Photos: Joffrey Ballet's Brilliant 'Nutcracker' Revamp Is Rich With Chicago History
By Michelle Meywes Kopeny in Arts & Entertainment on Dec 16, 2016 3:30PM
Who knew that Chicago’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 was perfectly suited as the setting of the Nutcracker? Our golden Statue of the Republic becomes The Queen of the Fair; a Daniel Burnham-inspired figure plays The Great Impresario; and the Fair’s worldly pavilions come alive in the parade of cultural dances. Mice even turn into Chicago rats. It’s a magical backdrop for an already whimsical story.
The Joffrey Ballet’s Artistic Director Ashley Wheater and Tony Award-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon talked about creating a new Nutcracker nearly a decade ago while working on a project at Wheeldon’s company, Morphoses, in New York. “During lunch, Chris mentioned that he wanted to create a Nutcracker for The Joffrey Ballet’s Company,” Wheater told us. “I told him I was not sure when it would ever happen, but I would hold him to his offer.”
When it finally came time, they decided to set the story during the fair’s construction, a timeline that got renewed attention several years ago with Eric Larson’s bestseller Devil In The White City. And the result is spectacular. Beautiful, graceful and mesmerizing, there’s nothing campy about Wheeldon’s updated vision of The Nutcracker.
While a lot of the traditional elements, such as Tchaikovsky’s original score, were kept, new additions like denim- and plaid-clad dancers in "Buffalo Bill’s Wild West" stay true to the history of the Fair while adding a modern American touch. There’s also a nutty update to Mother Nutcracker that had kids and adults alike laughing aloud. The affluent family setting of the traditional Nutcracker is also switched, here centered around a working-class widowed mother and a community of immigrant fair workers. A sculptress tasked with making the Fair’s statue, the mother embodies the magic that comes when Marie enters into the Dream Fair.
All the traditional Nutcracker elements get refreshed thanks to Wheeldon, including the top-notch costuming and set projection. Dull colors of the working day in Act One break into vivid technicolor, à la the land of Oz, in Act Two as a massive Christmas tree vividly envelops the stage. “Because of modern theater technologies, we are able to achieve much more on stage than we could 30 years ago,” Wheater told Chicagoist. Wheeldon “also has a background in musical theater and assembled a team of creative talent well-versed in both dance and theatrical productions.”
This fresh reimagining of such the classic ballet is in fine step with the new era of dance and theater. It's a magnificent production, one that will hopefully stick around for several future runs.
The Nutcracker performances continue at Auditorium Theatre through Friday, December 30. Tickets range from $35 to 170.