Ballet North Texas presents The Nutcracker Suite Evening Production

The Nutcracker – Ballet North Texas 

Act One; Scene 1: The drawing room is filled with merriment as the Stahlbaum family welcomes relatives and friends to their Christmas festivities. Amid the festivities a mysterious guest arrives whom Clara soon recognizes as her godfather Herr Drosselmeier, a magician and toymaker.

As the party gets underway Drosselmeier presents giant boxes that contain life size dancing dolls. At the end of their performance, he hands out dolls, toy guns, trumpets and a wooden Nutcracker Prince for Clara. Clara is enchanted and dances happily until her mischievous little brother Fritz and his friends grab the doll and break it.  Herr Drosselmeier steps in, bandages the wounded toy and dries Clara’s tears. As the evening draws to a close Dr. Stahlbaum invites everyone for one last dance before they depart.

Scene 2: After the Stahlbaum’s retire Clara enters looking for her Nutcracker.  After Clara rescues her doll the resident mice enter the drawing room and steal it from her. Suddenly all the familiar objects in the room begin to change.  The tree takes on nightmarish proportions and an army of toy soldiers appears to face the mouse king who has invaded the room. At the height of the battle the Nutcracker reappears bigger than life and fights a duel with the mouse king.  He is almost defeated but Clara bravely avenges him, magically killing the Mouse King.

Clara’s Nutcracker Prince takes Clara into the Christmas tree through a flurry of snowflakes, led by a Snow Queen.

Act Two:  Scene 1:  Clara arrives to a magical land escorted by a chorus of angels and her Nutcracker Prince.  The prince tells the story of his battle with the Mouse King and Clara is praised for her bravery in saving him. As the master of ceremonies, the Nutcracker brings on one group of dancers after another, including the beautiful Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier, to entertain Clara. Now, at the height of the festivities the Nutcracker Prince invites Clara to dance a grand pas de deux with him. At the conclusion of the celebration the magic of the evening begins to fade and Clara is left wondering where fantasy ends and growing up begins.