“There are no mothers-in-law in ballet,” George Balanchine once said. He meant that dance narratives shouldn’t get too intricate because certain relationships and plot points can’t be expressed in movement. Christopher Wheeldon, who directed and choreographed the current Broadway show MJ (a musical about Michael Jackson), is one of the world’s go-to guys for full-length story ballets. His latest, Like Water for Chocolate—a Royal Ballet and American Ballet Theatre co-production—presents challenges aplenty. Based on Laura Esquivel’s book of the same name, the story is set in 19th-century Mexico, has lots of characters, and is punctuated by magical-realist moments. To ease the book’s transition to the stage, Esquivel herself has worked with Wheeldon on the ballet’s scenario. Joby Talbot composed the score; the designs are by Bob Crowley. —Laura Jacobs