United Kingdom Los Angeles Ballet’s The Nutcracker: Dancers and Orchestra of Los Angeles Ballet / Jeffery Meyer (conductor). Dolby Theater, Los Angeles, 22.12.2024. (JRo)
When December rolls around in the United States, performances of The Nutcracker are ubiquitous, from local ballet schools to professional companies to that supreme version: George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, danced by New York City Ballet.
Here in LA, the annual Los Angeles Ballet production was choreographed by co-founders Colleen Neary and Thordal Christensen. Christensen was principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet and its former artistic director. Neary was a NYCB soloist and répétiteur for The George Balanchine Trust.
Given Neary’s pedigree, one would expect to find more references to Balanchine’s Nutcracker. Instead, the Act I setting is transferred from the Staulbaum’s stately German home to a Los Angeles Craftsman style house. Act II’s ‘Land of Sweets’ has been reconfigured as the ‘Palace of the Dolls’ by the sea. This is a sunny Nutcracker, the dark edges of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s original tale set aside.
Whether Nuremberg or Los Angeles, the Dolby Theater in Hollywood was alive with Tchaikovsky’s evocative wintry score. Though a pared down ensemble, the Los Angeles Ballet Orchestra did justice to the music, ably conducted by Jeffery Meyer.
The party at the Staulbaum’s is in full swing replete with tipsy waiters and flirty maids, when Uncle Drosselmeyer, danced by Evan Swenson, bursts into the living room wearing a megawatt smile and massive fur coat (winter in LA can drop to a chilly 56). More the 1920’s Hollywood mogul than the mysterious toymaker of most productions, he gives Clara a life-sized Nutcracker rather than a small wooden version. Though this leaves no possibility for the Nutcracker to magically grow along with the Christmas tree, toy soldiers and mice at the end of Act I, it does allow for some funny stage business. When Fritz, Clara’s rowdy brother, pokes him, he receives an offhanded, mechanical slap in retaliation.
If sets by Catherine Kanner are muted, the action isn’t. Fritz, danced with obvious relish by 13-year-old Dylan Von Halle, keeps things lively, careening around the stage followed by a troop of exuberant child dancers. The high level of the children’s cast was impressive.
Of particular note were the Harlequin and Columbine dolls of Act I who return in Act II. They were danced with charming directness by Simon Costello and Poppy Coleman. Marcos Ramirez, formerly of the National Ballet of Cuba, danced the role of the Cossack Doll (returning in Act II as part of a trio of Russian dancers). He blended superlative technique and musicality with infectious gaiety.
There were some funny but perplexing moments in the dream scene at the end of the first act. The Christmas tree grows after the life-sized mice gather around Clara’s bed, the mice prefer disco to ballet, the Mouse King is more mafia godfather than frightening rodent and the battle itself loses focus and so feels overlong. That said, there was more than enough to entertain the little ones in the audience.
The twelve dancing snowflakes sparkle – the program notes reveal the action has been rerouted to the mountains – and then the sled bearing Clara and the Nutcracker (now the Prince) lands in Venice Beach. There they are greeted by turbaned heralds and pages, and instead of the Sugar Plum Fairy they are welcomed by a ballerina doll called Marie. In the Hoffmann version, the child Clara Staulbaum is named Marie and in the later retelling by Alexandre Dumas, she is called Clara. It is confusing, nevertheless if one ignores the program notes and focuses on the stage, Aviva Gelfer-Mundi gives a lovely, and serene performance as Marie. Her prince, Jonas Tutaj, partnered her with dexterity and assurance.
The Arabian dance with the willowy Paige Wilkey was reliably slinky, the Rose amidst the Sunflowers was danced with delicacy by Kate Inoue. Clara and her Nutcracker Prince (Sarah-Ashley Chicola and Jacob Soltero) were appropriately enthusiastic and Mother Ginger did not disappoint. Lilly Leech, poking out of a gingerbread chimney atop a massive candy house (sweets at last!), disgorged little Hansels and Gretels in an inspired sequence.
I am happy to report, my five-year-old granddaughter loved the show, though personally, I missed the ‘Grandparents’ Dance,’ absent from Act I. Nevertheless, fun was had by all in this West Coast The Nutcracker. After all, where would the holiday season be without Tchaikovsky and that little (or big) wooden fellow.
Jane Rosenberg
Production:
Music – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Choreography – Colleen Neary and Thordal Christensen
Sets – Catherine Kanner
Costumes – Mikael Melbye
Lighting – Penny Jacobus & Nathan Scheuer
Cast:
Clara – Sarah-Ashley Chicola
Fritz – Dylan Von Halle
Mrs Staulbaum – Julianne Kinasiewicz
Mr Staulbaum – Shintaro Akana
Uncle Drosselmeyer – Evan Swenson
Harlequin & Columbine – Simon Costello, Poppy Coleman
Cossack Doll – Marco Ramirez
The Nutcracker – Jacob Soltero
Mouse King – Jake Ray
Marie – Aviva Gelfer-Mundl
The Prince – Jonas Tutaj
Spanish – Abigail Gross, Anna Jacobs, Bryce Broedell, John Dekle
Arabian – Paige Wilkey, Jake Ray
Russian – Marco Ramirez, Barco Biella, Cesar Ramirez Castellano
Mother Ginger – Lilly Leech
Rose – Kate Inoue