“The Nutcracker” is as much a part of the holidays as Black Friday and the Yule log. And while Lincoln Center has what many consider the quintessential production, there are lots of ways to crack this classic. Here are a handful of NYC’s mixed “Nuts,” for every type of fan.
Hot Nuts (For the Erotically Inclined)
Company XIV’s decadent “Nutcracker Rouge” is a glamorously trashy vaudeville that mixes baroque luxe with steamy burlesque. Creator Austin McCormick loves the shiny and gilded — as well as plenty of skin. It’s not for tots — only 21 and older will be admitted — but there’s magic in the thrift-shop excess. “Nutcracker Rouge” by Company XIV. Through Jan. 4 at XIV, 428 Lafayette St. $75 to $125;
Hip-Hop Nuts (For Fly Fans)
Up in Washington Heights, dancers fill the fourth-largest theater in Manhattan with a hip-hop adaptation of the tale, set in the Heights on New Year’s Eve instead of Christmas. The show will be introduced by guest emcee Kurtis Blow. “The Hip Hop Nutcracker.” Dec. 7 and 13 at United Palace, 4140 Broadway. $10 to $100;
Screwball Nuts (For Those With a Taste For Tap)
The Bang Group’s “Nut/Cracked” takes its sweet, goofball humor out to the burbs this year. Using the Tchaikovsky score merged with riffs from Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller, choreographer David Parker features toe-tapping and bubble-wrap-bursting for a production that will have everyone humming. “Nut/Cracked” by the Bang Group. Dec. 6 and 7 at the Emelin Theatre, 153 Library Lane, Mamaroneck, NY. $42;
Mischievous Nuts (For Rascally Revelers)
If too many sugarplums make your children’s fillings ache, American Ballet Theatre’s version is for them. The production, by MacArthur “genius” Alexei Ratmansky, is as skewed and colorful as Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland. Alongside with speedy, ornate dancing is Ratmansky’s ability to tune in to the gruesome: When dancing in the snow, Clara and the Prince narrowly escape freezing to death. “The Nutcracker” by American Ballet Theatre. Dec. 12 through 21 at BAM, 30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn. $20 to $195;
Classic Nuts (For Sentimental Spectators)
This is the Mother Ginger of all NYC “Nutcrackers.” With the nostalgia of Balanchine’s classic comes the enchantment of a corps of snowflakes rushing through a pillowy blizzard, and a stage arrayed with sugar candy of every imaginable kind. “The Nutcracker” by New York City Ballet. Through Jan. 3 at Lincoln Center, 20 Lincoln Center Plaza. $61 to $260;