Pacifica’s ‘Nutcracker’ to Open in Los Angeles

Orange County’s Ballet Pacifica will unveil its new production of “The Nutcracker” in Los Angeles rather than at home. The ballet will be danced Dec. 9-12 at Cal State Los Angeles, followed by performances Dec. 16-23 at the Moulton Theatre in Laguna Beach.

“We had already set our dates in Orange County last year, based on the schedule at the (Moulton),” artistic director Molly Lynch explained this week. “The only way we could accommodate Cal State L.A. was to do it prior to that.”

Lynch doesn’t believe the L.A. engagement competes with the one in Laguna. “It’s a different market,” she said, adding that “the intent is to make it an annual event there.”

The company lost all its scenery and costumes, including those for “The Nutcracker,” when its warehouse burned to the ground last month in the Laguna Beach fire. Since then, local and even national support has surfaced. American Ballet Theatre in New York and the Fresno and Sacramento ballets will loan some costumes for the second act, Lynch said.

“We really didn’t have enough time to create all the new costumes. A lot of people have come forward and helped. It’s amazing how the community gets behind you at a crisis time.

“We’re still working with the insurance agent” to determine whether to rebuild the warehouse, she added. “We have still to clear the site and see what the slab is like . . . . There’s a lot about this that I’m learning.”