2007 NUTCRACKER #3

Thursday December 6, 2007 - I always try to see Wendy Whelan's Sugar Plum Fairy each winter. At left, Wendy photographed by Joachim Ladefoged onstage at the New York State Theatre in 2005. When I first moved here in 1998, Wendy was frequently cast with Philip Neal and it was nice seeing their partnership again today.

Adam Hendrickson is such a magical Drosselmeyer, his mesmerizing hands and expansive gestures always taking their cues from the music. He sets the dolls (Jenelle Manzi, Rachel Piskin & Austin Laurent) in motion with a bit of hocus-pocus. Adam seems to make the character a bit younger than we are accustomed to seeing, and more pensive than eccentric. It's a brilliant piece of balletic acting and he's constantly refining it. Dena Abergel has been the hostess at all my NUTCRACKERs so far this Winter and I never get tired of watching her; it was nice seeing Arch Higgins - his appearances are all too rare - as Dr. Stahlbaum. Jonathan Alexander is a really impish Fritz. Kathryn Morgan and Anthony Huxley repeated their lovable interpretations of the grandparents.

And Katie then wafted out to lead off the Snowflake scene; seeing other stagings of the Snow scene makes me really cherish Balanchine's. The girls danced beautifully and I was very taken with the pale & long-legged Ellen Ostrom and - again - with Glenn Keenan. I noticed that Maestro Kaplow keeps the score on the desk throughout the ballet, but tonight he never opened it once.  The veteran conductor seemed to have just the right tempi going all evening.

Faye Arthurs (far left) is a coolly dramatic Arabian, with just a touch of aloofness. Her high extension is so serenely deployed and she phrases the solo ideally, easily manipulating the tricky costume. It's a long time for a single dancer to hold the stage, but Faye kept everyone under her spell. In a new assumption, Troy Schumacher (left) had plenty of vivacity as Candy Cane. Earlier, Gwyneth Muller looked especially sumptuous in the deep-cocoa Spanish costume and she and Adrian Danchig-Waring danced royally. Daniel Ulbricht was a knock-out in Tea...brilliant! I was really impressed by Jennifer Tinsley-Williams in Marzipan tonight; after a long hiatus she seems to be back on very impressive form. She was elegant, precise and daring in this tricky solo tonight. I hope she'll have a go at Dewdrop before the holidays are over.

Justin Peck was a new Mother Ginger for me. Check out Justin's excellent story about getting into this role at The Winger with super-Gwyneth photos by Ms. Muller - one of which I've borrowed here. The Winger story not only tells us the secrets of the giant doll's costume, but also that the dancer has a lot of leeway with the interpretation.

As the Dewdrop, Megan Fairchild replaced the announced Teresa Reichlen and danced with joyous clarity. The Fairchild balance was really 'on' today and she sailed thru the  solo passages with assurance. It was good to see Kaitlyn Gilliland among the Flowers, and I was particularly taken by the two demi-solistes here: in a nicely contrasted presentation, Ashley Lacarey blossomed lyrically - with a wonderfully fluent upper body - while Megan LeCrone used her more angular style with consummate musicality. Like the Snowflakes, the Waltz of the Flowers is a Balanchine masterpiece: the more you see it, the more impressive it looks.

Wendy and Philip then pulled out all the stops and gave us a really grand pas de deux that had the audience cheering.  Opening the second act, Wendy seemed in a radiant mood, bedazzling the small angels with her smile. The solo was perfect; I've never been able to figure out just what it is about this woman's every step, gesture and expression that keeps me in a state of elation. I hope I never figure it out. I love watching her. In the adagio, she and Philip were so keenly in sync, and so wonderfully responsive to the music. Balanchine throws the dancers here one challenge after another which Wendy and Philip seemed to simply revel in. As Wendy flew twice onto Philip's shoulder, both dancers hit the pose in a flash with an expansive gesture of their hands creating the illusion that she had gotten there by sheer magic. In the flourishing flurry of pirouettes culminating in deep backbends, Wendy's timing was supreme - the flashing drama of the backbend nailed on the musical beat. Later her bourees in place were like the trills of some phenomenal coloratura soprano. In the coda, Philip laced his whirling turns with nicely measured spins en attitude and then Wendy came skimming down the diagonal, revolving at the speed of light.

