Review: NUTCRACKER SPECTACULAR at Robinson Center Creates Holiday Memories

Every little ballerina's dream is to be in a magical production dressed in resplendent costumes and dancing to the melodic sounds of a grand orchestra. Ballet Arkansas did just that for over 200 local children and adults in their 44th annual production of THE NUTCRACKER SPECTACULAR at Robinson Center, 426 W. Markham St., in Little Rock, December 9-11. With the glorious music from the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and a special appearance by Santa, this celebration of holiday enchantment was nothing short of...well....spectacular.

The NUTCRACKER SPECTACULAR opens to a Christmas Eve party where young Clara (Mary Caroline Boyette) is given a Nutcracker Doll by Godfather Herr Drosselmeyer (David Cummings). Her brother Fritz (Maddox Sowell) is jealous and tries to take the doll away but accidently breaks the doll, which distresses Clara. Drosselmeyer fixes the doll with a scarf and tells her magic at midnight will change the doll to it's true form. When midnight strikes, the Nutcracker (Keith Newman) grows to full size, but so does the Rat King (Andrew Parson) and his army. A battles ensues, but the Rat King is defeated by The Nutcracker with the help of Clara throwing her shoe at him. The Snow King (Aldrin Vendt) and Snow Queen (Brittany Harano) find out about their bravery and take them to the Land of the Sweets. In celebration the Sugar Plum Fairy (Meridith Loy) and her friends Spanish Hot Chocolate (Brittany Harano & Matt Larson-Arziari), Arabian Coffee (Leah Norwine & David Cummings), Chinese Tea (Kerridwyn Schanck), Russian Candy Cane (Andrew Parson), Marzipan (Sage Feldges & Lauren Yordanich), Mother Ginger (Tommie Tinker), and Dew Drop Fairy (Layla Terrell) leap and twirl in honor of the heroes. As the festivities winds down, Clara wakes up on Christmas Day and sees her Nutcracker in doll form once more.

This spectacular show was visually breathtaking. Choreographers Michael Fothergill and Marius Petipa held true to the original storytelling. The movements were understandable, and featured the strengths of the cast. The dancers moved with grace, and the stunts were awarded extra applauses throughout the night.

It was fun watching all of the little kids have their turns twirling and prancing around the stage. Ballet Arkansas had them in several different ensemble scenes. I loved the party scenes and their participation in the fight scene. All the little angels were adorable, but my favorite part with the children was when they all came out from underneath Mother Ginger. I'm not sure how many children they stored under that costume, but it was funny to see them all pop out.

Of course, listening to the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra is always a treat. With Maestro Geoffrey Robson, the orchestra filled the performance hall with holiday cheer with music by Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky. The marriage of the orchestra, singing by Bryant High School Bella Voce (directed by Tanner Oglesby) and the multitude of dancers were the perfect blend for memory making for hundreds of families during this holiday season. I would like to give a special shout out to Dr. Carolyn Brown and Dr. Carl Anthony of the ASO, who I had the privilege of taking their classes at the University of Central Arkansas a few decades ago. These musicians are total rockstars, and it was a pleasure knowing they were in the orchestra pit.

To make the show even more special, Ballet Arkansas promoted apprentices David Cummings, Layla Terrell, and Brittany Harano to officially join the company. The dancers were overjoyed and was well deserved.

"We'd love to thank Natural State Genomics and Natural State Laboratories, our organization's principal sponsor," Associate Artistic Director Catherine Garratt Fothergill said. "Currently, we are in the midst of a capital campaign to update the production - entitled, the Nutcracker Project. Information can be found at www.balletarkansas.org/the-Nutcracker-Project."

Next up, Ballet Arkansas will perform Sleeping Beauty at UA-PTC CHARTS in February. This will be a full-length presentation with a cast of more than 100! For more information, visit www.balletarkansas.org.

Broadway World would like to give a very special 'thank you' to Matthew Sewell Photography www. msewellphotography.com for capturing the essence of these amazing performers. If you or your company needs headshop and other professional quality photos, this is the place to go.

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