# SCREW Your NUTCRACKER! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 26, 2006, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-your-nutcracker/381840 "2006-11-26T14:00:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-your-nutcracker/381840/1 "2006-11-26T14:00:47Z")
OK, hasn’t EVERYBODY seen this turd ajillion times?? Now, my local HS is putting it on! C’mon, this thing has been around too long-its like gum on your shoe-you can’t seem to get rid of it! I’d rather be boiled in oil than sit through this thing again! 😕 ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-your-nutcracker/381840/2 "2006-11-26T14:07:42Z")
So don’t go see it. 😕 I took my daughter to see it when she was taking ballet. We had a nice time. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-your-nutcracker/381840/3 "2006-11-26T14:09:01Z")
J don’t think I’ve even seen the whole thing once. How does it end? Does the nutcracker get the girl? ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-your-nutcracker/381840/4 "2006-11-26T14:32:10Z")
Unfortunately for Ralph, people in general are much more willing to spend money to see their 100th production of the Nutcracker than they are to spend money to see their first production of “Something New, Exciting and Christmassy”–although they do keep coming out with new dumb movies about Christmas. An awful lot of ballet companies make a large portion of their ticket sales, and therefore their budget, each year by producing the Nutcracker. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-your-nutcracker/381840/5 "2006-11-26T14:56:42Z")
I’ve seen parts of it on TV. I’ve never been to a performance of it. ---
**Author:** ![jacquilynne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jacquilynne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacquilynne)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-your-nutcracker/381840/6 "2006-11-26T15:46:51Z")
Beyond the traditional reasons, the other advantage that the Nutcracker offers for places like ballet schools is that it has lots of opportunity for small parts for different groups doing different dances. The whole second act is like a recital and can be split up really well amongst various age groups and classes and dance styles. ---
**Author:** ![Morelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Morelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morelin)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-your-nutcracker/381840/7 "2006-11-26T15:58:53Z")
I’ve never seen it at all. I keep meaning to, though. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-your-nutcracker/381840/8 "2006-11-26T16:04:04Z")
I like Tchaikovsky’s music. It’s a shame people insist on making kids dance to it every Christmas ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-your-nutcracker/381840/9 "2006-11-26T16:05:57Z")
I’m listening to _The Nutcracker_ right now. I love it-I’ll never get tired of it. As a child, on e of my favorite Christmas specials was always the Barishnikov production. _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-your-nutcracker/381840/10 "2006-11-26T16:35:04Z")
If high school students are putting on the show, isn’t it reasonable to assume that they and their audience, being teenagers, have never seen it before? And just because you’ve seen one iteration of a performance doesn’t mean subsequent performances will all be the same, since the participants will be different. But if you don’t want to go see it, by all means stay home. Hopefully the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future will visit you and extricate the stick from your ass. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-your-nutcracker/381840/11 "2006-11-26T16:36:03Z")
Uh…that was me, not **you with the face**. ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-your-nutcracker/381840/12 "2006-11-26T16:42:41Z")
I’ve never seen it. [QUOTE=you with the face (monstro)] But if you don’t want to go see it, by all means stay home. Hopefully the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future will visit you and extricate the stick from your ass. [/QUOTE] Win. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-your-nutcracker/381840/13 "2006-11-26T16:42:50Z")
I’m sorta with **Ralphie** on this one. Most productions are just awful, with a visiting troupe incorporating local children and bad sets. Once in awhile a really good production will come to town, but it’s impossible to predict. The last one we went to, I swear the dancers didn’t even bother getting up on their toes; just galumphed around the stage unsmiling. And let me tell you, some of them should have been wearing muumuus, not tutus. Love the music, though. ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-your-nutcracker/381840/14 "2006-11-26T17:03:08Z")
[QUOTE=Chefguy] I’m sorta with **Ralphie** on this one. Most productions are just awful, with a visiting troupe incorporating local children and bad sets. Once in awhile a really good production will come to town, but it’s impossible to predict. The last one we went to, I swear the dancers didn’t even bother getting up on their toes; just galumphed around the stage unsmiling. And let me tell you, some of them should have been wearing muumuus, not tutus. Love the music, though. [/QUOTE] Eh, 90% of anything is crap. Do a little research beforehand to see if the production is worth seeing. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-your-nutcracker/381840/15 "2006-11-26T17:13:50Z")
I get the feeling from the “Ask the ballerina” thread **flamingbananas** started [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=291310) that a lot of ballerinas and dancers like _The Nutcracker_, but are kind of sick of doing it over and over and over and over again. It’s a classic, yeah, but there’s also plenty of room for new stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-your-nutcracker/381840/16 "2006-11-26T17:25:04Z")
[QUOTE=Chefguy] The last one we went to, I swear the dancers didn’t even bother getting up on their toes; just galumphed around the stage unsmiling. And let me tell you, some of them should have been wearing muumuus, not tutus. Love the music, though. [/QUOTE] Hey, you were watching the [Kensington Dance Theatre For The Blind](http://snltranscripts.jt.org/82/82iblind.phtml)! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-your-nutcracker/381840/17 "2006-11-26T19:31:30Z")
[QUOTE=Thudlow Boink] Hey, you were watching the [Kensington Dance Theatre For The Blind](http://snltranscripts.jt.org/82/82iblind.phtml)! [/QUOTE] Entirely possible. I swear I’m not making this up: at one point, one of the “dancers” actually _walked_ backwards and slung her leg up behind her to be caught (literally, clump-clump-clump-schwing). And a hefty ham it was, too. The guy, who was smaller than her, actually seemed to sag under the weight. We left at the intermission and howled all the way home, so it was somewhat worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/57b2e6/32.png) [@Quasimodal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodal)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-your-nutcracker/381840/18 "2006-11-26T20:43:48Z")
Yeah, I suppose we shouldn’t expose people to classic productions anymore. Who needs to listen to the great music of Tchaikovsky? As a follow up step lets take Shakespeare out of schools :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-your-nutcracker/381840/19 "2006-11-26T20:59:18Z")
[Tchaikovsky didn’t like The Nutcracker](http://www.lasr.cs.ucla.edu/geoff/prognotes/tchaikovsky/nut-suite.html), so why should I? ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/57b2e6/32.png) [@Quasimodal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodal)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-your-nutcracker/381840/20 "2006-11-26T22:12:57Z")
Tchaikovsky was speaking in relative terms in that article. As well sometimes authors aren’t the best critics of their own works. If they were, I’d be raking in millions. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screw-your-nutcracker/381840.md?page=2)