I am creating digital sets for an Off Broadway ballet called Nutcracker: Rated R on my iPhone. It's the first time I have done this kind of thing. The work is still in progress, but the opening night, December 17, is near.

The show was created in 2006 by two old friends of mine, David F. Slone, Esq., and choreographer Angela Harriell. Over the years we have collaborated on many projects, so it's a pleasure to debut in their company. The production is done on a shoestring, a pure labor of love: nobody gets rich here. Coming from a profession such as mine that's essentially a quiet and lonely one, I've been struck by the joyfulness of the rehearsals, and also by all the practice and tweaking that goes into making ballet seem so effortless.

Nutcracker: Rated R is a classic ballet transposed to an idealized, seedy, decadent New York of the 1980s: the Rats fight Department of Health inspectors, the Snow Queen becomes a coke-peddling Blow Queen, etc. It's all quite funny. Capping a year spent drawing city landscapes for 20x200 and for The New Yorker, this is my chance to sketch -- on the Brushes app, as usual -- a less contemporary New York.

My projected images will dance along with the performers, and I can only hope it all works out -- the whole process is being created from scratch. It feels like a great beginning, so please come share in our efforts. There aren't very many performances to attend, so get your tickets online A.S.A.P. They tend to go fast...

Jorge Colombo
December 6, 2009



Nutcracker: Rated R website
Facebook page
Tickets ($20) can be bought online here