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Inland Pacific Ballet Celebrates 25th Anniversary with the Returns of its Spectacular Production of The Nutcracker

November 21, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Photo Credits: E.Y. Yanagi

Inland Pacific Ballet, Southern California’s premier professional ballet company presents The Nutcracker!



Enjoy a treasured holiday tradition with family and friends at southern California’s most spectacular production of The Nutcracker from critically acclaimed Inland Pacific Ballet. Celebrating 25 years, Inland Pacific Ballet’s The Nutcracker comes to life with this magnificent ballet comprised of beautiful sets, dazzling costumes, and more than 80 dancers on stage. This annual performance tells the story of a young girl named Clara who receives a magical nutcracker doll on Christmas Eve and sets out on a wondrous journey to the Land of the Snow and the Kingdom of Sweets. Toy soldiers, life-sized dancing dolls, and a fantastic dream with battling mice, dancing snowflakes, waltzing flowers, and the delightful Sugar Plum Fairy stir the imagination. Meet the cast after the performance for photos and autographs. This is family entertainment at its best.


Back by popular demand! Since its debut in 2004, audience members have delighted in The Nutty Nutcracker, which comes to the Lewis Family Playhouse in Rancho Cucamonga for the first time, and returns to Riverside’s Fox Performing Arts Center and Claremont’s Bridges Auditorium for one performance at each venue. A hilarious send up of everyone’s favorite holiday ballet, The Nutty Nutcracker features a zany storyline loosely based on the traditional Nutcracker. Follow Clara and her offbeat cousin, Anya as they witness hysterical antics and unexpected visitors in the Land of the Sweets. Get ready for sidesplitting surprises and wacky characters in this comic version of the holiday classic.


Lewis Family Playhouse, 12505 Cultural Center Drive, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739


Saturday, November 30; 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, December 1; 2:00 p.m.

Friday, December 6; 7:30 p.m. – *The Nutty Nutcracker


Saturday, December 7; 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, December 8; 2:00 p.m.


Fox Performing Arts Center, 3801 Mission Inn Avenue, Riverside, CA 92501


Friday, December 13; 7:30 p.m. – *The Nutty Nutcracker


Saturday, December 14; 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, December 15; 2:00 p.m.


Bridges Auditorium, Pomona College, 450 North College Way, Claremont, CA 91711


Friday, December 20; 7:30 p.m. – *The Nutty Nutcracker

Saturday, December 21; 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, December 22; 2:00 p.m.

Information & Tickets:  IPBALLET.org; tickets from $25; senior/child/group discounts available.


Inland Pacific Ballet is celebrating its 25th Anniversary Season and was founded in 1994 by Southern California natives Victoria Koenig and Kevin Myers, and quickly become one of Southern California’s cultural jewels. Its mission is to build and sustain a professional ballet company in the Inland Empire of Southern California, committed to producing exquisitely staged productions of full-length classic story ballets, presenting the best in contemporary choreography, and providing an essential training ground for serious young dancers.


During the past 25 years Koenig and Myers have built Inland Pacific Ballet into the premier ballet company in the region, enjoying critical acclaim while performing the largest and most varied repertoire in the area. The Company’s repertoire includes such classics as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Les Sylphides, Graduation Ball and Swan Lake Act II. Full length classical masterpieces include Giselle, Coppélia and a lavish production of The Nutcracker. Contemporary classics include masterpieces by the legendary George Balanchine including Serenade, Concerto Barocco and Who Cares? and a growing body of original work which includes creative adaptations of much-loved stories such as The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Dracula and Beauty and the Beast.

Credit: Inland Pacific Ballet.

Filed Under: Featured Events

Last Christmas * Entertaining Christmas Themed Musical With Thoughtful Performances

November 21, 2019 By Leave a Comment

Kate (Emilia Clarke) harumphs around London, a bundle of bad decisions accompanied by the jangle of bells on her shoes, another irritating consequence from her job as an elf in a year-round Christmas shop. Tom (Henry Golding) seems too good to be true when he walks into her life and starts to see through so many of Kate’s barriers. As London transforms into the most wonderful time of the year, nothing should work for these two. But sometimes, you gotta let the snow fall where it may, you gotta listen to your heart … and you gotta have faith. Starring Emilia Clarke (HBO’s Game of Thrones), Henry Golding (A Simple Favor, Crazy Rich Asians), Michelle Yeoh and Emma Thompson. Directed by Paul Feig (A Simple Favor, Spy, Bridesmaids).  Screenplay by Academy Award® winner Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility, Bridget Jones’s Baby) and playwright Bryony Kimmings. Featuring the music of George Michael, including the bittersweet holiday classic of the film’s title. KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Benjamin P. comments, “For a film that hinges much of its story on a single Christmas song, I found myself unexpectedly moved by it. It has a touching story about doing good for others, which we’re all capable of, and not letting hardship keep you from reaching your full potential.” See his full review below.

Last Christmas

Benjamin Price, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, Age 14

Last Christmas is a Christmas tale with an out-of-place musical hook that works better than it should. For a film that hinges much of its story on a single Christmas song, I found myself unexpectedly moved by it. It has a touching story about doing good for others, which we’re all capable of, and not letting hardship keep you from reaching your full potential.

Kate (Emilia Clarke) finds her life at a standstill, mostly homeless and frequently drunk with a loss of ambition or drive. She is about to get fired from her job as an elf at a Christmas-themed store when she meets the jovial, yet mysterious Tom (Henry Golding), who helps usher her into a new era of her life. Kate begins to help those she has done wrong and view the world in a more positive light as the Christmas holiday draws near.

Emilia Clarke gives a surprisingly layered performance as Kate. Her character is written fairly blandly, but Clark gives it depth when the screenplay doesn’t. Henry Golding plays Tom with exuberance and energy. His thoughtful approach to life makes him a nice foil to Kate’s blatant cynicism. Emma Thompson puts on a Slavic accent in a scene-stealing comedic performance as Kate’s painfully honest and worrisome mother. There are some moments in this film that are painfully reminiscent of other films in the rom-com lexicon, but there’s a consistent charm here throughout, more earnest than contrived. This charm is amplified by the likability of its two leads, Clarke and Golding.

The film’s soundtrack is from the music catalog of singer George Michael. They serve as a smooth transition between scenes, but at times feel tacked-on and gimmicky and don’t fit in with the rest of the film. Last Christmas has a third act that turns the movie on its head and, while the shift isn’t shockingly surprising, it’s well-executed and re-contextualizes much of what has come before.

I give Last Christmas 3 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 11 to 18 due to sexual references and language. There’s nothing too scandalous, but it’s still worth noting. If you’re a fan of this genre, you’ll probably love this film and its holiday charm is hard to resist. In the end, we go to the movies to be entertained and in that respect; Last Christmas certainly gets the job done. This film comes out in theaters everywhere November 8, 2019. Look for it.

Filed Under: Media Reviews