Review: HIP HOP NUTCRACKER 'Blows' Audience Away at Palace Theatre

When he was growing up, rap music’s founding father Kurtis Blow remembers the Nutcracker being a Christmas time tradition.

“As a little kid, my mom would play it for us during the holiday season,” Blow said in an interview last week. “I remember the toy soldiers, Maria Clara, and the Mouse King. It has been a favorite in my family ever since I can remember.”

On Dec. 7, Blow warned a sold-out Palace Theatre audience in downtown Columbus, “This is not your normal NUTCRACKER.”

Indeed, THE HIP HOP NUTCRACKER wasn’t. Tony and Olivier award-nominated choreographer/director Jennifer Weber has created an incredible hybrid of Tchaikovsky’s traditional NUTCRACKER score with several modern-day nuances. Hip-hop dancers in street clothing take over the roles of slipper-toed ballet dancers, violinist Marissa Licata riffs through “The March of the Sugar Plum Fairies,” and DJ Boo provides a steady beat beneath the classical Russian composer’s score. All the while, projection screens hurl the audience to different areas in space and time.

Blow, who is working with Troy Harewood to establish a hip-hop museum in the United Kingdom, primed the crowd by retracing the steps of old-school hip-hop to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the art form. Wearing a sequined ball cap and a white suit with the words “Hip Hop” emblazed upon it in a street art style, Blow performed “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang, “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash, and “Just A Friend” by the late Biz Markie to delight the crowd. He later closed the show with his own iconic tune, “The Breaks.”

Now energized by the opener, the crowd anticipated the beginning of THE NUTCRACKER. Licata opens the doors to the black-and-white painted neighborhood and then surrenders the stage to a dozen dancers who captivate the audience with their take on THE NUTCRACKER.

This new version introduces the audience to Maria Clara (Halima Dodo) who falls in love with Myron the Nutcracker (Anthony “Omen” Cabrera). The couple’s relationship is frowned upon at first by her mother (Jesse Smith) and father (G’bari Gilliam). In a BACK TO THE FUTURE twist, Drosselmeyer (Tumelo Khupe) transports Maria Clara and Myron back to when her parents first met. When they return, they find ways to mend the relationship among the four.

Smith and Gilliam are an absolute dynamo. In the opening scene, the cat-and-mouse play between the two of them is so animated. Smith gets swept away by the music. Gilliam is reticent about joining in but jealous when his wife joins a series of other male dancers. When she is off stage, Gilliam begins to show his moves off.

Cabrera and Dodo also make a cute couple, but their rhythm is a little more in sync with each other from the moment their eyes meet than her parents. The two capture all the nuances as awkward teens first eyeing each other.

Khupe quickly became a fan favorite as Drosselmeyer. At times she seemed like she was manipulating the dancers around her like marionettes. Other times, it seemed she was driven by electricity or some other external force. Her expressions are as mesmerizing as her movements.

The urbanization of THE NUTCRACKER was marked with many subtle winks to the original. Among the cleverest was the Rat King (Toledo native Seth Reaktion Hilliard) and his minions are transformed into a rodent street gang complete with mouse ears and leather jackets with a mouse with its eyes Xed out on the back. Another clever touch was the Land of Sweets starts out with a black and white backdrop, but the buildings become colorized as if by magical spray paint.

While they may not have a starring role, each of the dancers have their moment in the spotlight’s glare. Trent JeRay becomes an Urkel-like flutist, replete with suspenders and goofy dance moves. Dayton-born Esita Calhoun, Athena Cruz, Michael Delgado, Ethan Evaro, Baptista Kawa, Zuce Morales, and Janae Valentine all spun their unique touches on the show.

If there was a drawback to the show, it was that THE HIP HOP NUTCRACKER was only in town for one night.

However, for that one night, so many young people were left wide-eyed in wonder at the magical twists and turns of the performance. One can only hope this version will become as much as of a holiday tradition as THE NUTCRACKER Blow grew up with.

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