Ensemble of Round House Theatre’s The Nutcracker. Photo: Danisha Crosby
By DCist contributor Jonelle Walker
This isn’t the Bolshoi — this is Bethesda. If you come to Round House Theatre’s production of The Nutcracker expecting the ballet, you’ll certainly be confused when the lights come up on this “new holiday musical,” but also pleasantly surprised by the mistake.
The play begins with a ballet of its own. Pulled directly from the opening moments of Tchaikovsky’s beloved classic, a family prepares for a Christmas party in dumb-show. They decorate the tree, embrace with excitement, and welcome guests into their home, but one person is conspicuously missing. A banner over the door clues us in: “Welcome Home, Fritz!” The sudden knock at the door belongs not to Fritz, a son and soldier expected home on leave, but to another soldier bringing home the flag that marks Fritz’s death. The soldier bursts onstage through a doorway bringing with him a gust of cold wind strong enough to push down the Christmas tree. Obvious as that symbol may be, it is nonetheless an extraordinarily effective moment.
We pick up the action again a year later as Clara (Lauren Williams) and her parents (Mitchell Hébert and Sherri L. Edelen) try their best to wear brave faces as eccentric Uncle Drosselmeyer (Lawrence Redmond) shows up more or less demanding a cheery Christmas. Try as they might, they simply don’t have the emotional fortitude to throw him out. Old Uncle Drosselmeier—donning an eye-patch and outlandish garb—brings with him a magical nutcracker that Clara discovers is imbued with the spirit of her dead brother, Fritz (Vincent Kempski). At night, Fritz the Nutcracker, Clara, and her three toy pals (played with seemingly bottomless energy by Will Gartshore, Evan Casey, and Erin Weaver) fight to bring Christmas spirit back to the house and defeat the evil Rat King (who hates Christmas, of course).
But don’t let the childlike silhouette of the plot fool you. This is a very smartly written piece of theater.
This contemporary musical—which originally premiered in Chicago in the upstairs theater of the legendary Steppenwolf Theatre Company—takes images and characters from E.T.A. Hoffmann’s story and gives them new and more impactful context. Clara’s epic struggle against the Rat King becomes representative of her quest for peace in the terror of grief. Though certainly intended for families, The Nutcracker does not shy away from the dark imagery latent in Hoffmann’s story (and Tchaikovsky’s ballet) which each so perfectly capture the unique horror of childhood fears.
The design of this production, too, places this charming holiday tale in a strikingly modern setting. The stage is a sharply raked, lacquered red floor which makes ample use of trap doors. The opening stage picture is a decorated Christmas tree, a doll house, and freestanding door, simply lit. A clean and minimal image, but one that leaves you bursting with holiday excitement. The contrast between the harsh modern stage and warmth of those Christmas emblems is another smart choice, demonstrating for the audience that this is a story we might all know, but told in a way you may never have expected.
What really makes The Nutcracker memorable, however, is its ensemble cast. Hébert and Edelen take on the roles of grieving parents with breathtaking patience, never letting the subject matter pull them into the realm of melodrama. Redmond as Uncle Drosselmeyer keeps the whimsical aura of his source character, but skillfully avoids the incestuous undertones that could easily color his relationship with young Clara. Gartshore, Weaver, and Casey each attack their roles as toys — a sock monkey, a pull-string doll, and a robot, respectively — like they’re going to war and yet they never miss an opportunity to show us exactly how much fun they’re having,
Despite the best efforts of the exceptional cast, the musical numbers are kind of a drag. They are not necessary to push the plot forward and, unfortunately, not original enough to stick with you after you leave the theater. Williams and Kempski share a beautiful moment in “Christmas Days of Yore,” one of many that they share throughout the performance, but it’s not quite enough to make The Nutcracker feel like a musical, rather than a play with music in it. In fact, it seems that this play was written as a musical just so they could squeeze in a dancing rat number.
Have I mentioned the rats yet? The Rat King must have his henchmen and they’re simply delightful. They’ve got cockney accents, and Hébert, Edelen, and Redmond render them as the perfectly charming children’s movie villains. They’re funny, sassy, and even a little meta-theatrical. Their song at the top of act two, “Here Comes the Rat King,” is an 11 o’clock showstopper that clocks in closer to 8:45.
The Nutcracker is a moving and entertaining option for children and young adults this holiday season. The adult humor sprinkled throughout the piece will make the grown-ups chuckle, but they’ll be just as likely to laugh along with the kids at dumb puns the rats make of the word “play.” Everyone will be able to enjoy this reasonably priced transport back to Christmases past.
The play ends, as you might expect, with a white Christmas, snow falling on the stage. All is as well as it can be, but we are still reminded that Fritz will not come home, even though it’s Christmas. That tug of real, difficult human struggle is what makes The Nutcracker a great piece for the holidays. It has a cheerful story to tell with plenty of joy, and it acknowledges that, for some, holidays are a time of confronting loss and strife.
Since its premiere in 2007, The Nutcracker has become a holiday tradition in its native Chicago. If every production is as good as the one at Round House, I hope it’ll become the holiday tradition in Washington, as well.
The Nutcracker plays at Round House Theatre (4545 East-West Highway, Bethesda, Md.) through December 28. Tickets, $25-50, are available here
