HOW SUITE IT IS
By Kim Devore/Entertainment Writer
“Oh, good heavens,” exclaimed Yvonne Mounsey, “this must be my thirtieth production!” The Westside Ballet’s longtime artistic director was speaking of “The Nutcracker,” which drew a packed house of adoring friends, fans and family members to the Smothers Theatre at Pepperdine University.
After three decades, the 83-year-old former ballerina retains a bubbly sense of enthusiasm for the holiday ritual. “The kids are different every year and it’s great to see the little ones move from mice or soldiers to Clara and Sugar Plum.”
Ms. M has also seen many of her students go on to fortune, fame and acclaim. Ex-Nutcrackers can be found in the country’s top professional companies including the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Houston Ballet and San Francisco Ballet.
Rehearsal assistant Kylie Larkin performed in the company’s first production in 1972. “Back then we had fewer people and there were a lot more costume changes. Things run much more smoothly these days,” she explains. “Still, we have about a hundred children and it’s quite a challenge.” For Kylie, talent management is key. “With all those kids, we need to make sure that everyone is well rehearsed, they have the right timing and they’re on stage when they are supposed to be.”
Aside from a few minor spills, the show went off without a hitch. In the opening scene, trumpet-blowing angles floated across the stage on clouds of dry ice. Their divine arrival was followed by a festive party scene, which leads to Clara’s travels through the Land of Snow and into an enchanted never-never land.
Act II takes us to the Land of the Sweets, complete with the various inhabitants of the Candy Kingdom like dancing sugarplums and prancing soldiers. The show wrapped up with the various players taking their bows in a dazzling shower of snowflakes.
This was but one of a dozen productions of “The Nutcracker” taking place in theaters and auditoriums in Malibu and throughout Los Angeles. But whether it’s a well-polished local production like Westside or a splashy extravaganza like the American Ballet Theatre at the Kodak Theatre, The Nutcracker continues to be the perfect Christmas confection.
In a few days, Herr Siberhaus, Fritz, Clara and the Magic Mouse will leave the spotlight for another year. But their magic is bound to keep a lot of talented youngsters on their toes until crowds clamor for the next sweet treat in 2003.