The Harlequin Doll (Ava Fisher) delights in Artists in Motion's production of "The Nutcracker." PHOTOS BY LINDSEY SHUEY
Originally published in the Pottsville Republican-Herald on December 20, 2021.
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — Artists in Motion Performing Arts’ version of “The Nutcracker,” directed and choreographed by 20-year “Nutcracker” veteran Kristina Grant and staged Saturday and Sunday, was a sweet retelling of the story, with character and heart all its own.
The thing about “The Nutcracker” is that only half of it has a plot.
Act I shows Clara (Isla Shoener) getting the toy from her marvelous godfather Drosselmeyer (Andrew Umphrey, Artists in Motion co-owner), who made the doll (Ava Fisher) come to life and defeat the Mouse King (Iley Polston) and his rodent crew.
Drosselmeyer entertains Clara and Fritz (Riley Hutchions). Drosselmeyer's role is greatly expanded in this version of the story.
Grant and the cast gave a comedic feel to the early scenes of Clara’s Christmas party. Her family members had distinct personalities and moments to shine, especially the grandfather and grandmother, who shared a heartwarming dance.
As the Harlequin Doll, one of Drosselmeyer’s lifesize windup toys, Rylee Conley convincingly played a mechanical being that was working out its bugs while still dancing.
Not only is Conley a good dancer, but she was also inhabiting a character and telling a story through her movements.
Drosselmeyer looks on at his creation.
It’s little details like those that make “The Nutcracker” so engrossing.
We fear for Clara when the mice come to get her. We wonder where Drosselmeyer got his magical powers. Grant, and by extension Artists in Motion, knew that the key to telling a great story was forging an audience relationship with the characters.
Act II is just a series of dances after the fact, after Clara and her Prince travel to the Land of Sweets.
It is a representation of what it feels like to be a child at Christmas, where everything is alive and there is endless excitement and possibilities.
That gives plenty of leeway for what kind of story is presented in Act II, and Artists in Motion, in its first-ever staging of “The Nutcracker,” did something unique by eschewing the Prince entirely.
Instead, Drosselmeyer took Clara to the Land of Sweets, a major buff to his role in the story.
The change may have seemed simple, but it totally altered the idea of the story.
The relationship between Clara and Drosselmeyer became even more significant, as opposed to Clara going off with a mysterious Prince.
The romantic pas de deux between the Prince and the Sugar Plum Fairy (Brianna Ryan) was cut entirely, but we did get to see the fabulous Mother Ginger (Jacob Challenger, on stilts) and the eight children inside her 10-foot-wide petticoat.
The story focused less on the romance in the Land of Sweets and more on what it means to be together with family at Christmastime.
After last Christmas, during which the pandemic prevented so many get-togethers, that is important food for thought.
But who said that food for thought can’t be served with lots of sweets?
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