The Nutcracker
Ballet lovers question the present day dumbing-down (oversimplification) of The Nutcracker to make it accessible to the masses. The reasons the ballet was originally disliked in Russia (the many child dancers, the uneven story) seem to be the reasons the ballet has become such a great success in North America. Americans like seeing their children on stage and the story is very much like the rags-to-riches stories Americans love. Some people though complain about the stereotypes of children in Act 1 (boys are naughty, girls are nice) and also about the stereotypes of Arabians and the Chinese in Act 2.