Christmas in dance: Ballet Theatre South brings ‘Nutcracker’ to Albany stage
Three weekend performances set for Albany Municipal Adutorium
By Jim Hendricks
ALBANY — A holiday favorite since the 1960s, “The Nutcracker” will come to the stage of the Albany Municipal Auditorium for three performances Dec. 2-4 by Ballet Theatre South.
The two-act ballet, which debuted on the Russian stage in 1892 when it was choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, features the famous score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky that for decades has been a major part of the Christmastime soundtrack for children and adults as well.
Gail Drake with Ballet Theatre South said more than 50 students from age 8 to college will perform with the company. They’ll perform the parts of ballroom dancers, soldiers, mice, angels, snowflakes, flowers and a variety of sweets.
“It’s a mix. It’s mostly students,” she said. “The leads are played by professionals out of Tallahassee.”
Featured in the cast will be veteran performers Charles Hagan from Pas de Vie studio in Tallahassee and Diamond LaGrave, also from Tallahassee, along with 14-year-old Marianna Mesquita, of Albany. The production is directed by Carol Mathis of Murphy Dance Studios and choreographed by Leslie Hodges of Camilla.
Hodges “does a wonderful job,” Drake said. “She’s been doing it for years.”
“The Nutcracker” is based on the 1816 tale of “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” by E.T.A. Hoffmann, a Prussian Romantic who wrote fantasy and horror. In Hoffman’s story, a nutcracker comes to life to defend a 7-year-old girl from an evil mouse king who is demanding more and more sweets from the girl’s household. After defeating the mouse king in battle, the nutcracker takes the girl to a magical land where dolls populate the kingdom.
The ballet adaptation of Hoffman’s story simplified the plot (omitting, for instance, the portion of the story of how the prince was cursed to become a nutcracker). Also, the young girl’s name was changed from Marie to Clara, which originally was the name of her doll.
At it essence, it is a good triumphs over evil tale with an enduring musical score. While the music is familiar, its association as the definitive Christmas ballet took quite a few years to develop. “The Nutcracker” didn’t go over well with Russian audiences when it debuted in 1892.
“It was a bomb,” Drake said. “The critics hated it.”
While Tchaikovsky’s 20-minute suite had a following, “The Nutcracker” more or less died out. It was retooled in 1919 with changes, including adults in the lead roles of the Nutcracker and Clara, and was reintroduced on the London stage in 1934. This latter version has been popular with audiences. The San Francisco Ballet premiered it on the American stage on Christmas Eve in 1944. It was such a success that the company has performed it every year since.
The ballet also got a jolt of popularity from its score being used in the 1940 classic Disney film “Fantasia,” which further widened the audience of Tchaikovsky’s music.
“The Nutcracker” has become so popular that it now accounts for two out of every five tickets sold by major U.S. ballet companies.
“The Nutcracker’ brings in 40 percent of tickets sales for ballet companies in America,” Drake noted, adding Ballet Theatre South performs it every other year.
School students will be able to attend special shows on Thursday, a community service provided by the ballet company since its inception more than a half-century ago.
“The Nutcracker” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Dec. 4. Tickets are $10-15 and may be purchased at the door or by calling (229) 449-9748. For more information, visit www.ballettheatresouth.org.
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