“The Nutcracker,” back in production at the Auditorium Theatre, is unquestionably about the past.
Based on an early 19th Century tale, firelit by the holiday images of a Victorian yesteryear, the classic endures as a trip to earlier, even foregone traditions.
Ah, but that is the abiding genius of Robert Joffrey’s exquisite version, which took up permanent residency here after the Joffrey Ballet’s relocation. Most U.S. “Nutcrackers” date from the ’60s or so. This one, forged in 1987, enjoys some benefits from its relative newness. In his last great contribution to the art, Joffrey drew from memory but also tossed out excess and cloying conventions.
He led a collaboration of top artists to update the fairy-tale trimmings (to turn-of-the-century Americana) and substitute Gerald Arpino’s loving contemporary choreography for key scenes, notably the “Waltz of the Snowflakes” and the “Waltz of the Flowers.”
Instead of creaky, pro forma dancemaking, those works boast a modern sophistication. As a result, the other side of the “Nutcracker” equation is restored. This is old-fashioned family entertainment, but it’s also a sly, intermittent introduction to the subtle beauties of the art too. Youngsters can squeal at the mice, ooh at the gorgeously rendered snow scene and gasp at the explosion that reveals the Nutcracker Prince.
But they glimpse the glory, too, that occurs when smartly tailored dance combines with great music–in this case, of course, by the greatest ballet composer of them all, Tchaikovsky. This “Nutcracker” whispers, in that lovely way, of the adult world to come and is therefore as much about today as yesterday, as much about being alive and grown up as indulging in childhood fantasy.
Great stage productions turn on their climactic moments, and “The Nutcracker” is no exception, from the Sugar Plum Fairy’s solo to the selective use of the sorcerer’s pixie dust as a poetic coda. But Joffrey also delivered a production masterful in detail. Sideshows color the Act I party: the business where Calvin Kitten, as Fritz, twirls away with the youngsters to one side during the last of the specialty dances, for instance. The first act is a marvel of jam-packed stage craft, diverting but never too busy.
Last year’s opening, fresh from a hectic film shoot, was rough around the edges. Not this year: The troupe is precise and yet joyful. They’re hardworking but appear to be having as much fun as the audience.
One casting variation Friday came in the form of Suzanne Lopez as the Sugar Plum Fairy. Lopez is a statuesque, princessly Sugar Plum, her poise and artful port de bras great weapons in her charm arsenal.
She’s a compelling, evolving dancer, partnered on Friday by Willy Shives, whose flawless, buoyant performance as the male lead role is a tradition all by itself.
Kitten is appropriately obnoxious as Fritz, a high-flying jumping jack as Tea From China and simply breathtaking in style in his snow scene solos. Among their multiple roles, Deborah Dawn and Sam Franke are particularly entrancing as Coffee From Arabia, and the corps, so festive as ballroom enthusiasts, are so uniformly pulchritudinous as waltzing flora.
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“The Nutcracker” runs through Dec. 28 at the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Pkwy. For tickets, call 312-902-1500.
