Sugar Plum Thursday
Christmas Arts Canon I
The First of Four Days Devoted to Canonical Christmas Works
About Sugar Plum Thursday
Sugar Plum Wednesday celebrates the Nutcracker, a masterpiece that has become inseparable from the Christmas season. Whether you watch it on stage or stream it from the comfort of home, this Russian ballet brings magic to all (okay, some) who experience it. From the dreamlike transformation of the Christmas tree in Clara’s parlor to the iconic “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” and the thrilling battle between the Nutcracker Prince and the Mouse King, it’s a production that invites awe, nostalgia, and the occasional nap. Sometimes all at once. Today, we tip our hats and tiaras to the ballet that taught generations to associate Christmas with tutus and toy soldiers. Don’t care for tutus or toy soldiers? There’s plenty else to grab your attention, like the mesmerizing and slightly unsettling, moment when a parade of children pours out from beneath Mother Ginger’s towering hoop skirt.
Ways to observe
(A) Low effort
Watch the ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’ online. A quick but magical way to connect with The Nutcracker.
(B) Recommended
Stream a full performance of The Nutcracker with family or friends. Prepare snacks like sugar plums or holiday cookies, and take breaks to discuss favorite moments or characters.
(C) High effort
Attend a live performance of The Nutcracker. Make a full evening of it, dressing up for the occasion and savoring the magic of the theater. For an added touch, research the history of the ballet before you go, so you can appreciate its deeper layers.
Inspiration
The Nutcracker is timeless and strangely hypnotic. It begins with a Christmas party, builds to a battle between toy soldiers and a mouse militia, and then—right when you expect the action to peak—glides into Act II’s diplomatic confectionery parade, a gently rocking dreamscape that has lulled generations of adults into velvet-upholstered naps somewhere around the Snowflake Waltz. And yet, there’s real magic in it. Watching a child spellbound by pirouetting flowers and sword-fighting rodents is itself a kind of seasonal bliss. You may drift in and out, but they’re wide-eyed the entire time.
First performed in 1892 in St. Petersburg, The Nutcracker sprang from a long lineage of sugar and strangeness. Tchaikovsky composed the score; Petipa and Ivanov handled the choreography. The plot came from a softened French retelling of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s darker 1816 tale, where dolls came to life and battled more than just mice. At its debut, critics weren’t impressed, but the celesta (a twinkling new keyboard instrument) made the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” instantly iconic. Over time, the ballet found its footing, especially in postwar America, where it became a family-friendly holiday standby. I suspect that for most adults, getting dressed up to see The Nutcracker (and taking a child along, perhaps to see their first Nutcracker) is pleasant in itself. The whole thing is comforting; it’s a comfort to know exactly when the toy soldiers will march, when the tree will grow, and when the Mouse King will dramatically perish, again.
Adornments
Watch
The Nutcracker by Performed by the Royal Ballet (2016)
This lavishly staged production by The Royal Ballet features a standout performance by Lauren Cuthbertson as Clara.
The Hard Nut (1991)
Mark Morris’s subversive reimagining of The Nutcracker trades Clara’s parlor for a 1960s American suburb. With comic-book visuals and Tchaikovsky’s full score intact, it celebrates the absurdity and humanity behind the ballet, offering seasoned viewers a wholly unexpected take.
Listen
The Nutcracker Suite by Duke Ellington
This jazz reinterpretation of Tchaikovsky’s ballet brings big-band swing to classical tradition. Ellington and Billy Strayhorn reimagined the full suite in 1960, layering sultry brass over familiar melodies.
A Mad Russian’s Christmas by Trans-Siberian Orchestra
A symphonic rock remix of Nutcracker themes (especially “Trepak”) wrapped in electric guitar and dramatic orchestration.
Read
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E.T.A. Hoffmann
The dark, whimsical original that started it all. Hoffmann’s 1816 story brims with gothic detail, surreal dreamscapes, and complicated characters far removed from the sanitized ballet adaptation. Reading it is like waking up inside Clara’s nightmare.