Interview: Dan Talmi of THE NUTCRACKER MAGICAL CHRISTMAS BALLET at Saenger Theatre

For decades, THE NUTCRACKER has been a cherished holiday tradition, enchanting audiences with its timeless tale and dazzling performances. For the Talmi family, however, this production is more than just a seasonal classic—it's a labor of love that spans generations. In this exclusive interview with BroadwayWorld, producer Dan Talmi takes us behind the scenes of THE NUTCRACKER MAGICAL CHRISTMAS BALLET offering insights into its origins, the creative dynamics of a family-run enterprise and the innovative elements that set their production apart. From its early days as a six-city tour in 1993 to its status today as a celebrated international phenomenon, Talmi shares how this iconic ballet continues to evolve while preserving its rich legacy.

BroadwayWorld: How did creating a touring NUTCRACKER production come about within your family?

Talmi: The idea came from Akiva and Mary Talmi’s experience with Russian dance in the ‘70s and ‘80s. They were experts in the field, representing Russian stars at the time and putting together gala concerts, national artists and tours. And then the wall falls 1991-92, somewhere in there, so the end of Communism, and that was the moment where it transitioned from individual stars, the generation of Baryshnikov, and transitioning that into, ‘Okay, well, we have been having luck with individual Russian talent, what if we bring over a Russian company?’ And, of course, NUTCRACKER in the ballet space is the play. So, ‘93 was the first tour in the US, and it was six cities, pretty small, but Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian NUTCRACKER was the name of the tour, the production and the company. So, it came out of this period where Russia was opening to the West, and it was just the right place, the right time.

BWW: How is the creative process managed within your family for each production?

Talmi: It’s really collaborative. Mary, my mother, is a choreographer by training; the buck stops with her with respect to dancer selection and choreography changes. Akiva is a trained musician, and he’s brought in artists who are not super visible in the West but are incredibly high-level performers. From my latest contribution, we brought in some circus elements and tried to enliven the production values of what’s happening on stage. So, everybody’s throwing their two cents at it, and I think you can get some magic that way with a bunch of different perspectives being brought in as collaboration.

BWW: Are there specific roles or responsibilities each family member takes on?

Talmi: If we were to give them formal titles, Akiva would be the executive producer and founder, Mary the founder and artistic director, and I would be the producer. As time has progressed, I’ve taken on the day-to-day high-level stuff of booking the tours. It’s a shared thing, but planning the advertising, working with the talent, coordinating, producing…it’s shifted over time as I’ve learned how to do it. That’s been a blessing in our family, and tension depending on the day, but that’s the give and take of a family business dynamic.

BWW: Do you have any advice for our readers on navigating the dynamics of a family working together in a business of this nature?

Talmi: At least for us, it is important to be forgiving and to have the emotional capacity to let people vent and not take it personally. In our situation, we try to get over it quickly because it’s family, so you have this level of intimacy that doesn’t exist in a regular corporate environment. So sometimes the best way to do it for us is to have a screaming match at the kitchen table, and that’s how sometimes you get to the best stuff. And it’s just honest. You can have those honest interactions, but the key is to let it go; you don’t hold on to it. And that’s the beauty of it for us. If you remember, if you’re in a family business, you couldn’t be more invested since your life is this company, this show. For that reason, temperatures can get high, but everyone is there for the same reason, and you are on the same team. Don’t take it personally; let it go.

BWW: What sets your NUTCRACKER production apart from others in scale and impact?

Talmi: The number one thing that we talk about and invest in is the international, professional cast. So artistic directorship ships out of Kyiv, Ukraine, and since the war, we’ve diversified into Rome, Italy, Tokyo and worldwide. We’re bringing talent to this company to create something incredibly high-level in the space. And then what we’re doing is a very commercialized and accessible product for family audiences during the holidays. So, what we’ve done is bring in super high-level production values, whether the lighting or props, and continually re-invest in incredible costumes and sets. This is something that sets the production apart, but we’re always bringing new stuff in. You gotta with a 200-year-old act like NUTCRACKER, it’s all about reinvention, what are you bringing that’s new? Last year, we experimented with a cry wheel artist who brought some new dynamism into the show. I’m super excited about that direction; we’ve had him balancing in acro ballet for quite some time, and it’s consistently the high point in the applause. You can always measure it by the audience’s reaction. And the circus stuff is really working, it’s about transcending the preconceived notions of the average ballet consumer.

BWW: Are there any unique or innovative elements that your NUTCRACKER production incorporates?

Talmi: I think it’s about how you tell this classical story in an ever more dynamic way that is continually interesting. The things we talk about and continue to hone in the show are the choreography, how people in movement are telling this, and what we can do to bring new costumes and production elements to enhance that communication. We don’t approach it like, ‘How do we get fireworks into the battle?’ It’s usually, ‘Well, how about this one section? This seems a little slow, and it’s not getting the point across; what can we do in this one section?’ Now it gets into this brainstorm of ‘What if we brought in aerial, or what if it was a new lighting component?’ So, it begins with what you are trying to do on stage with the audience. What are you telling people? And then, it creates that space where you can be creative with how you will do that.

BWW: What are the most rewarding aspects of being involved in producing THE NUTCRACKER alongside your parents?

Talmi: The touring experience is incredibly fraught with highs and lows, which is unusual for a daily office gig. There’s the whole element of the touring experience, but one of the big payoffs is the children’s program that we have developed. We call it Dance With Us, and the program is about bringing thousands of kids across the country into the show, into the fine arts and on to stages, like the Saenger, where they’re getting an opportunity to audition with the artists of the company, they’re placed into roles, and then they’re rehearsing alongside the cast and they’re actually performing on these stages in full costume, full makeup, under the lights. It matters to the families; it has become a tradition. Something valuable as we go through this is seeing this show’s impact on communities. It’s bigger than a show that just comes in and leaves; there’s a human component that is very rewarding.

BWW: What do you hope audiences take away from THE NUTCRACKER experience?

Talmi: I hope people take away what I take away. I get a sense of an aesthetic experience that is calming, that is elevating and at the best of times transcendental. And that’s just an artistic experience, right? When you’re witnessing artists performing in a flow state for example and they’re really at their best and they’re connecting with the energy of the audience, it’s very difficult to top that high. That feeling of connecting with an audience and the reciprocal energy going back and forth in a room for two hours and then it’s gone and that’s the magic of the live experience. There’s something magical about that.

THE NUTCRACKER MAGICAL CHRISTMAS BALLET will be at the Saenger Theatre on December 30 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.

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