Pacific Northwest Ballet is embracing the dark days of November with the perfect spooky-season program: Ghost Stories, a mixed bill of haunting and cheeky works that runs November 6 through 15 at Seattle Center’s Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Seven performances only — and yes, goosebumps are part of the plan.
The evening opens with George Balanchine’s La Sonnambula, a gothic one-act story ballet that returns to PNB after an almost 20-year absence, telling the tale of a beautiful sleepwalker and doomed love. The program also features two contrasting works by Alejandro Cerrudo: the moody Silent Ghost and the sharp-witted PACOPEPEPLUTO, a playful trio for male dancers set to songs by Dean Martin. Rounding out the night is a world premiere by PNB principal dancer Kyle Davis: The Raven, inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s famous poem.
There are extras all around the show. Choreography students from PNB School perform on six tiny stages in the McCaw Hall lobby during both intermissions, ballet fans can join “Ballet Talks” lectures and “Meet the Artist” Q&A sessions, and the November 14 matinee is an audio-described performance at just $20. On Friday, November 13, the audience is invited to come dressed as Edgar Allan Poe or in goth-inspired attire — opening night even includes a wine tasting.
Tickets start at just $43, and the program will also stream digitally November 19 through 23. Happy City News says: don’t sleep on this one — it’s the most fun you can have with a ghost story.
Photo: Pacific Northwest Ballet
