[NEohioPAL]Berko review: THE NUTCRACKER (Playhouse Square)

[Roy Berko]

LOCAL KIDS PERFORM IN CINCINNATI BALLET’S FINE
‘NUTCRACKER’

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	


For the past several years the University Hospitals
Health System Ballet Series at Playhouse Square Center
featured, as it holiday offering, the Pennsylvania
Ballet in what I believed was an ill-conceived
production of ‘THE NUTCRACKER.”  This year they
switched to the Cincinnati Ballet’s version.  Based on
my viewing of the Thursday night performance, it was a
wise choice.

‘THE NUTCRACKER’ is a ballet is based on the story
‘THE NUTCRACKER AND THE KING OF MICE’ written by
E.T.A. Hoffman.  When Marius Petipa had the idea to
choreograph the story, it was actually based on a
revision by Alexander Dumas, the well known French
author.  His version reflects more of what we have
come to love as the ‘NUTCRACKER BALLET.’

It is the story of a young girl who is given a
Nutcracker Prince as a Christmas present.  When she
goes to bed she dreams of a tale the Nutcracker and
his wooden soldiers as they fight against a Mouse King
and his gang of mice.  After the battle, Marie and the
Nutcracker Prince are transported on a trip to the
Land of Sweets where they are greeted by the Sugar
Plum Fairy. The Prince tells her about their daring
battle with the army of mice and she rewards them with
a celebration of dance performances which include
Spanish, Arabian, Russian and Chinese, as well as the
Waltz of the Flowers.   The dream ends as Marie is
transported back to the safety of her bed, along with
her precious toy Nutcracker Prince. 

This is the stuff that all the beautifully clad little
girls in the audience dream about.

Not since Cleveland Ballet’s Karen Gabay and Raymond
Rodriguez performed the roles of Marie and The
Nutcracker have I been as entranced with a dancing duo
as I was with Adiarys Almeida (Marie) and Cervilio
Amador (The Nutcracker).   The duo were a delight. 
She is charming.  The stage lights up every time she
smiles.  Her dancing skills equal her stage presence. 
She is certain in her toe maneuvers, does leaps into
the arms of her prince with ease.  Her movements have
clear beginnings, middles and endings, something often
missing except in prima ballerinas.  Almeida is
perfectly coupled with Amador.  His partnering skills
are strong.  At no time did he falter in his catches,
balances and lifts.  His standing leaps were high and
resulted in solid and secure landings.  His horizontal
turns were well executed.  He displayed great body
control.  Since the casts change nightly,
unfortunately you might not see this dynamic duo. 
Their duet at the end of Act II was exciting.

Noteworthy performances included Heather Liberman as
the doll who came to life, Joseph Gatti as the Chinese
dancer whose high leaps were impressive, and the
adorable group of pot-bellied kids who emerged from
the skirt of Mother Ginger’s dress during one of the
dance numbers.  

Part of the fun of the production was the presence of
young children on stage. They were well trained and
disciplined and added much to the artistic delight. 
Credit to Valentine Liberatore and Gladisa Guadalupe
for their contributions.

Local children who performed in the production were
Kathryn Tokar, Bay Village, Andrea Szabo, Columbia
Station, Marissa Moore, Fairview Park, Madeleine
Crosby, Lakewood, Ashley Fares, Lakewood, Alyssa Cook,
North Ridgeville, Megan Auzenbergs, Rocky River,
Jacqueline Gentner, Rocky River, Monica McDonough,
Rocky River and Madeline Murphy, Rocky River.

The piece was not without its flaws.  Rene Micheo, as
Herr Droselmeier, the toy maker, failed to capture the
pixie quality needed for the role.  He altered between
being menacing and playful, which led to some story
development confusion.

The fight between the mice and the wooden soldiers
lacked the needed playfulness.  The soldiers did not
march as stiff legged toys and the interaction between
the opponents was not well spelled out.  Several
children in the audience shrieked with fear due to the
scary looking rodents.  In addition, several of the
Land of Sweets dance segments, such as the Arabian
segment, lacked  the necessary pacing and power. 
Kristi Capps as the Rose lacked the needed free
flowing ease.  Her dancing was stiff and uninvolving. 
The one-dimensional flying bed did little to create
the fantasy mood.  Simply moving her one bed have been
more effective.

Choreograher Val Caniparoli should be commended for
his concept.  The sets and costume designs by Alain
Vaes were excellent, as was the full-orchestra under
the direction of Carmon DeLeone.

CAPSULE JUDGMENT:   Cincinnati Ballet’s ‘THE
NUTCRACKER’ was a fine substitute for the poorly
conceived Pennsylvania Ballet version.   Though not of
the quality of the now defunct Cleveland Ballet’s
presentation, it makes for a fine evening of
enchantment, especially if you get to see Adiarys
Almeida and Cervlio Amador in the leading roles.

‘THE NUTCRACKER’ runs through Sunday at the Allen
Theatre in Playhouse Square .  Tickets can be obtained
by calling 216-241-6000, 800-766-6048 or going on line
to www.playhousesquare.com. 

Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.

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