Cast

Act I

Herr Stahlbaum - Darren Shaw Frau Stahlbaum - Julianne Dodd Clara - Josette Wheeler Fritz - Matt Foster Parents - De Luca Dance Students, featuring Dorian Hadley & Seren Lowell Children - Shanachie Stars Grandfather - Tony De Luca Grandmother - Anya De Luca Herr Drosselmeyer - Michael Blanchard Harlequin (toy) - Christian Benoit Columbine (toy) - Merethyl Benoit Nutcracker - James Willis Mice - Shanachie Stars Boys & De Luca Dance Students Toy Soldiers - Shanachie Stars Boys & De Luca Dance Students Mouse King - Michael Blanchard Snow Queen - Harper Melle Snowflakes - Shanachie Stars Girls, Led by Zahan Granger Act II

Sugar Plum Fairy - Anya De Luca Sugar Plum Cavalier - Tony De Luca Clara - Josette Wheeler Nutcracker Prince - James Willis Spanish dancers (Chocolate) - Merethyl Benoit, Katy Lonergan, & Michael Blanchard Arabian dancers (Coffee) - Harper Melle & Guest Dancer Alexei Barinov Chinese dancers (Tea) - Melissa Burlington & Darren Shaw Russian dancers (Candy Canes) - Christian Benoit, and guest dancers Aristotle Kruger Allen & Leonard Sheldon French Mirliton Players (Marzipan) - Shanachie Stars Boys, Led by Doran Ilnaren Flowers - Shanachie Stars Girls, Led by Mairead Harker

Shanachie Stars Thom Garland Doran Ilnaren Matt Foster Robert Mallory Alexei Storm Rick Harker Cassiopeia Delaney Margaret Lassiter Lila Granger Zahan Granger Mairead Harker Catie Harker Daisy Marlowe

Note - All costumes but one have been provided by the good graces of Weddings by Miranda. The Sugar Plum Fairy's tutu was designed and hand-crafted by Azure Ilnaren, and will be on display in the foyer of the Shanachie Theater throughout January.

Sunday 11th December

Organized chaos.

That was a good way to describe the dress rehearsal for the Nutcracker, Mataya had decided by around 11 in the morning. The set change and scenery tests had gone absolutely fine, the crew working well together with the orchestra to mind the musical cues and get everything working as it should. Even the transformation scene, which could be something of a nightmare, went perfectly without anyone on stage. Down in the dressing rooms, the costuming and last minute adjustments had gone as well as could be expected with such a large cast to get ready.

No, it was when the actual run-through began that the trouble started. Usually, the ballet run-through was a bit stop and start at the best of times, but with a cast that contained not only their standard professionals, but also a large contingent of giggly STARS and dance kids - not to mention the De Luca Dance adults who had volunteered for the opening scene - no one expected things to go smoothly. By the time they'd reached the Grandfather's Waltz, they'd had to stop and reset three times already, and the non-professionals were starting to get mutinous.

So Mataya called in a massive favor from her sister, Elena, and by midday, Incredible Edibles and the Bristle Crios catering students had put together a sizeable meal for the horde of people stuck at the Shanachie to enjoy. And while they ate ....Mataya did a little talking.

"Okay, so ..." She clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "I know it's tough going, guys. But you all know what?s what here. You've all rehearsed for the last three weeks; you know your steps, you know your cues. The only thing that has changed is that we're on the stage; there's set, there's lighting, there's costumes, and there's the orchestra. Enough with the giggling - trust me, the novelty will wear off. Truth is, the longer it takes to get a straight dress rehearsal done, the later you will all be staying here tonight. I don't know about some of you, but I really don't want to be explaining to parents why their children were working past midnight on a Sunday when the show hasn't even started the performance run yet. So when lunch is done, we will reset from the start, and if we make it through one complete run without more than two stops, I will let you go home. Until that happens, we are stuck here, and you can hate me as much as you like. Is that a deal?"

A murmur of slightly resentful agreement went through the room as she nodded and let them get back to their meal. A small hand touched hers as she headed away, making her pause to look down at little Margaret Lassiter.

