Amongst Iowa Citians, I think I’m pretty close to holding the record for seeing the Nutcracker ballet the most times. My father was the conductor of the Cedar Rapids Symphony, and he conducted the Nutcracker every year once they moved to the Paramount Theatre. I also saw it at Hancher with my kids when they were young, and saw various productions around the country before we moved to Iowa.
I probably won’t make the show at the Englert this year because of other commitments, but I especially encourage anyone who hasn’t seen it to go, and if you have children old enough to sit still for an hour, you must take them. It’s a fantastic entertainment, and for me the very definition of Christmas Magic. And it’s not so challenging a project that it can’t be done well with a semi-professional orchestra and young ballet students. In fact it practically begs to be done exactly the way they’re doing it at the Englert, where you can go and see your neighbor’s kids beaming from the stage.
My own memories of Nutcrackers past are all mashed up into one Super-Nutcracker, but one thing sticks out — Bob Harris, the Cedar Rapids Symphony manager (father of actor Ed Harris) used to perform in drag as Mama Gigogne, out of whose volumnious hoop skirt the youngest of the children in the production emerge as Polichinelle, little masked clowns. This was the 70s in Cedar Rapids, and aside from Milton Berle, the idea of a man in a drag role, even one as fantasic and absurd as Mama Gigogne, still had a frisson of transgression about it.
Bob — who was on the Danny Thomas show in the early days of television, and probably knew Milton Berle — camped it up like nobody’s business. He stole every show and you could tell he was having the time of his life.
So make it a point if you can to catch the Nutcracker if you can. I promise you there’s no better way to get in the mood for Christmas, and make a few Nutcracker memories of your own.
NOLTE ACADEMY OF DANCE AND THE ENGLERT THEATRE PRESENT
THE NUTCRACKER DEC 3-5
Tickets:
$22 Adults
$18 Students & Seniors
$16 Children (12 and under)
A discount is available to groups of 15 or more attending a performance together. Please call the box office to reserve group tickets 319-688-2653.
Performances:
Friday, December 3, 2010 at 7:30pm
Saturday, December 4, 2010 at 2:00pm
Saturday, December 4, 2010 at 7:30pm
Sunday, December 5, 2010 at 2:00pm
Englert Box Office: 319-688-2653.
