The Ticket 2014

When Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker premiered in 1892, it flopped. But in the last 50 years, it’s become a holiday classic.

Are you in a bit of a First Friday rut? Tired of cheap wine in plastic cups? Or bringing the fam along? Let us help.

“Evening with the Stars brings together the best ballet dancers in the world that we would never have a chance to see here,” says Travis DiNicola of Indy Reads. “It’s the must-see event of the year.”

“One of the reasons that this show has been fun to work on together is that it gives us an excuse to travel together,” she says of husband John Green. “I do the large majority of the work for the art assignment, and he shows up to film.”

Haunting, ethereal harmonies may be the trademark of Lily & Madeleine, but their tastes run the gamut from classic rock to the latest indie bands.

“There is something incredibly freeing about playing someone who has no rules and no boundaries,” says Ryan Artzberger.

He will appear as the lead during the high-profile holiday season, from November 4 through January 4.

One hour before each Classical Series concert, get perspective from musicians, conductors, and guest artists. The pre-concert talk is free to all ticket-holders.

“It was outrageous, and the audience gave a standing ovation,” says Pauline Moffat of A**holes & Aureoles. “That was the night I knew IndyFringe audiences were open-minded and ready for the next generation of uncensored and unjuried fringe performances.”

If interviewing for a job in a packed auditorium sounds like a nightmare, be glad you’re not auditioning to be the new maestro of the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra.

“We have a long-running list of plays we’re interested in, but where we sit in the pecking order as a nonprofit, we won’t get the rights to a lot of shows until the commercial world exhausts it,” says IRT artistic director Janet Allen.

The Opera knows it won’t be giving up classic, grand operas—but avant-garde productions, operatic musicals, concerts, festivals, and other formats are all on the table to try.

Want more leg room at the IRT? Reserve an aisle seat or the back row of the balcony. The best view and sound, though, is—surprise—up in the balcony.

“I really think that art can be anything that causes you to react, to contemplate something, or to create conversation. That can be a lot of different things. I think it can be art in the traditional sense, but it can also be more active.”

“Now, in addition to having a vibrant local food/local beer movement, [Indianapolis has] a parallel local arts movement.”