Ballet West’s production of “The Nutcracker” is making history in a bad way, the company says — with a number of fans falling victim to ticket scams.
The ballet company reported Monday a “dramatic spike” in people “arriving at performances with fake or invalid tickets purchased from third-party sellers,” according to a news release.
Some patrons paid $1,000 or $2,000 for what they thought were prime Capitol Theatre seats through those third-party sites, Ballet West spokesperson Mika Seltenrich said Monday. The most expensive real seats go for $220 — a VIP package that includes a merchandise bag, she said.
In some cases, Natalie Thorpe, Ballet West’s director of patron services, said in a statement, “families are showing up to attend this cherished holiday tradition, only to discover they’ve been scammed.”
Seltenrich said about 45 patrons have gone to the box office in person to report that they overpaid for tickets — while another two dozen have called after buying tickets to report they were scammed. A number of others have also been turned away.
Ballet West describes itself as the first U.S. dance company to stage “The Nutcracker” (in 1955). Its 2025 production debuted on Dec. 5 and runs through Dec. 27.
Over the holiday season, the company said it traditionally sells 30,000 tickets to the Christmas-themed ballet.
According to Ballet West, online searches for “Nutcracker tickets” often lead consumers to third-party resellers that mimic the dance company’s branding. The sites charge inflated prices and often sell fraudulent tickets, the company said.
Red flags to look out for, according to Ballet West:
• Sites that appear above the company’s website in search results, but include “reseller” language in the fine print.
• Inflated prices — for example, selling a $46 ticket for $146.
• Urgent pressure to “buy now.”
• Tickets that only list the seat row, not the individual seat number.
Ballet West urges patrons who think they may have bought phony tickets to verify their ticket confirmation, either through balletwest.org or arttix.org. Those sites are also where people can buy legitimate tickets.
Seltenrich said the cheapest seats, at $39 each, are sold out for the show’s run. However, other tickets are still available — particularly for the last three shows: two on Friday, Dec. 26, and the finale on Saturday, Dec. 27.