Nutcracker Rouge Keeps Davon Rainey (Painfully) on His Toes

Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet The Nutcracker has been given a burlesque makeover at the Minetta Lane Theater off-Broadway with Nutcracker Rouge. Created by Company XIV, this eye-popping dance piece has been splashed with baroque drapings (sets and costumes by Zane Pihlstrom) and puts the audience inside a setting that would be a mouthwatering Vanity Fair photo shoot. Director and choreographer Austin McCormick sets his cast of talented dancers loose on the stage, acting with feverishly sexual flare and singing in smoldering cabaret style, some songs as modern as “Material Girl.” Read more