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Regional Reviews: Washington, D.C. The Nutcracker
This Nutcracker is not the familiar Christmastime ballet, although snippets of Tchaikovsky's score occasionally slip into the underscoring. The creators—Tommy Rapley, Jake Minton, Phillip Klapperich, and Kevin O'Donnell—have taken their inspiration from the original story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, with a substantial amount of new material. Specifically, the plot now has a tragic gloss. Clara (Lauren Williams) and her parents (Mitchell Hébert, Sherri L. Edelen) turn their back on Christmas after they receive word during a holiday party that Clara's brother Fritz, a Marine, has been killed in action. The following year, Uncle Drosselmeyer (Lawrence Redmond with a luxurious beard) arrives at the house, determined to break through the family's wall of sorrow. The nutcracker he gives Clara as a Christmas gift, however, is the image of the dead Fritz (Vincent Kempski). Then there are Clara's toys that come to life along with the nutcracker Fritz: a goofy sock monkey who speaks with a French accent (Will Gartshore), a clumsy robot (Evan Casey), and a manic talking doll (Erin Weaver, who sparkles whenever she appears). The battle between the nutcracker and the rats remains from the original, but the authors have given it a psychic significance connected with restoring joy to the family. (Rats love darkness and hate the light, so of course they hate Christmas ... or something.) Helen Huang's costumes are delightful, from Drosselmeyer's mismatched prints and many layers of clothing to the red-eyed rats and Phoebe's yarn wig. James Kronzer's scenic design makes a lot out of a plain red platform, a door, and a few trap doors, while Daniel MacLean Wagner's lighting design conveys magic through swirls of light on the walls of the theater. Round House bills the show as a musical, but the songs (music by O'Donnell, lyrics by Minton) tend to meander and don't have much point beyond their titles. Conductor and pianist William Yanesh and his three musicians do well with what they're given. Round House Theatre
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