 p.m. Christine Shevchenko, Thomas Forster
Saturday, December 14 at 2 p.m. Isabella Boylston, James Whiteside
Saturday, December 14 at 7 p.m. Chloe Misseldine*, Aran Bell
Sunday, December 15 at 12:30 p.m. Skylar Brandt, Herman Cornejo
Sunday, December 15 at 5:30 p.m. Hee Seo, Cory Stearns
Wednesday, December 18 at 7 p.m. Devon Teuscher, Thomas Forster
Thursday, December 19 at 7 p.m. Catherine Hurlin, Aran Bell
Friday, December 20 at 7 p.m. Cassandra Trenary, Calvin Royal III
Saturday, December 21 at 2 p.m. Sun Mi Park, Cory Stearns
Saturday, December 21 at 7 p.m. Devon Teuscher, Thomas Forster
Sunday, December 22 at 11:30 a.m. Skylar Brandt, Herman Cornejo
Sunday, December 22 at 4:30 p.m. Catherine Hurlin, Aran Bell
*Indicates the first time in the role.
The American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School at the Center, headed by artistic director Susan Brooker and associate director Sarah Jones and joined this year by newly appointed faculty member and former ABT corps de ballet dancer Eric Tamm, offers students unrivaled performing opportunities, master classes, lectures by visiting artists, and the highest quality of classical ballet training through the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum. Forty students are featured annually in ABT’s production of The Nutcracker; and students have performed alongside ABT dancers in the World Premiere productions of The Sleeping Beauty (2015), Whipped Cream (2017), and the West Coast premiere of ABT’s Harlequinade (2019).
Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s The Nutcracker start at $32.77 and are available for purchase online at scfta.org, in person at 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, and by phone at (714) 556-2787. For inquiries about group ticket discounts of 10 or more, call the Group Services offices at (714)755-0236.