nutcracker

I saw two productions of The Nutcracker in the past week. One was the Desert Star Playhouse version of "Nutcracker, Men in Tights," a total spoof of the serious version that Ballet West puts on every year. A couple of days ago, several of us girls in the gardens went to the Ballet West version, but I didn't realize when I bought the tickets that the last matinee is the "Nutty Nutcracker" at Ballet West.

What could be nutty about the Nutcracker, you ask? So many, many things. Herr Drosselmeyer's afro wig, the skiing couple who showed up at the party in Act I, the disco dancing performed by all of the parents in Act I, trumpets for the girls, dollies for the boys, clown noses on ballerinas, Groucho Marx glasses and mustaches on ballerinas. And more, including frequent appearances by Waldo from the "Where's Waldo" books, whether dancing the Russian dance, or hauling in his taco or noodle cart, or showing up in the grandfather clock. And then there was the change in the story where the Rodent King bonked the Nutcracker on the head and then escorted Clara to Act II, as well as the tag team hand slapping between various soloists as they left and entered the stage. There was the bumblebee ballerina that kept hitting on various male dancers, trying to buzz or sting them and there was a male dancer on rollerblades. And I don't think I've ever seen Clara eat popcorn while on the throne watching the dancing.

I'm sure there were other nutty things going on besides the ones I mentioned, but my favorite nutty thing during the ballet was when the percussionists began playing the castinettes during the Spanish dancer number and Audrey immediately sat up straight in her seat, began clicking her fingers together above her head, and yelled out, "Where are the crabs?"