If you are only interested in ballet and not storyline or sets or costumes, then watch this version. Otherwise, it looks like a high-school production with crudely painted backdrops and lackluster costumes. There is no narration and you can't tell there is a story line, just people dancing around on a stage. Drosselmyer is an expressionless drone. The Spanish Hot Chocolate Performers are indistinguishable from the Arabian Coffee Performers who are indistinguishable from the Chinese Tea Performers who are indistinguishable from the Russian Candy Cane Performers who are indistinguishable from the Danish Marzipan Shepherdess Performers. For a great visual performance of this ballet, see Nutcracker: The Motion Picture.
Review of The Nutcracker
