The imaginative dreamworld of Annie Thompson came alive Wednesday night when the curtains parted for opening night of the second annual A Central Pennsylvania Nutcracker.
The ballet had its first performance this year with an audience filled of little girls dressed in Christmas attire and Sugar-Plum Fairy crowns. The ballet will have its final performance at 7 tonight in Eishenhower Auditorium.
The ballet is an adaptation of Tchaikovsy's 1892 classical ballet The Nutcracker. This holiday favorite caught the attention of the Hill family, founders of the Ballet Theatre of Central Pennsylvania (BTCP), when they wanted to remake the ballet to represent the history of Centre County. The story of Centre Furnace Mansion and the Thompson family is portrayed in the two-act performance.
It begins with a voice-over monologue by an elderly Martha Curtin, daughter of former Gov. Andrew Gregg Curtin of Pennsylvania, as she recalls an evening at Mr. Drosselmeyer's shed. Drosselmeyer was a former iron-furnace employee who still lives on the Thompson's estate even after the furnace closed. He is a strange man with an eye patch who interests Annie, but frightens Martha as he tells the story of the ugly Nutcracker.
The stage transitions to a holiday party where numerous influential families in Centre County's history are present. Here, the historical research done prior to the performance is apparent in the intricate 19th century attire on the cast.
The BTCP even included traditions of the time period such as "Carnival of Horns," which is a party tradition where the sole focus is for children to play on tin trumpets and kettles to make as much noise as possible.
It is at this party where the protagonist, Annie, the youngest daughter of the Thompson family, receives a special gift from the unusual Mr. Drosselmeyer -- the Nutcracker.
Annie immediately gets attached to her new toy, but her brother takes the Nutcracker and throws it to the ground. Drosselmeyer promises to fix the toy and takes it from the sleeping girl's hands to bring it back to his shed. When Annie awakes, she goes out to find him.
A dream sequence follows where rats invade Centre County and fight the Union soldiers, representing the fear the Civil War instilled at this time. In the ballet battle, the terrifying Rat General is defeated by Annie's Nutcracker come to life. Here, her ugly Nutcracker is transformed into a handsome young man as the two and Drosselmeyer go off into the Pennsylvania countryside.
In Act I Scene 3 a murmur of squeals from little girls rippled through the crowd as an ensemble of ballerinas, representing snowflakes, cavorted onto the stage. Accompanied by a Treble Chorus of sopranos located in the balcony, the ballerinas twirled in graceful unison. In the holiday spirit, snow began to fall onto the stage during the first act finale to cheers from the audience as the curtain closed.
As the orchestra tuned and the lights came up, a crowd full of children miraculously sat still waiting for the performance to continue.
Four-year-old Kaitlin Owen said her favorite part wasn't when her sister, who played a Snow Angel, was dancing in the scene before.
"I liked the mouse," Owen said. "The crown was pretty."
The final act not only included the prima ballerina herself, the Sugar-Plum Fairy, but incorporated Centre County tradition by having a functioning horse and buggy filled with dancing Amish children. Also gracing the stage was an ensemble of dancers dressed in American colors dancing to the classic score with a magnified snare drum.
The solos of the finale's principle dancers entranced the audience with flawless lifts and turns, which were awarded with a loud round of applause.
Elizabeth Horner, 15, of State College, said she thinks the performance is successful because of the Centre County theme.
"I like it better than the original," she said.
