What a glorious Sunday evening at The Nutcracker! The performance was so filled with magic and dazzling dancing that at its conclusion some in the audience were saying Let’s come again.
Rebecca Krohn, Amar Ramasar, and Abi Stafford as the Sugarplum Fairy, Her Cavalier, and Dewdrop gifted performances of such elegance and beauty that we’re hoping Santa will put them on the Nutcracker schedule at least one more time before the end of the year.
Here were artists with the refinement and opulent musicality that one dreams of seeing at each Nutcracker performance. When Dewdrop began her difficult series of releve turns in place, she looked not like a trickster but like a music box ballerina easily rotating in the middle of all the sparkling jewels. Sugarplum and Her Cavalier swirled like smooth candy in the making – their classical lines so complimentary, their joy so genuine, and their sense of humility in their technical accomplishments so refreshing.
Meagan Mann’s Coffee was a captivating brew with a hint of cinnamon. Boy, did the house get quiet when she and her bells slinked onto the stage. Anthony Huxley lit up the festivities as Candy Cane. This man is growing as an artist at an exhilarating speed; it will only be a matter of time before he is lighting up all of Manhattan. Ashley Laracey’s Maripan Shepherdess was exquisite with crystalline clear pointes. She will be debuting as Dew Drop at the December 10th matinee. The children’s cast was the same as on opening night, but thankfully, Rocket Raccoon stayed clear of the area.
There was charm in the unexpected on Sunday, too. Following a noisy slap of Snowflake arms, somebody's snowballs came flying downstage center and landed like they were ready to take their solo bows. And when Marie took her bow at the end of the Snow Scene, she made a nice one-handed catch of her own crown as it slipped off her head.
The H.H. Pump Bump Award, a Jimmy Choo design that illustrates less is more, is bestowed upon Rebecca Krohn, Amar Ramasar, and Abi Stafford for their perfectly pitched performances on Sunday evening.