With this year’s Nutcracker, everything old is new again. Before its December run at the Strand Theatre, José Mateo Ballet Theatre returns to the Cutler Majestic, its former home for almost a decade before the theater closed for renovations. And when the curtain rises on Nov. 27, the 15-years-in-the-making homecoming will also be marked by some new additions.

Designer Laura C. McPherson—who’s previously worked with the Huntington Theatre, New Repertory Theatre and other local companies, not to mention flicks like The Departed and Gone Baby Gone—is updating the sets, balancing whimsy and architectural detail, as well as costumes for the Sugar Plum Fairy, the corps of waltzing flowers and beyond. But the biggest change (involving no less than 40 yards of fabric) is the costume for Mother Ginger, whose previous hoop skirt had seen many a tiny polichinelle pass through it during the past dozen years.

While this season brings some updates, the long-running production—now in its 28th year—doesn’t stray too far from tradition. “The choreography is all original, yet it is based on the commitment to the classicism of ballet and the character and style of Tchaikovsky’s beautiful score,” says Mateo, who sees The Nutcracker as a rare tradition for his untraditional company. He’s been keeping dancers on their toes since 1986, forgoing canonical story ballets such as Giselle or Romeo and Juliet in favor of a repertory of original works, so the sense of continuity in the company’s 30th anniversary season is all the more gratifying. In fact, Mateo says some of the current dancers have parents who once performed in the holiday production. “In an age where ballet has splintered into so many styles, and the music is often taken for granted,” he adds, “this reverent nod to tradition is a truly contemporary idea.”