Ticket Guide
How to Get Tickets to ‘George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker’ Ballet Online
Visions of sugarplum fairies don't have to just dance in your head — you can watch them dance across the stage with tickets you can snag online
By
Alexis Mikulski Ruiz, Sage Anderson
November 14, 2025
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Paul Kolnik/New York City Ballet
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A holiday classic is back! Every year around December, productions of The Nutcracker (especially the beloved New York City Ballet version) come back to enchant longtime ballet-lovers and newcomers alike. With iconic choreography from George Balanchine, Tschaikovsky’s music, and world-class ballet dancers, it’s no wonder that tickets to the upcoming 2025 performances are selling out fast.
At a Glance: How to Buy The Nutcracker Ballet Tickets Online
- Best Sites: TicketNetwork, StubHub, SeatGeek, Vivid Seats
- The Nutcracker Ballet Dates: Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, to Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026
Based on the Alexandre Dumas père version of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s tale, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (1816), there are several companies around the country that put up the show this time of year. But the Christmas magic really comes alive for the NYCB’s full-scale production at the David H. Koch Theater. With 90 dancers, 62 musicians, 40 stagehands, and more than 125 children, not to mention elaborate stage elements and intricate lighting, it’s a show worth seeing in person. The good news is that there are plenty of ways to buy The Nutcracker ballet tickets online, so you don’t have to wait at the box office.
NYCB’s beloved production has been performed in New York City every year since its premiere on February 2, 1954, and is seen live by more than 100,000 people annually. One of the most famous elements of the production? A one-ton Christmas tree, which grows “from a height of 12 feet to 41 feet,” according to the description on The New York City Ballet’s site.
If you need tickets to see The Nutcracker this holiday season, read on for the best places to buy New York City Ballet tickets (and tickets to other productions across the U.S.) online.
How to Buy The Nutcracker Ballet Tickets Online
Looking for The Nutcracker tickets online? We found the best ticket sites for getting New York City ballet tickets, plus included where to buy resale stubs for any potential sold-out dates closer to the end of the year.
new york city ballet
The Nutcracker Ballet Tickets on TicketNetwork
$121+
A great site for cheap The Nutcracker tickets is TicketNetwork, which has stubs starting at $121+ for the season’s show. This is an ideal place to buy tickets for the New York City Ballet’s production outside of the box office. That being said, you can buy tickets to other Nutcracker productions around the country here, too, if you can’t make it to the Big Apple.
new york city ballet
The Nutcracker Ballet Tickets on StubHub
$122+
We also like checking StubHub for the best prices on The Nutcracker tickets. Right now, StubHub has New York City ballet tickets starting at $122. We also like StubHub’s cancellation policy: If a show is canceled, you’ll get a refund for 120% of the amount you paid.
NYC/ Regional productions
The Nutcracker Ballet Tickets on Seatgeek
$42+
Buy regional shows on seatgeek
$150+
While this ticketing platform didn’t offer tickets for the New York City performance of The Nutcracker last year, it now has seats available for nearly every show. SeatGeek is also currently offering some of the lowest prices for The Nutcracker tickets nationwide, with the cheapest tickets starting around $42, depending on the location. Rolling Stone readers can save an additional $10 on purchases of $250 or more using the code ROLLINGSTONE10.
NYC/ regional productions
The Nutcracker Ballet Tickets on Vivid Seats
$40+
Buy regional shows on vivid seats
$60+
Vivid Seats is also showing great prices for other Nutcracker tickets in and outside of NYC. Tickets start at $40, depending on the production, as of writing. Plus, you can save $30 on purchases of $300 or more by using Rolling Stone’s exclusive promo code RS30 at checkout.
How to Watch NYCB’s The Nutcracker Online
NYCB
The first performance of NYCB’s production was on February 2, 1954, and George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker has been an annual holiday tradition ever since. While this company usually puts on 47 performances of the ballet annually, the production was actually filmed, so you can now stream The Nutcracker ballet online.
watch the nutcracker on apple tv+
If you don’t have Apple TV+, the most straightforward way is to sign up for the monthly plan, which costs $12.99/month after a seven-day free trial.
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