The Mother Ginger segment now features “Mrs. Ginger Rodgers ”(Yuki Toda), in the presence of a multitude of“ pudding cakes ”- young people in red and white spherical costumes – who brought the cuteness factor to 11.

Montgomery, Gianlucci Benedetti, Michael Paradiso and Simone Pompignoli danced the “Chocolate”, while Jaimi Cullen and William Beckham formed a meandering duo in “Coffee”.

Stoica and Arman Zazyan brought a strong classic line and relaxed grace to Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier.

As Marie, Kawashima was just about perfect, playing this character with great expression and youthful panache. Her duet with Masuda in the “Snow” scene was a highlight of the evening, as the two mixed a sense of youthful playfulness with glimmers of deeper romance.

Equally impressive was the performance of the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Peter Stafford Wilson. It has been some time since the ballet and orchestra have been able to perform together, and Friday night‘s performance showed the orchestra at its best. The sound was full of brightness and energy, and Wilson handled the interactions between the pit and the stage with aplomb.

It took a lot of time, effort and money for the Tulsa Ballet to bring this new production of “The Nutcracker” to a stage in Tulsa. From what we saw at the Tulsa PAC on Friday, it was well worth it. This “Nutcracker” is a triumph.