"Yes, sweetie?"

Maggie bit her lip as she met Mataya's gaze. "Are we really gonna be here all night, miss?"

Mataya smiled, bending to be closer to the girl's level. "I'll tell you a secret," she said in a conspiratorial voice. "All the trouble is coming from the adults. You and the other kids, you're all doing amazingly well. But I told the adults off because it makes them feel a little bit stupid to be told off by someone their own age, so they're going to try extra hard to do everything exactly right from now on. So no, sweetheart, we won't be here all night. But keep it under your hat, okay?"

She winked, grinning as Maggie Mae Lassiter giggled and nodded, scurrying off to resume her meal and presumably share that little bit of wisdom with her best friend. Fingers crossed that the threat of an all-nighter worked on the non-professional adult dancers in their midst, or Mataya De Luca was going to have to cope with having just lied to a child.

It wasn't Doran's first experience with the Shanachie's Ballet Company—he and Maggie had performed the young Kay and Gerda in The Snow Queen—but it was his first time as a dancer. Frankly, he'd gone into it nervous as hell, but he needn't have feared; the Company members, as well as Irina and Janine, understood their younger castmates' inexperience and blended encouragement and support with their ever-present professionalism and hard work. It was a success, as Doran and his fellow lads from the STARS showed on opening night.

He knew the music, of course. The Dance of the Mirlitons, also known as the Dance of the Reed Flutes, was probably his favorite piece from the Nutcracker Suite, mainly because of the flute. He had played it many times, and now he had the opportunity to express the feelings behind those notes in a new way. "I kinda like ballet," he said to Tony De Luca—not realizing at first who it was—after the curtain came down on the second night. "The physicality of it, that's a whole new dimension to the music and the story. I don't know that I've got the chops to make a career of it....not like you or the rest of the Company," realizing who he faced, "but I'll certainly do my best!" And so he did.

# # #

As the show entered its second week, Doran began arriving rather suddenly—often following others around a corner when they hadn't noticed anyone behind them previously—and seemed to vanish after each evening's curtain call and performance notes. When questioned, he just smiled and said he was commuting, but refused to elaborate.

He was never late for his call times, though.

Someone in the company obviously knew Kruger well. A minute and a half was the extent of his part, but so much like the man himself it came in an explosion of music and energy. There was irony in practicing so many hours with Christian and Leonard for a segment that if all the performances were added together would amount to less than a single one. Being backstage, waiting in the wings as he watched the other performers make their entrances and move through the choreography with smooth precision left him awed. When it had begun, Kruger was well aware of exactly how much different he was than his partners. Shorter by nearly half a foot, and yet sixty pounds heavier than Christian. The difference was visually funny, and something he hoped would be ignored by the audience or at least overlooked once they began to perform. That was what had him working so hard to be in constant sync with the other two far more experienced dancers.

Opening night, he'd been nervous and sore from constant practice. Something that had become evident to both of his partners. Another secret lost, Kruger got nervous before performances. It wouldn't stop, not through the entire show until the moment came and the music exploded out of the orchestra. That's when things changed, there were no fireworks to go along with his entry but those who knew him in other arenas would recognize exactly who had stepped (or leaped) onto the stage. His eyes showed a childlike delight, caught up in the grin that was closer to something seen in the ring on him. Much as he tried, it was too dark for him to see the audience beyond shadowed heads moving. He'd purchased tickets for his friends, assuming they'd want to endure a night at the ballet where he would only be present for enough time to get his heart rate up before he was gone.

Two weeks in and he still got nervous, he just managed to hide it better. His alter ego, The Anvil, came out earlier every night. That only seemed to enhance his performances in the part, or at the very least kept him from making Christian and Leonard look bad. It was exactly what he was suited for though, a dance that begins in an burst of music and movement, and careens across the stage in a mad frenzy. Someone really did know him well. He'd been honored to volunteer, surprised at being selected, and now lost in the moments of their exciting if all to brief performance.