It’s Beginning to Look
a Lot Like
Christmas
PHOTO: NUTCRACKER KEY WEST OPENS TONIGHT.
A classic holiday ballet, recast as a unique interpretation of Key West’s seafaring history, coral reef environment and free-ranging rooster population, is set for a 13-performance run in the island city beginning tonight, Friday, Nov. 28.
“Nutcracker Key West” is the brainchild of Key West resident Joyce Stahl, a classically trained dancer who performed “The Nutcracker” and other ballets with New Jersey’s American Repertory Ballet for 38 years.
Stahl’s Paradise Ballet Theatre production, which was first performed in 2005, transforms the timeless story of young Clara’s visit to the land of the Sugarplum Fairy into an island fantasy featuring dancing snowy egrets, phosphorescent sea anemones, shimmering reef fish and even a conch shell.
“Nutcracker Key West” brings together dance professionals from around the United States with a two-cast ensemble of more than 60 Florida Keys children. The production incorporates expertly crafted sets and costumes designed by Stahl that are valued at more than $800,000.
Standout sequences include a dream battle where toy sailors protect Clara from the Rooster King, and a coral reef scene where Clara and her nutcracker-come-to-life are entertained by a dance troupe of children costumed as tumbling shrimp and colorful fish. The storyline also includes imagery drawn from the history of the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha, shipwrecked off Key West in 1622.
Performances of “Nutcracker Key West” are to be staged at the 500-seat Tennessee Williams Theatre, 5901 College Road on the campus of Florida Keys Community College.
The show is to open Friday, Nov. 28, with a 7:30 p.m. curtain and an opening party to follow. Subsequent performances are set for 8 p.m. Nov. 29 and Dec. 5 and 6; 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30 and Dec. 2-4; 2:30 p.m. Nov. 29 and 30 and Dec. 6 and 7; and 6:30 p.m. Dec. 7 followed by a closing party.
Ticket prices begin at $15 per person. Tickets can be purchased online at www. keystix.com or by calling (305) 295-7676.
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