PACIFIC NORTHWEST BALLET The SLeeping Beauty January 31 - February 9, 2025 Review
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY
Pacific Northwest Ballet
McCaw Hall
Seattle, WA
Review: Saturday 2/1/25 7:30 pm Performance
The first Pacific Northwest Ballet production of 2025 was a world premiere production - “The Sleeping Beauty”. When the 2024/2025 program schedule was released last year, this rep was the first one that stood out to me. Partially because I was a fan of the show but more so this was a revamped version complete with new costume designs, new scenic design, and much, much more.
The news around town had reported that the dollar amount that went into this new show was over $4 million dollars, collected from 64 generous donors (including two foundations). Yes, you read that right. For the casual ballet patron, that number is staggering. For those in the know, it’s still staggering but not surprising, especially by current dollar values.
All of this just added to the excitement of Saturday evening at McCaw Hall.
I did my best to go into this new production with an open mind. I had seen a few photos that the PNB had posted of the costume designs by Paul Tazewell which were eye poppingly gorgeous. Outside of that, I didn’t read up on anything else until after my performance.
Speaking of the costume designs, one could not help but be overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the costumes. They stood out in the best way possible for every dancer that graced the stage.
The new scenic designs from Preston Singletary proved to be a new look with familiar nods to the Pacific Northwest (which is a part of his known style). I thought they worked well in conjunction with the other new designs for this production.
The puppetry design from Basil Twist was somewhat of a throwback to the Sendak Nutcracker which will please many patrons (myself included). The ogre got the best reaction of the night by the way.
The projection design from Wendell K. Harrington was hit and miss. For example from the opening sequence there was an abundance of laughter as the eagle made its descent - and unfortunately I don’t mean that in a good way. However, the three dimensional depth delivered for other scenes worked incredibly well.
For our performance, the leads roles were performed by Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan (Princess Aurora) and Christopher D’Ariano (Prince Desire’). Both were stunning in their (I believe role) debuts, especially Sarah. Her artistry and personality came through in her performance, much like that from a dancer that had danced the role dozens of times in the past. Christopher showed he’s ready to be promoted to the principal level. Again, much like Sarah, it was hard to believe he hadn’t danced this role multiple times over his career.
This production (both old and new) requires an almost hands on deck approach as there are a ton of dancers at each performance. From the PNB School through the Professional Division and of course the PNB Company Dancers. At times, especially during Act I, it was staggering just how many dancers were on the stage at any given point.
With that, I can always brush off things from multi dancer numbers that didn’t look quite as sharp as I would have liked. There was a mix of skill levels on the stage and considering that, they were solid. However, I know that some of the things I’ve noticed over the last year or two concerning the Corps dancers may still be there (i.e. not being as tight as they could be). But, this was not overly distracting from the performance.
Knowing this production has been in the works for at least a few years, with the budget disclosed, I can only imagine the amount of work it took to roll the dice on this new production. For all of those involved, this must be a cautious sigh of relief to finally see it on the stage.
And if it’s the success that I believe it will be once the last curtain call drops on February 9th, I believe audiences will be coming back in earnest each time it is staged in the foreseeable future.
Congratulations PNB!
“The Sleeping Beauty” runs through February 9th. Purchase tickets: HERE!
Best,
Mark Sugiyama
Eclectic Arts Media
Connect with Eclectic Arts Media: Social Media and Email Links
P.S. The ongoing audience conduct issue was as prevalent as ever at my performance. Patrons needing to shush other patrons who were talking during the show, phones out, people fidgeting in their seats, coughing, wrapper noise, a very large amount of people leaving before the curtain call(s), etc. This issue is live event wide and it’s getting tiresome. The issue becomes what is the solution and how do you enforce it. I honestly don’t know but I'm all ears for a change in the current audience code of conduct.
Pacific Northwest Ballet
McCaw Hall
Seattle, WA
Review: Saturday 2/1/25 7:30 pm Performance
The first Pacific Northwest Ballet production of 2025 was a world premiere production - “The Sleeping Beauty”. When the 2024/2025 program schedule was released last year, this rep was the first one that stood out to me. Partially because I was a fan of the show but more so this was a revamped version complete with new costume designs, new scenic design, and much, much more.
The news around town had reported that the dollar amount that went into this new show was over $4 million dollars, collected from 64 generous donors (including two foundations). Yes, you read that right. For the casual ballet patron, that number is staggering. For those in the know, it’s still staggering but not surprising, especially by current dollar values.
All of this just added to the excitement of Saturday evening at McCaw Hall.
I did my best to go into this new production with an open mind. I had seen a few photos that the PNB had posted of the costume designs by Paul Tazewell which were eye poppingly gorgeous. Outside of that, I didn’t read up on anything else until after my performance.
Speaking of the costume designs, one could not help but be overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the costumes. They stood out in the best way possible for every dancer that graced the stage.
The new scenic designs from Preston Singletary proved to be a new look with familiar nods to the Pacific Northwest (which is a part of his known style). I thought they worked well in conjunction with the other new designs for this production.
The puppetry design from Basil Twist was somewhat of a throwback to the Sendak Nutcracker which will please many patrons (myself included). The ogre got the best reaction of the night by the way.
The projection design from Wendell K. Harrington was hit and miss. For example from the opening sequence there was an abundance of laughter as the eagle made its descent - and unfortunately I don’t mean that in a good way. However, the three dimensional depth delivered for other scenes worked incredibly well.
For our performance, the leads roles were performed by Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan (Princess Aurora) and Christopher D’Ariano (Prince Desire’). Both were stunning in their (I believe role) debuts, especially Sarah. Her artistry and personality came through in her performance, much like that from a dancer that had danced the role dozens of times in the past. Christopher showed he’s ready to be promoted to the principal level. Again, much like Sarah, it was hard to believe he hadn’t danced this role multiple times over his career.
This production (both old and new) requires an almost hands on deck approach as there are a ton of dancers at each performance. From the PNB School through the Professional Division and of course the PNB Company Dancers. At times, especially during Act I, it was staggering just how many dancers were on the stage at any given point.
With that, I can always brush off things from multi dancer numbers that didn’t look quite as sharp as I would have liked. There was a mix of skill levels on the stage and considering that, they were solid. However, I know that some of the things I’ve noticed over the last year or two concerning the Corps dancers may still be there (i.e. not being as tight as they could be). But, this was not overly distracting from the performance.
Knowing this production has been in the works for at least a few years, with the budget disclosed, I can only imagine the amount of work it took to roll the dice on this new production. For all of those involved, this must be a cautious sigh of relief to finally see it on the stage.
And if it’s the success that I believe it will be once the last curtain call drops on February 9th, I believe audiences will be coming back in earnest each time it is staged in the foreseeable future.
Congratulations PNB!
“The Sleeping Beauty” runs through February 9th. Purchase tickets: HERE!
Best,
Mark Sugiyama
Eclectic Arts Media
Connect with Eclectic Arts Media: Social Media and Email Links
P.S. The ongoing audience conduct issue was as prevalent as ever at my performance. Patrons needing to shush other patrons who were talking during the show, phones out, people fidgeting in their seats, coughing, wrapper noise, a very large amount of people leaving before the curtain call(s), etc. This issue is live event wide and it’s getting tiresome. The issue becomes what is the solution and how do you enforce it. I honestly don’t know but I'm all ears for a change in the current audience code of conduct.
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