8 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
A FRESH TAKE
‘THE NUTCRACKER’ COMES TO LIFE
ANEW AT ASTORIA HIGH SCHOOL
By KATHERINE LACAZE
FOR COAST WEEKEND
A
44-year tradition in Astoria pred-
icated on a ballet that premiered
in 1892, the Little Ballet Theatre’s
“The Nutcracker” production
continues evolving and assuming
new variations that make it simultaneously
a holiday staple and an ever-changing expe-
rience for audiences from year to year.
“It’s just a great machine that moves
along, but every year, you learn something
new or you learn to not do something,”
said director Jeanne Maddox Peterson,
founder of the Little Ballet Theatre. “It’s
a learning process. No matter how long
you’ve done it, you never reach the perfect
solution.”
“The Nutcracker” will be staged at Asto-
ria High School’s auditorium at 2 p.m. and
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, and 2 p.m. Sun-
day, Dec. 2. The show — featuring a cast
IF YOU GO
COLIN MURPHEY PHOTO
Performers take to the stage during a rehearsal of ‘The Nutcracker’ at Astoria High School.
LITTLE BALLET THEATRE
PRESENTS ‘THE NUTCRACKER’
When: 2 and 7:30 p.m., Saturday,
Dec. 1; 2 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 2
Where: Astoria High School audito-
rium
Admission: Ticket costs vary.
Tickets can be purchased online,
by phone, or in-person through
the Liberty Theatre Box Office; at
Maddox Dance Studio, 389 South
Main Ave., Warrenton; or one hour
prior to each performance at the
high school.
For more information: Call Little
Ballet Theatre at 503-861-1971.