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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 3, 2015)
Behind the scenes at ‘Th e Nutcracker’ E FRXOGQ¶WSRVVLEO\FRQQHFW³ÀRS´DQG³1XW cracker” if you told them. Instead they will Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffman was be caught up in the music and the spectacle, born in 1776 and became a leading light of GUHDPLQJRIEHLQJVQRZÀDNHVRUIDLULHVRU German Romanticism. A composer of music HYHQGDUHWKH\GUHDPVRKLJK&ODUDKHUVHOI and a writer of tales, he is perhaps best re- ³,WKRXJKWP\WLPHZDVRYHU´VD\V$O membered as a pioneer of the fantasy genre. O\VVD%HUJHUWKLV\HDU¶V&ODUD³(YHUVLQFH +HLQÀXHQFHH[WHQGHGWRSHRSOHDVGLYHUVH I was little, I wanted to be Clara, I wanted as Sigmund Freud, Charles Dickens, and Al- it so bad, and I was surprised when I got it. fred Hitchcock. I thought I was too old.” Ally Berger is 16, At the age of 40, Hoffman wrote a little and has been dancing for 13 years. A high fantasy for children called “The Nutcracker VFKRROMXQLRU\RXPLJKWH[SHFWWKDWZLWKDOO and the Mouse King,” which was adapted that dancing she would be thinking about a DOPRVW \HDUV ODWHU E\ $OH[DQGUH 'X career as a dancer, but she has other plans. mas, père (author of “The Count of Monte (YHU\FROOHJHVKHLVORRNLQJDWKDVDGDQFH Cristo” and “The Three Musketeers”) into program or team, but she wants to become a “The Nutcracker,” upon which Pyotr Ilyich teacher or social worker. She says, “I enjoy 7FKDLNRYVN\ EDVHG D EDOOHW VXLWH \HDUV helping others. It’s always been a really big after that. thing for me.” ,WZDVDÀRS This weekend, though, she will put on her “The Nutcracker” was not regularly per- costume and once again dance “Nutcrack- IRUPHGIRUWKHQH[W\HDUV er.” “It’s always helped me get in the spirit In the 1940s, the San Francisco Ballet of Christmas,” Berger says. She learned to began performing the piece as a Christmas GDQFHDW0DGGR['DQFH6WXGLRLQ:DUUHQ production, with enormous success. By the ton, where the show rehearses, and she says, late 1950s “The Nutcracker” had become a “the studio is like a second home, and the Christmas tradition throughout the United girls are a second family. It’s our special way States, so much so that this one ballet gener- of celebrating Christmas.” DWHVSHUFHQWRIWKHWRWDOWLFNHWUHYHQXHVRI The production major American ballet companies. There’s more to this celebration than Little Ballet Theater WKHGDQFHUV%HKLQGWKHVQRZÀDNHVDQGWKH This weekend the Little Ballet Theater dancing bear are the costumes, music, light- presents its 41st production of “Nutcrack- ing, and sets — and a lot of work by unsung er,” and the front rows of the Astoria High heroes. 6FKRRO DXGLWRULXP ZLOO EH ¿OOHG ZLWK OLWWOH “That’s where the show happens, says girls who know nothing of this history, and -HDQQH0DGGR[3HWHUVRQWKHGDQFHGR\HQ Story by DWIGHT CASWELL :HDUHDOZD\VOHDUQLQJ´ This year’s “something new” was the VL[³OHJV´IRUWKHKLJKVFKRROVWDJH7KHVH are the tall stage drapes used to mask the wings on either side of the stage, and they had deteriorated to the point that they could no longer be used. Enter the woodshop class at Astoria High School, which is taught by Dan Foss, who also appears in “Nutcracker” as one of the parents. The class construct- ed new legs out of plastic, 20 