In Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker , the Sugar Plum Fairy rules over the Kingdom of Sweets. When the heroine of the ballet, Clara, (Marie in some versions) helps the Nutcracker kill the Mouse King and breaks the magic spell, the Nutcracker turns into a Prince and takes her to this kingdom in gratitude. The Sugar Plum Fairy presides over the festivities held in Clara's honor. Her solo number, the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy , is one of the most famous pieces in the entire Nutcracker ballet.In Mikhail Baryshnikov's staging of The Nutcracker , he eliminates the Sugar Plum Fairy, and the Nutcracker/ Prince himself rules in the Kingdom of Sweets. It is Clara who performs the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Baryshnikov Nutcracker , and the Fairy's duets with her Cavalier are danced by Clara and the Nutcracker/ Prince. Several other productions, mostly Russian ones, also follow this pattern, including Pacific Northwest Ballet's staging, which features sets and costumes by Where the Wild Things Are author and illustrator Maurice Sendak.