Click above for Friday, December 4, 7:30 p.m., in Section A, Orchestra & Mezzanine (200 available). Click on the links below for other dates.

• Buy here for Friday, November 27, 7:30 p.m., in Section A, Orchestra & Mezzanine (200 available)
• Buy here for Saturday, November 28, 7:30 p.m., in Section A, Orchestra & Mezzanine (200 available)
• Buy here for Thursday, December 3, 7:30 p.m., in Section A, Orchestra & Mezzanine (200 available)
• Buy here for Friday, December 11, 7:30 p.m., in Section A, Orchestra & Mezzanine (200 available)

Jump to: Reviews

With today’s side deal, $60 gets you a ticket to the land of the Sugar Plum Fairy. See The Nutcracker at the Boston Ballet for 41% less than the usual $102. From your great seats in Section A (orchestra and mezzanine available), you’ll be close enough to see splinters fly when that fiend Fritz breaks Clara’s beloved nutcracker. Just follow the redemption instructions on your Groupon as soon as you receive it, and email the Boston Ballet at groupsales@bostonballet.org with your mailing address. Round up your friends and favored process servers, and demonstrate your classiness with an invitation to the ballet.

There’s no better way to transition from Thanksgiving’s tryptophan turkey coma to the red and green sugar gobs of the holiday season than by seeing Tchaikovsky’s classic performance. Grab these discounted tickets before the regularly priced tickets sell out. Buy multiple Groupons for the kids since they love The Nutcracker almost as much as they love candy canes and non-alcoholic eggnog.

The 46-year-old Boston Ballet presents fully staged classical and contemporary works during its season. You’ll see its performance of The Nutcracker at its new home, The Opera House, at 539 Washington St. Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen was a principal dancer at the San Francisco Ballet for 10 years before joining the Boston Ballet. In 2007, he took Boston Ballet’s troupe on its first international tour in 16 years, receiving major critical acclaim.

Reviews

Critics loved last year’s The Nutcracker, which was full of surprises and special effects. The Boston Globe says: > * Boston Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” provides a nice little sugar rush right into the holiday season. Choreographed by artistic director Mikko Nissinen, the company’s version of this beloved classic sports vivid, imaginative scenery by Helen Pond and Herbert Senn, elaborate, often whimsical costumes by David Walker and Charles Heightchew, and captivating special effects (like the Christmas tree that soars to the ceiling before our eyes and a balloon that flies up and out of sight, carrying Clara, its young heroine, to the Land of the Sweets.) However, the production also features substantive choreography and, in last evening’s opening night performance at the Opera House, some exquisite dancing.

Ballet Magazine writes: > * The sets and costumes are gorgeous. The special effects include a tree that grows to a height of 30 feet, a sleigh drawn by human reindeer in a blizzard of snow, and a hot air balloon that rises into the fly space, carrying Clara and the Nutcracker Prince to the Kingdom of Sweets. Drosselmeier too flies across the stage. In fact, there’s so much airborne activity that the program includes the credit: “Flying by Foy.”

Four Yelpers chime in, giving Boston Ballet four stars: > * Boston Ballet kicks ass, quite simply. Since Mikko Nissinen took over in 2002 (I think), this company is entering into a golden age, and I wish they had more funding and more control over their performance space to show off more. –Alexandra C. > * This is only my 3rd Boston Ballet event but on the strength of these dancers i’ll be back again and again and again. – Asia K. > * Overall, a great facility and asset to the Boston dance scene. – crystal w.