PERFORMING ARTS REVIEW
Storytelling at its best in 'Nutcracker'
By Carol Egan
Special to The Advertiser
A sure sign of the holiday season is the sudden eruption of "Nutcrackers."
Advertiser library photo
Local audiences may choose from four productions of Tchaikovsky's masterpiece, beginning with Hawai'i Ballet Theatre at Leeward Community College (see box for dates, times) and Hawai'i State Ballet (see photo caption for dates, times). Add to that next weekend's performances by Ballet Hawai'i at The Blaisdell and Hawai'i Dance Theatre's "King Kalakaua's Nutcracker Ballet" at the Hawai'i Theatre, and it's a virtual explosion of "Nutcrackers."
Hawai'i State Ballet's performance of "The Nutcracker," directed by John Landowsky, will be performed today at 2:30 and 6 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., and Saturday and next Sunday at 2:30 p.m. All performances are at the Mamiya Theatre, Saint Louis Center for the Arts. For information call 947-2755.
For two hours of wholesome entertainment, and some fine dancing to boot, you needn't look much farther than Hawai'i Ballet Theatre's performance. Set in the traditional manner, it offers storytelling at its best. It holds our interest from the opening scene, which introduces us to handsomely costumed families hurrying across the stage en route to the von Stahlbaum's Christmas party, to the final scene where Clara, the von Stahlbaum's daughter, ends up back in her bed, the Nutcracker doll nestled safely in her arms. It was all a dream, after all.
Choreographed by HBT's artistic director Charlys Ing, this lavish production includes dancers from age 4 to mature seniors with more than 130 performers, most of them students at various local dance schools. While the ensemble numbers are danced by students, the soloists, most of whom have been brought in specifically for the occasion, are highly professional.
What makes this production unique, however, is the integration of all members of the cast — whether seasoned performers or rank beginners — and the choreography that is always suited to the ability and range of the dancers. From the tiniest mouse to the oversized Mother Ginger (Weldon Gosman, not to be upstaged by his little gumdrops, does some wonderful mime à la Harvey Fierstein), all members of the cast seem to know exactly why they are on stage and are relishing every moment of it. So are we.
Ing has not only choreographed the dances and mimed scenes, she has also infused the production with a generous amount of wit. Especially noteworthy for their character interpretations in Act I were Kelsey Kaneshiro whose Fritz, Clara's brother, is just as mischievous as he is loveable, and Greg Zane as the Mouse King, who creates a bawdy, ribald figure — all bluster and no savvy. His associate fighter mice are equally disorganized, which lends much humor to the famous battle scene where they are slowly defeated by the Toy Soldiers.
'The Nutcracker'
The fantastic Dr. Drosselmeyer, performed with great flair and much fancy cape maneuvering by Vernon Campbell, begins to entertain the party guests with simple magic, then makes a dancing doll pop out of a box (Rag Doll, exquisitely danced by Annie Motteler) and soon progresses to David Copperfield-esque illusions, allowing Clara to shrink to doll-size and then leading her off to the Kingdom of Sweets.
Act I concentrates on mime scenes and narrative (with the exception of the battle scene and the snow scene, beautifully danced by Hiroko Kurokawa Ota and Sean Stewart as the Snow Queen and King). Act II dedicates itself to dance, bringing us groups of goodies in the form of national or exotic dances, the most delicious of which is Arabian Coffee Cordials, sensuously and wonderfully performed by soloists Christi-Anne Kudo and Andrew Sakaguchi.
The final Grand Pas de Deux of the Sugar Plum Fairy (Hiroko Kurokawa Ota) and her Cavalier (Sean Stewart) confirmed earlier impressions of the first-rate quality of their dancing.
Meghan Schardt is convincing as the young innocent girl and enchanting in her dancing, and the very handsome and elegant Daniel Nelson, as Father von Stahlbaum and Clara's Prince.
Correction: Honolulu Dance Theatre is presenting "King Kalakaua's Nutcracker Ballet" next Saturday and Sunday at Hawai'i Theatre. A previous version of this review contained incorrect information.
