A little girl has a magical Christmas Eve adventure with
the wooden nutcracker that was given to her by her godfather. This, in a
nutshell, is the plot of "The Story of the Nutcracker," the ABC
Players' holiday treat for the Athens/Nelsonville region.The classic play will be performed at Stuart's Opera House in Nelsonville at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Each performance will be followed by refreshments and caroling in the lobby.
All proceeds from ticket sales will benefit Stuart's Opera House, while all donations made at the refreshments table will benefit the Nelsonville Food Cupboard, according to a news release.
The "Nutcracker" story was originally written by German author E.T.A. Hoffman and became the subject of a popular ballet with music by Peter I. Tchaikovsky. The ABC Players' version incorporates excerpts from the ballet music into a one-act play adapted by director Celeste Parsons.
The play begins at a mid-19th-century Christmas Eve party in the home of Dr. Stahlbaum (Matt Hull) and his wife (Lynn Hull). The first guest to arrive is Judge Drosselmeier (Joe Balding), who is met by his excited goddaughter Marie (India Mitchell) and her brother Fritz (Collin Hull). Other guests arrive, and all the children soon beg Drosselmeier to reveal the present he has brought. He unwraps a wooden nutcracker carved to look like a soldier, and shows the children how the nutcracker works. Fritz becomes impatient waiting for his turn, and roughly tries to crack a large nut, which breaks several of the nutcracker's teeth. Marie's friends gather around her to console her, while Fritz takes the boys away to play with his toy soldiers. When the party ends, Marie decides to sleep in a chair beside her wounded nutcracker.
At the stroke of midnight, frightening things begin to happen. The Mouse King (Briana Folden) and his mice (Sydney Dicken, Courtney Hull, Jean Louise Kristofco and Anna Wright) attempt to kidnap Marie to make her their queen. However, the Nutcracker himself (Nathan Hashman) and his toy soldiers (Sofia Biegeleisen, Collin Hull, Sydney Lewis and Tatum Lovsey) conquer the mice in a ferocious battle.
The Nutcracker then takes Marie to the Kingdom of the Sugar Plum Fairy, where she meets Mother Ginger (Bill L'Heureux) and her Ginger Children (Sydney Dicken, Elizabeth Goldsberry, Corinne Jones and Kairah Prince). She is then escorted to meet the Sugar Plum Fairy (Andrea Thompson) and her court ladies (Kelee Riesbeck, Sandy Russell, Kaylla Steadman and Marlo Tinkham).
However, as the clock strikes 7 on Christmas morning, Marie suddenly finds herself back in her own parlor, with her family around her. Was it a dream - or is there something strangely familiar about Drosselmeier's nephew, who joins them for breakfast?
In addition to the usual scramble to rehearse, create a set, design lighting, and the other normal activities of preparing a production, "The Story of the Nutcracker" has also had its own film crew, the release stated.
Cody Bonds (last seen as Laurie in ABC Players' March 2010 production of "Little Women") is filming the progress from set strike of the previous production, "The Odd Couple (Female Version)," through the "Nutcracker" performances and strike, as material for a documentary on the joys and trials of community theater.
"I was thrilled when Cody asked to film this show," said director Celeste Parsons in the news release. "It makes this play just that much more special."
"The Story of the Nutcracker" was sponsored in part by the Athens County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Tickets can be obtained in advance by calling Stuart's Opera House at 740-753-1924 or online at http://www.stuartsoperahouse.org, and can also be purchased at the door. All tickets are $5, and seating is first-come, first-served. For more information on the Athenian Berean Community Players, visit http://www.abcplayers.org or look on Facebook.