feet wide E\ IHHW KLJK ³:LWKRXW WKRVH OHJV´ says Peterson, “it would be like perform- ing in a barn.” As Peterson talks about the backstage FUHZLWEHJLQVWRVRXQGOLNHHYHU\VRXOLQ the area has or will at some time be in- YROYHG³:HKDYHWRDXJPHQWWKHOLJKWVDW the high school,” she says, “and Mick and Rhonda Alderman design, hang and run the lighting.” There is one microphone onstage for announcements, and Dan Ar- noth is in charge of sound. Johanna Gus- tafson from Chinook is in charge of the GUHVVLQJURRPZLWKLWVPDQ\YROXQWHHUV helping the dancers and taking care of the LQHYLWDEOH FRVWXPH HPHUJHQFLHV /DXUHQ Smalley, a teacher from Knappa, is in charge of the little boys in the cast. All this so that 75 mice, snow angels, Arabian acrobats, candy canes, mechani- Challenges cal bears and dolls, and a giant nutcrack- ³,W¶V QHYHU D VXUH WKLQJ´ 3HWHUVRQ er can join Father Christmas, Clara, and VD\V³:H¶UHIRUWXQDWHWRKDYHDORWRIWKH Fritz in a fantasy almost 200 years old, VDPH SHRSOH HYHU\ \HDU EHFDXVH WKHUH¶V WRWKHGHOLJKWRIPRGHUQFKLOGUHQHYHU\ always something new to challenge us. where. of Clatsop County, “If nothing backstage is organized, there’s nothing to show onstage.” The two most important people back- stage are Ann and Jay Brown, who became LQYROYHG ZKHQ WKHLU GDXJKWHU GDQFHG LQ “Nutcracker” 25 years ago. That’s how long Ann has been stage manager and Jay has been in charge of the sets. “It’s a lot of fun,” says Ann, “and it’s our YROXQWHHUZRUNIRUWKH\HDU´'XULQJSHUIRU mances she sits off to the side on stage right, from where she runs the curtain and makes VXUHWKDWHYHU\RQHRQWKDWVLGHRIWKHVWDJH makes their cues and costume changes. :HDULQJKHDGSKRQHVDQGDPLFURSKRQH she’s in constant contact with Peterson, who VD\V³:HFRXOGQRWGRLWZLWKRXWWKHP´ Perhaps the most unique thing about Little Ballet Theater’s “Nutcracker” is the orchestra. Simply the fact that the audience will not be listening to a recording, but to OLYH PXVLF &RUH\ 3HGHUVRQ FRQGXFWRU RI WKH &ROXPELD 5LYHU 6\PSKRQ\ FRQGXFWV the 55-piece orchestra and local hotels help to make the music happen by donating free URRPVIRUWKHRXWRIWRZQPXVLFLDQV ,PDJLQH WRR WKH ORJLVWLFV LQYROYHG LQ P RYLQJWKHSURGXFWLRQVHWVIURPVWRUDJHWR the high school. After the closing curtain, no matter what the weather, the school has to be DEOHWRXVHWKHDXGLWRULXPWKHQH[WGD\ If you go Nutcracker performances at Astoria High School auditorium: 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday 2 p.m. Sunday Tickets start at $10 Photos by Dwight Caswell Photo by Dwight Caswell Photo by Dwight Caswell Front to back: Lily Helligso, Nikia Farrow, in the back of Lily is Julia Jenkins, back right is Cory Rouch, one of the adult cast. 10 | December 3, 2015 | coastweekend.com Father Christmas is played by Tim Van De Grift. Stage manager Ann Brown with mouse Abigail Mossman, who is holding her candy cane from the fi ght scene. Photo by Dwight Caswell Photo by Dwight Caswell Photo by Dwight Caswell Emelia Cameron (left) and Hope Womack in the party scene. Front to back: Scarlet Wermuth, unidenti- fi ed, Lillian Helligso, Milly Gustafson. Isabelle Marincovich as the mechanical doll; Bailee Neahring as the mechanical bear. Photo by Dwight Caswell Nutcracker prince played by Joseph Justice. December 3, 2015 | coastweekend.com | 11