METAIRIE, La (press release) – The Jefferson Performing Arts Society is bringing live performances back to the Jefferson Performing Arts Center with Tchaikovsky’s holiday classic, The Nutcracker, directed by Kenneth Beck, co-director of the Jefferson Ballet Theater.
The performances will take place at the Jefferson Performing Arts Center over two weekends in December and will be JPAS’s first main stage production since March 2020. Morning performances will take place on December 12 and 13 and December 19 and 20 at 2:00 p.m.
Dancers rehearsed with smaller groups of cast members due to Covid-19 issues, are masked throughout the rehearsal, and will be masked on stage for performances. All members of the public, production staff, volunteers and theater staff will be masked inside the JPAC building. In addition, the theater has limited capacity and includes physical distancing from seat assignments.
“The Nutcracker is more than a simple stage performance. For many spectators, this is an annual event to be shared with the family. Attending The Nutcracker is like Christmas. For dancers, it’s almost a way of life. Children grow up in production – one year as a mouse, the next as a party animal, then a soldier, etc. . For me, as a director, The Nutcracker is today a symbol of normality. The arts are universal and they unite us. They allow us to escape. No matter where you are in the world at this time of year, despite politics and even pandemics, there is The Nutcracker; and it is something that deserves to be celebrated. – Kenneth Beck
