Review: Nutcracker, the Kansas City Ballet goes Ghetto

Review: Nutcracker, the Kansas City Ballet goes Ghetto 

By J. Randolph Swope

I was in Kansas City last December and saw the KC Ballet performance of the Nutcracker. I meant to write about it at the time but ended up wintering at my Switzerland residence, forgot about it, and then was reminded upon my recent return to the city of fountains and mayor with the rapper son.

Where to start....

First of all, the Kaufmann Center is ugly as sin. It's like watching a performance in a cheap-looking shopping mall crossed with a tacky airport. As someone else noted, "It's the Walmart of performing arts centers."

Second, this is hands down the worst performance of the Nutcracker I've ever seen. It was like watching some Cultural Marxist rendition of ballet, a perverted shadow of an original.

Following the protocols of political correctness, the producers / directors of this show cast a black girl to play the lead child, Clara.

Either these directors are historically illiterate, failing to realize that upper-class ethnic Russians under the Tsar were white, not black. Or the directors are so brainwashed by political correctness, they prefer to tell historical lies.

I suspect a little bit of both.

 Regardless, it was a painful performance to watch. At one point it looked as if "Clara" was breaking out into a "crip walk" more than doing traditional ballet. I had to leave the performance early.

I doubt I'll be going back.