‘Nutcracker’ Rehearsal Cut Short for Guests

Expecting to view their children performing in the Joffrey Ballet’s “The Nutcracker,” dozens of parents came away from the final dress rehearsal Friday at the Music Center with sour feelings. The unexpectedly large crowd was asked to leave at intermission, which officials say was the plan all along.

It was a misunderstanding, they said.

Richard Tollefson, manager of operations and development for the Joffrey, called it a “confused situation.”

He said that only about one guest was expected for every six children who are performing for free in the performance. Instead, he said, 200 or more family and friends showed up. Then, he continued, they were supposed to have been told that they could only stay until about the intermission. The word never got through.

The “very tight schedule” hours before opening night and the thin staff available to supervise the large crowd made the presence of so many visitors untenable, he added.

At 3 p.m. the audience was told to leave in 10 minutes. “They were a little shocked,” he conceded. Nevertheless, Tollefson said the “vast majority were appreciative” to have seen as much as they did of the ballet, which runs until Dec. 31.

Judy Spore, whose 12-year-old Aaron was in the ballet, wasn’t one of them.

“It was so disappointing,” she said. “They just said, ‘Out.’ ”