During the intermission I gathered up my nerve and finally spoke to Karin von Aroldingen. I've seen her in the audience so many times over the past decade and always wished to just thank her for the extraordinary performances I witnessed in my first years of seeing NYC Ballet. After I said hello, of course all the things I planned to tell her vanished immediately from my mind and I was left simply holding the hand of a Balanchine legend.   

Comments

[Sarah]

Lovely review. (As Always!)

I took my goddaughters on our annual "Nutcracker" outing on Wednesday night and had the pleasure of meeting Troy backstage - he was kind enough to take a picture with my star-struck-7 year old with his makeup and warm up clothes on- a nice guy and a great dancer... what a combo!

Megan was Dewdrop our night as well and I've never seen it danced better. There's something about her energy and her poise and her sparkle that makes her shine in that role - I actually felt that she out danced and out sparkled our sugarplum (Tess Reichlen) who seemed a bit unsteady with her Cavalier (Steven Hanna).

I hope you'll be attending the all-new casting next week (I have tickets to see Mark Twain's "Is He Dead?" on B'way so I won't be able to make it) so you must promise to fill me in on all the details. I'm especially looking forward to hearing about Katie Morgan who seems to be moving up the ranks of responsibility faster than anyone in recent memory.

[Philip]

Sarah, I had to splurge on a more expensive seat for the 'all-new' NUTCRACKER on 12/15. It looks like that performance is really drawing lots of interest.

In general I think NUTCRACKER is selling very well this Winter after a few years when it seemed to slump a bit.

Before the performance I got to see Wendy (in a beautiful new red coat) and Faye (all bundled up) on the Plaza...and then Katie Morgan ran past me carrying a tutu. She's so pretty. Moments later, who should walk by but Placido Domingo who wished me a Merry Christmas! By the time I met Karin I was feeling pretty star-struck myself...

By the way, the Lincoln Center Christmas tree is looking exceptionally nice this year and the Met is decorated with a large banner for HANSEL & GRETEL which opens December 24th...with Lisette as the Dew Fairy.

[Laura]

Did anybody notice that it looked like Wendy was not wearing tights in last night's Nutcracker?

[Philip]

I didn't notice! That would be very unusual...

[Laura]

Right. I must be crazy. Her legs just looked totally bare. *wonders*

[Philip]

Hmmm...it would be unlike her to 'forget' to wear them!! Maybe they were super-sheer??

[Bob]

I'm only on Nutcracker #1 but I do have two more next week (Thursday evening and the much anticipated Saturday matinee). I attended last night's (Friday, Dec. 7) performance and it was splendid thoughout, with standout performances by Ashley Bouder (she's in a league of her own) as Dewdrop, Katie Morgan as the leader of the Marzipans, and Danny Ulbricht as the leader of the Candy Canes. The other performances were all first-rate, especially Yvonne Borree (Sugar Plum), Ben Millepied (Cavalier, Kyle Froman (Drosselmeier), Gwyneth Muller (Coffee), and RAchel Rutherford and Jennifer Tinsley-Williams as the lead flowers. Another packed house - you're right, attendance at Nutcracker is really up this this year.

[Sophie B]

I love your reviews! They're so insightful.

As a seasoned Nutcracker-goer, any tips on what to do about seating? I didn't go last year and am really hoping to attend a few performances this year, but I just don't know what to do about tickets because they're so expensive. When would you say it's worth investing? Or should I just stick to 4th ring, and invest in binoculars instead?
Thanks in advance!

[Philip]

Sophie, I actually think the production looks better from a distance. 4th Ring is fine, in my opinion. Good binoculars are indispensable at the ballet.

Bob, thank you for the details of a cast I wasn't able to see this year...how did Yvonne & Benjamin do as a partnership?

[Bob]

Yvonne and Benjamin worked very well together. Ben's partnering was very secure and he seemed to bring out the best in Yvonne. She appeared to be quite relaxed, happy and vibrant on stage and the audience responded to them very enthusiastically.

[Sophie B]

Thanks for the tip. Now I'll just have to decide what cast to see - they're all so great that it's impossible to choose!

[Philip]

Yes, it is always hard to choose because there are so many interesting dancers. That's why I end up going 5 or 6 times every year!