New York City Ballet Cancels Nutcracker Performance Tonight

BroadwayWorld has learned that New York City Ballet has canceled tonight's 7pm performance of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts due to several positive test results for breakthrough COVID-19. In making the announcement, NYCB Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford said, "We are very disappointed to have to cancel this evening's performance, but the safety of our artists, staff, and audiences has been New York City Ballet's number one priority since the COVID-19 pandemic began."

New York City Ballet's (NYCB) acclaimed production of Balanchine's masterpiece, which premiered on February 2, 1954, helped to establish The Nutcracker and its score as perennial favorites in the United States. A signature event of the holiday season in New York City, with the exception of the 2020 season when performances were canceled due to the COVID-19 shutdowns, the treasured classic had been performed by NYCB every year since its premiere more than 65 years ago.

Highlights of this world-renowned holiday production include a one-ton Christmas tree that grows from 12 to 40 feet, an onstage snowstorm, and hundreds of elaborate costumes, including one for Mother Ginger that measures 9 feet wide and weighs 85 pounds. The production's grand finale involves one million watts of lighting, the most used in any New York City Ballet production.

Tickets are currently on sale online at nycballet.com, in person at the theater box office, and by phone at (212) 496-0600. The David H. Koch Theater is located on the Lincoln Center Plaza at Columbus Avenue and 63rd Street.