Nutcracker Key West 2007
Of all of the holiday traditions, surely one of the worlds most delightful is The Nutcracker. Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet debuted in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1892.
Since then there have been an estimated 11 million performances of this classic tale of a young girl’s magical journey to the land of the Sugar Plumb Fairy.
International audiences have not only adopted the story as their own, they have adapted it-tailoring the setting, characters and costumes to local cultural tastes and traditions.
Key West audiences will be treated with an international-scale quality production during the last week of November as the storied ballet graces our shores and stage with a sumptuous, artful theatrical experience from Joyce Stahl who presents a perfect holiday gift for Key West - it’s very own Nutcracker Key West complete with chickens, roosters, sea fans, anemones, snowy egrets, and yes, even a conch shell. This is one of the largest productions to ever play on a Key West Stage and has already set a record at Tennessee Williams Theatre for the longest run of any production there.
An accomplished, classically trained dancer, Stahl performed with the American Repertory Ballet of Princeton, New Jersey for 35 years. Her three daughters all danced in The Nutcracker as children, and the inspiration for a Florida Keys version came during a summer visit here.
Stahl’s Paradise Ballet Theatre will recreate the acclaimed Key West version of the Nutcracker Key West which was first presented here in the maelstrom of the hurricane-wracked conditions of 2005. The film, “Underwater: The Making of the Key West Nutcracker”, captured the incredible conditions and obstacles of that inaugural effort, and this month premiered at the prestigious Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival. The sets and costumes from the 2005 version, valued at over $500,000 will again be utilized, yet with even more incredible extras and set elements added for this year as it has been moved from the 2005 stage at the high school auditorium to the grand stage at Tennessee Williams Theatre. Incorporating the charming and thoroughly unique storyline that Ms. Stahl has localized from the original ballet to a Key West setting, it achieves theatrical heights that are breathtaking and marvelous.
Professionals from the Louisville Ballet, Mikelle Bruzina and Kristopher Wojtera, have been cast as the principal dancers. Sixteen additional professional dancers from around the country are engaged, and two casts, each with over thirty Key West area children, and who have been in rehearsals since early September, along with an adult cast of local actors and performers have been chosen as the dancers, tumblers and character roles. Choreographer Alun Jones returns to this even grander edition of Nutcracker Key West, along with the extraordinary talents of set designer Michael Boyer who has lifted the bar even higher for a stunning stage production.
Nutcracker Key West is more than just a ballet. It incorporates seasonal joys and traditions with Key West imagery, icons, characters and heritage in a cooperative effort involving the island’s children, local talent and community leaders in conjunction with a professional corps de ballet. The Founders Society is again the sponsoring cultural organization, and resumes its original mission of supporting performing arts at the theatre. Also in support of the production, a campaign to provide tickets for children who otherwise would not be able to experience it has been underway and to date, over 350 children have been funded. More funding is being sought and can be arranged by calling 394-3804.
Michael Shields - Executive Director
Of all of the holiday traditions, surely one of the worlds most delightful is The Nutcracker. Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet debuted in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1892.
Since then there have been an estimated 11 million performances of this classic tale of a young girl’s magical journey to the land of the Sugar Plumb Fairy.
International audiences have not only adopted the story as their own, they have adapted it-tailoring the setting, characters and costumes to local cultural tastes and traditions.
Key West audiences will be treated with an international-scale quality production during the last week of November as the storied ballet graces our shores and stage with a sumptuous, artful theatrical experience from Joyce Stahl who presents a perfect holiday gift for Key West - it’s very own Nutcracker Key West complete with chickens, roosters, sea fans, anemones, snowy egrets, and yes, even a conch shell. This is one of the largest productions to ever play on a Key West Stage and has already set a record at Tennessee Williams Theatre for the longest run of any production there.
An accomplished, classically trained dancer, Stahl performed with the American Repertory Ballet of Princeton, New Jersey for 35 years. Her three daughters all danced in The Nutcracker as children, and the inspiration for a Florida Keys version came during a summer visit here.
Stahl’s Paradise Ballet Theatre will recreate the acclaimed Key West version of the Nutcracker Key West which was first presented here in the maelstrom of the hurricane-wracked conditions of 2005. The film, “Underwater: The Making of the Key West Nutcracker”, captured the incredible conditions and obstacles of that inaugural effort, and this month premiered at the prestigious Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival. The sets and costumes from the 2005 version, valued at over $500,000 will again be utilized, yet with even more incredible extras and set elements added for this year as it has been moved from the 2005 stage at the high school auditorium to the grand stage at Tennessee Williams Theatre. Incorporating the charming and thoroughly unique storyline that Ms. Stahl has localized from the original ballet to a Key West setting, it achieves theatrical heights that are breathtaking and marvelous.
Professionals from the Louisville Ballet, Mikelle Bruzina and Kristopher Wojtera, have been cast as the principal dancers. Sixteen additional professional dancers from around the country are engaged, and two casts, each with over thirty Key West area children, and who have been in rehearsals since early September, along with an adult cast of local actors and performers have been chosen as the dancers, tumblers and character roles. Choreographer Alun Jones returns to this even grander edition of Nutcracker Key West, along with the extraordinary talents of set designer Michael Boyer who has lifted the bar even higher for a stunning stage production.
Nutcracker Key West is more than just a ballet. It incorporates seasonal joys and traditions with Key West imagery, icons, characters and heritage in a cooperative effort involving the island’s children, local talent and community leaders in conjunction with a professional corps de ballet. The Founders Society is again the sponsoring cultural organization, and resumes its original mission of supporting performing arts at the theatre. Also in support of the production, a campaign to provide tickets for children who otherwise would not be able to experience it has been underway and to date, over 350 children have been funded. More funding is being sought and can be arranged by calling 394-3804.
Michael Shields - Executive Director