Long Beach Ballet Wins 2019 National Nutcracker Award

LONG BEACH, CA — Long Beach Ballet was named Best Loved Nutcracker in the U.S. for 2019, Goldstar announced Wednesday. This is a back-to-back win for the Long Beach Ballet, which also won the award in 2018.

This year, they competed with more than 50 companies to win the 13th Annual Goldstar National Nutcracker Award, which is the only award honoring live performances of The Nutcracker nationwide, the press release said.

"It is an honor to have once again been recognized as the most beloved Nutcracker in the U.S.," Long Beach Ballet Artistic Director David Wilcox said. "We produce this show as a labor of love, with over 500 people behind the scenes and a 36-year track record. On behalf of the entire cast and crew, we send our sincere thanks to the nation."

Long Beach Ballet’s The Nutcracker boasts a full symphony orchestra accompanyment, sparkling sets and costumes, a cast of more than 200, pyrotechnics and magic effects, as well as a special appearance by Rebel, Long Beach Ballet's white Arabian horse. This production is one of only two ballet companies in the country that use two harps for their production, to ensure the performance sounds "exactly as Tchaikovsky intended it to sound," Goldstar said.

"We’d like to congratulate David and his company, cast and crew on this win," Goldstar CEO Jim McCarthy said. "The field was crowded with a wide variety of genres, styles and creative themes. From big beautiful classic ballets to very unusual, creative, modern tellings and everything in between. In the end, the people voted Long Beach Ballet to be the best."

The Long Beach Ballet will receive a cash prize to go towards education and accessibility programs, as well as the coveted title of Best Loved Nutcracker in the U.S. They will also be awarded "The Nutty" statuette. The winner of the Goldstar National Nutcracker Award is determined by audience ratings from people who attended 2019 Nutcracker productions through Goldstar.

Performances for this production run through December 22 at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center, Terrace Theatre.