Cracklin’ ‘Cracker to Close Out the Season

‘Twas the weekend before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Unless “house” refers to the Granada, where all sorts of creatures, including mice, rats, and other critters and characters won’t just be stirring but also leaping, pirouetting, gliding, and spinning all over the stage as State Street Ballet’s beloved Nutcracker ballet returns to the theater. 

What’s that, you say? Wasn’t Tchaikovsky’s cherished chestnut across the street at the Arlington just last weekend, courtesy of Festival Ballet’s 50th presentation? Why, yes. The fact that two professional companies can stage massive productions of the Christmas Eve story – Clara and her toy nutcracker prince come to life in the land of the sweets – at the city’s two largest indoor venues over successive weekends? This is just more evidence of the astounding avalanche of arts to which a community of our size has no real right to be accustomed. Not only that, but State Street’s show, despite its long history, has proven so popular that the company added a fourth show for the first time for its December 19-21 run.

Once again, Brian Asher Alhadeff will conduct the Opera San Luis Obispo Orchestra in the tuneful score to accompany the huge cast that includes 20 international professional company members, 20 pre-professional trainees at SSB’s school, and more than 100 local students to bring the holiday magic back to the Granada. 

As part of a rotating slate of dancers, the Nutcracker Prince will be performed by professional company members Noam Tsivkin and Ethan Ahuero, while four dancers are cast in the role of Clara this year, including company members Brenna Chumacero and Akari Kato and State Street Academy students Sloan Brookshire and Amanda Kabaretti. (The latter is the daughter of Santa Barbara Symphony Music & Artistic Director Nir Kabaretti and Santa Barbara Opera Chorus member Gaja Hubbard Kabaretti.) Two paired performers dance the Sugar Plum pas de deux: Kato with Harold Mendez, and real-life couple Saori Yamashita and Ryan Lenkey, who became very publicly engaged when Lenkey proposed following their matinee performance as the title roles of SSB’s premiere of its original Romeo and Juliet earlier this season. 

As always, State Street’s Nutcracker features dazzling costumes, sets and scenery, with classic choreography largely created decades ago by founder Rodney Gustafson. 

Visit https://statestreetballet.com/the-nutcracker-2025 or www.granadasb.org.