Miners Alley Playhouse’s adapts ‘The Nutcracker’ into a whimsical, interactive children’s holiday show
Don’t leave your kids out of the festive fun this holiday season: Take them to see Miners Alley Playhouse’s whimsical children’s theatre production of The Story of the Nutcracker.
Directed and adapted by Rory Pierce, Miners Alley’s director of children’s programming, the show follows two young girls, Marie (Emily Gomes) and her cousin, Fritzy (Kate Poling), who live under the watchful eye of Marie’s mom, Mrs. Stahlbaum (Erin Trampler-Bell). This year, the girl’s kind relative, Godfather Drosselmeier (Tim Fishbaugh), visits and gives each a present: a nutcracker for Marie and a sword for Fritzy. Unfortunately, right after receiving the presents, Fritzy accidentally breaks Marie’s new nutcracker.
Marie is heartbroken and the house is thrown in disarray. That evening, the girls are magically shrunk down to the Land Underneath the Christmas Tree. They meet Marie’s Nutcracker (Damon Guerrasio) and are drawn into his battle against the Mouse King (Kate Poling) to save the kingdom. Candy is thrown, sword fights are fought, and children from the audience are encouraged to get in on the action.
Photo: Colleen Lee
The actors are all incredibly well-suited to their parts. Gomes is a compelling lead who has strong chemistry with the rest of the cast. Guerrasio has excellent comedic timing and is able to communicate a lot despite wearing a mask over his head for most of the performance. Poling was a scene-stealer; her hilarious performance as the overactive Fritzy and work as the brooding — yet surprisingly punny — Mouse King was highly amusing. I quite enjoyed Fishbaugh’s silly accent work and appearance as the wise and jovial Godfather Drosselmeier. Trampler-Bell was delightful as the girl’s strict mother and makes a charming appearance as the Sugar Plum Fairy later in the show.
Highly interactive
The performance I attended was bustling with children who jumped at the opportunity to join the actors onstage. The Story of the Nutcracker leans into the interactive elements right away, as Fishbaugh chooses two kids from the audience to help him start the show as his dancing toys. While the kids from the audience danced up a storm, Godfather Drosselmeier and Mrs. Stahlbaum began doing fancy ballroom dances, while Fritzy did a TikTok dance. This may have confused the characters onstage in the period setting but delighted the children in the audience.
The marshmallow toss was a hit with the kids | Photo: Colleen Lee
After the dancing, Marie and Fritzy still want to have fun, so Godfather Drosselmeier invites all the kids in the theatre onstage to participate in a hot chocolate marshmallow toss, where Fritzy sits with a cup on her head and the kids throw marshmallows into the cup. These are just a few of the well-executed moments of audience participation throughout the show.
Not only were these moments entertaining to watch and seemed to prepare the kids for the more exposition heavy section of the play. Rather than squirming around in their seats, the children were rapt as the story unfolded, eagerly waiting to see when they would get to participate next.
While most of the show’s technical elements are appropriately simple, the production teams really went all out on the play’s costuming. Each character’s wardrobe was remarkably distinct, and the Rat and Nutcracker headpieces were impressively designed. The actors wear these elaborate masks that cover their full heads. These masks are incredibly detailed and really add a lot to the production; the Nutcracker’s mouth is even configured so that it can move like that of a real Nutcracker.
The script keeps the plot moving along at a brisk pace, and the writing is quite clever. It’s a unique telling of The Nutcracker that presents the broad strokes of the iconic ballet. Pierce’s adaptation focuses on capturing the dream-like nature of the story while also making a multitude of puns and fourth-wall breaks to the audience.
The Story of the Nutcracker may not have the glitz and glamor of the ballet, but it’s the perfect way to treat yourself and your family (particularly the little ones!) to a whimsical holiday play that doesn’t take itself too seriously and is a whole lot of fun.
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