Boston Nutcracker 1999

The last Nutcracker of the 1900s!! Note I didn't say the Millennium :) In any case, we made arrangements for me, my sis Jenn & her four kids, and our one-time Stepmother Hilary to go into Boston and enjoy this treat at the Wang Center.

We all met up for dinner at 5:30 at Jacob Wirth's, an old German restaurant right around the corner in the theater district. It had a pub-like feel - thick wooden tables, hefty chairs, warm and comforting. There were wooden carvings on the walls.

Hilary had brought English "crackers" along - you pulled the ends and out popped a paper crown, a toy and a fortune. We enjoyed these a great deal, then ordered the food.

We got a Fitz Ritter German white wine which was a bit fruity but went very well with the spicy food. The kids all got German foods too! I was quite impressed. And they loved it!

Definitely a great pre-theater restaurant. We got out at 6:30 or so, well in time for the show. We walked back across the street through the frigid winds to the Wang theater, past the two large Nutcrackers and into the gorgeous foyer.

Amazing marble columns, gorgeous gold decorations all over the place. We went up several flights of steps to get to the balcony. We stopped for a photo on the higher level, against the backdrop of the ceiling of the foyer.

Our seats were in the back of the first balcony section - not nearly as bad as I thought they were! We were on the edge too, and against the stairs so it was easy to get in and out. We looked over our brochures and soon enough the lights went down.

The show opened with street scenes of people bringing food and gifts home, then went into Clara's house. There were fun side-lines about the older servant wanting to play with the horse toy, and being drunk during the dancing. The godfather was exceptional as was Clara - this was her second year in the role.

I thought the adult dancing scene was interesting - they danced with wine glasses in their hands! Then in came the marionettes and then a dancing Russian bear, and act 1 was done.

We went out and watched for "non-black and white" dressed people. We only found one or two!! Everyone in the place was in black or white. It was pretty amazing. Then on to Act 2.

The second half is of course in the land of the sweets, with all of the various shows. The kids loved the woman-with-kids-under-her-skirts, and I liked the Chinese (Thai it appears actually) dancers. I was sort of disappointed with the Arabian and Russian dancers - their dances didn't seem as intriguing as other shows I'd seen.

Then came the finale, and we zipped out to get Jenn & kids into a taxi to get them home again. Hilary and I then went to Brew Moon where the staff was quite exceptional in finding us a table. We both had chocolates and port (I had the Dow Quinto do Bomfim which was very very tasty). Then it was home!

Boston Ballet Nutcracker Page

Lisa's Trips Page