It’s normal to leave a performance of “The
Nutcracker” wanting to waltz to Tchaikovsky’s Grande
Pas de Deux, but most renditions of this Christmas classic do not
leave audiences hungry. Matthew Bourne’s
“Nutcracker!” might just change that.
Described by its dancers and host as delicious and scrumptious,
and by its host, UCLA Live, as a feast for the family,
Bourne’s “Nutcracker!” promises dreamlike
costumes and tasty sets that cause more than visions of sugarplums
to dance in audiences’ heads.
“Act two just becomes pink: We have pink marshmallow girls
and sweet gobstopper men, and we have a knickerbocker glory,”
said Neil Penlington, who plays Fritz. “(Fritz) has a big ice
cream whip on his head and we have a licking dance and everyone
starts to taste each other. We invite the audience to come and
taste us and do a flirting thing with them.”
Clearly this is no old-school “Nutcracker.” Like
many UCLA Live productions, this performance has been described as
edgy and frisky. But should a ballet as classic as “The
Nutcracker” be revamped?
Bourne’s cast explains that the combination of classic and
contemporary is what has made this production spectacular for over
a decade. “This is a “˜Nutcracker’ that no one has
ever seen before. Its drama is understandable, and it’s
really fantastically danced so the whole family can be taken on a
journey,” said Richard Winsor, who plays the Licorice
Man.
The glory of this journey depends as much on theatrics as on
dancing. After all, another Bourne production, 1999’s
“Swan Lake,” was a Tony award-winning hit.
It is an anomaly for UCLA Live to undertake a Broadway-sized
event like this, but if the posters and banners throughout West Los
Angeles are any indication of their excitement for Clara and her
crew, it seems like they are ready.
“Matthew Bourne likes to really tell the audience the
story. He casts actors as dancers and it gives the show so much
depth and wit in the choreography,” said Winsor.
Even with his elaborate staging. Bourne stays true to the
essence of “The Nutcracker” with Tchaikovsky’s
incredible score and “the touching story told through dreams
and nightmares,” which he said in an interview on his Web
site.
“You’re in a dream the whole time,” Winsor
said. “When it was created 110 years ago, people
couldn’t get on a plane and go off somewhere. The show
transports (the audience) to different worlds, and it is that
tradition of being transported for the Christmas season (that makes
it a classic).”
Bourne directed “Nutcracker!” for the 1992 Edinburgh
Festival, his first try at putting an alternative spin on classic
works, which led to him to recreate “Highland Fling,”
“Cinderella,” “The Car Man” and “Swan
Lake.”
Penlington said that Christmas spirit makes “The
Nutcracker” a mainstream hit compared to other ballets. The
Bourne version opens in a bleak orphanage instead of the usual
Christmas party, so Clara’s fantasy journey to “Sweetie
Land” seems more magical.
“The majority of us have been here eight years or more and
this is a “˜Nutcracker’ you can’t get bored of
doing because it is a fun show. It’s a never-ending
“˜Nutcracker,'” said Penlington. “It’s
nutcracking fabulous.”