If the standard Nutcracker spectacle strikes you as insipid or expensive or just too darn reminiscent of enforced family outings, try Dance Brigade’s Revolutionary Nutcracker Sweetie. Krissy Keefer’s refreshing version of the nut-cracking holiday confection turns Clara into an undocumented worker for a wealthy family and Drosselmeyer into the pink Mohawked gay son, who presents Clara with a freedom-fighting South African nutcracker.
Clara and her partner-in-crime bound through a world where the Sugar Plum Fairy is homeless and the Snow Queen mourns her quickly diminishing ice caps. Threads of global warming and consumerism (tis the season, after all) are leavened by aerial work, hip hop, Taiko, belly dance, and tap - all lending spice to the usual simple syrup-drenched ballet fare.
December 11-12. Brava Theater, 2781 24th Street. Tickets are $15-17 at brownpapertickets.com.
