The Deal

• One G-Pass to see The Nutcracker presented by the California Ballet, featuring the San Diego Symphony December 14-December 22
• Opening-weekend performances will feature Classics Philharmonic in place of the San Diego Symphony
• Meet the cast at a post-show Sugar Plum Party after matinee performances
• Where: San Diego Civic Theatre
• Door time: one hour before showtime
• Ticket values include all fees. <p>

Seating Options

• $20 for balcony or upper loge seating (up to $46.75 value). All balcony seating involves stairs.
• $30 for rear mezzanine or dress circle seating (up to $62.50 value)
• $40 for rear orchestra or front mezzanine seating (up to $72.50 value)
• $60 for Gold Rope seating in the first 11 rows (up to $98 value)
• Click here to view the seating chart. <p>

Children must be at least 4 years old to attend Nutcracker and require a ticket.

How G-Pass Works: Your G-Pass will be ready to print 48 hours after the deal ends. Print the G-Pass and use it to enter the venue directly; you won’t need to redeem at will call. Due to security restrictions, G-Passes cannot be redeemed through the mobile app.

The Nutcracker presented by California Ballet

Based on a novel by 19th-century romantic fabulist E.T.A. Hoffman, The Nutcracker weaves a magical tale of holiday adventure around one of the most recognizable scores in the ballet repertoire. It begins when young Clara receives a nutcracker from her godfather, a wizardly toymaker named Drosselmeyer. Sneaking downstairs to see the toy after everyone else has gone to bed, she suddenly finds herself caught in the middle of a pitched battle between the toys and an army of mice. After saving the nutcracker with a well-thrown shoe to the Mouse King’s head, Clara and her now-living prince venture into the Land of Snow and the Land of Sweets to celebrate. Throughout their adventures, Tchaikovsky’s dazzling inventiveness propels the dances of nimble flowers, regal fairy queens, and seasonally confused vampires. The “Waltz of the Snowflakes” floats weightlessly above the angelic voices of a youth choir, whereas the “Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy” tiptoes to the haunting, music-box chimes of a celesta. A medley of exotic national dances—including a Spanish bolero and Russian Trepak—add to the phantasmagoric celebration before the whole dream ends, as all dreams must.

California Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker includes audio and visual spectacles that include a live symphony orchestra and Sugar Plum Fairy tutu covered with more than 4,000 sequins. A long-running show for them, they’re currently closing in on their 470th Nutcracker performance, and will hit the milestone this season.

California Ballet

Even when a ballet imposes technical challenges and its reputation raises expectations to near-impossible levels, California Ballet’s dancers and artists don’t shy away. Much of the company’s repertoire reads like a 19th-century Top-10 list—Midsummer Night’s Dream, Coppelia, Swan Lake—yet it makes each staging uniquely its own, either by revamping the choreography, casting The Nutcracker with upwards of 200 students from its dance school, or creating sets and costumes that would dazzle an “Ooooh” out of a royal guardsman.