Not everyone in the District will be headed to the malls this “Black Friday.” At least that is what Meg Booth, director of dance programming at the Kennedy Center, hopes. “We don’t typically have matinees on the Friday after Thanksgiving,” she said. “But is there a better time to spend with your family after you’ve just had a big turkey dinner?”
| IF YOU GO |
| ‘The Nutcracker’ |
| » Where: The Opera House at The Kennedy Center |
| » When: Friday to Sunday, check Web site for times |
| » Info: 202-467-4600; kennedy-center.org |
Booth is referring to the Joffrey Ballet’s performances of the Robert Joffrey staging of “The Nutcracker” being performed at the Kennedy Center Opera House this holiday season. St. Louis’ Riverfront Times has called this distinct rendition “An epic conception of the tale … the sort of magnificent spectacle that really defines grand ballet.”
Different from other “Nutcrackers,” Joffrey’s version is set in Victorian America and features delightfully magical sets by Oliver Smith, costumes created by Halston’s successor John David Ridge, and a giant Mother Ginger puppet fashioned by Kermit Love, creator of Big Bird and namesake for Kermit the Frog.
Then, there are the dancers and singers who bring “The Nutcracker” to life. While the Joffrey is touring with a total of 41 dancers, the rest of the company is made up of local schoolchildren. Casting was an involved project begun by Booth months ago.
“It is so much fun every year to put up a call for the auditions,” she said. “The [Joffrey] company sends their ballet mistress, who attends the local auditions and makes all of the selections. They have been rehearsing for weeks now.”
So too with the chorus of children selected that include singers of the Norwood Middle School Choir, the National Cathedral School Choir and D.C.’s own St. Albans Children’s Choir. The Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra accompanies all of the performances.
“I think having live music for a company of ‘The Nutcracker’ creates magic,” Booth continued. “Tchaikovsky’s score is such a holiday classic, it keeps people coming back year after year.”
Each year there are, of course, families experiencing the magic for the first time.
“It’s so much fun to see all the little girls and boys dressed up in their holiday finery — the boys in suits and the girls in beautiful dresses,” Booth said. “It’s always a special time when families [experience] their first ‘Nutcracker.’ ”
