The snow goes on, beautifully
Sunshine glowed on “The Nutcracker” Sunday afternoon outside and inside Sugar Land’s Smart Financial Centre, the first of two stops where Houston Ballet’s largest and most financially important production is touring in its hometown this season. Hurricane Harvey forced the risky move, taking the company’s Wortham Theater Center facilities offline until at least next September.
And, to be clear, it is a much different setting.
The Sugar Land lobby feels more like a sports arena, with concession stands spaced around the entrances to the theater, selling popcorn and hot dogs. Ballet patrons accustomed to covered parking downtown may also grouse about the $15 surface lot parking ($5 more than the Theater District garage) and outdoor security lines.
Inside, the big screens on either side of the stage are disconcerting at first, although probably helpful for those in the upper balconies, since the hall’s sight lines are distant — not ideal for dance. Choreographer and artistic director Stanton Welch does use the screens effectively, but briefly, as an extension of the Stahlbaum home, so the audience sees the King Rat bursting through a framed portrait on the walls.
A rich velvet curtain, swagged in the center, has replaced scenic designer Tim Goodchild’s realistic, two-story parlor set. Gone, too, are the magnificent pearly gates he devised to open Act 2. As a result, those who saw this production’s debut last year may notice that the touring version doesn’t look quite as opulent.
But once Ermanno Florio and the (cramped) Houston Ballet Orchestra begin Peter Tchaikovsky’s familiar music and the rambunctious Stahlbaum family enters, the magic of performance takes over.
During Sunday’s opening show, Allison Miller cast her delightful Miss Sunshine spirit across every moment of her debut in the role of Clara, which in Welch’s version includes the Lead Flower solo and other significant moments. Miller’s Clara hovers charmingly on the cusp of adolescence, still sweetly innocent but confident.
Nozomi Iijima, debuting as the Sugar Plum Fairy, dazzled with an impeccable mix of perfect technique, elegant lines, fluidity and speed. Connor Walsh, her smooth and generous Nutcracker Prince, also looked effortlessly graceful.
The entire cast was engagingly animated, including the bevy of youngsters who appear as bumblebees, angels, dolls, stuffed animals, toy soldiers and mice medics. The imposed touring is a reminder that while sets and costumes create spectacle, it’s the dancing that matters most. That artistry, above all, must be kept alive and sharp.
For the most part, it has. Well before the storm, Houston Ballet suffered what seemed like an unusually large loss of up-and-coming talent who didn’t renew their contracts this season (for example, Derek Dunn left for Boston Ballet and Katelyn May moved on to Sarasota Ballet). That has opened up some slots in the ranks and given the company a corps that is not always as refined in its lines as last year’s.
But Houston Ballet rarely lacks for up-andcomers. Soloist Jacquelyn Long was delightfully naughty as Clara’s spoiled, older sister Louise. Among others to watch now are two demi-soloists: Mackenzie Richter carried the Arabian solo with sensuous authority on Sunday, and Alyssa Springer brought fine, soft qualities to Act 1’s Sugar Plum Doll.
Hurricane business aside, Welch’s version of “The Nutcracker” was a pleasure to revisit. I don’t know if he has altered the Waltz of the Flowers, but it seemed livelier this time around, with much swooshing of voluminous skirts, as dancers were lifted by their partners. With multiple viewings, one also begins to absorb all the connections Welch draws between Act 1 and 2 characters, including dolls who come to life as animal ambassadors.
Goodchild’s important mobile set pieces have made the journey, including Drosselmeyer’s caravan, with its monkey driver and elephant caboose. The massive, growing Christmas tree with a spiral staircase in its trunk grows farther up into the rafters than one can see. The white stuff falling and tossed in the Snow Scene is as abundant as ever; and as at the Wortham, flurries immerse the audience as intermission begins.
The worst casualty of the tour is Goodchild’s fluffy-cloud framing for Act 2, which either is not lit as well or has been cut and re-pasted to fit the new space. Maybe that can be fixed, if it hasn’t already.
On a lighter note, the company might have underestimated the number
of balloons it will need. Children ran from the far corners of the Sugar Land venue while the Harlequin, Columbine, Soldier and Vivandere dolls gave away balloon animals and fans during the prelude. And they kept coming, delaying the show’s opening longer than necessary.
That might work better in the lobby, prior to the performance or at intermission. But it’s a nice gesture — and who can argue with happy children who might learn to like ballet?