Every year, the Ballet Oklahoma production of "The Nutcracker" at the Civic Center Music Hall proves to be a popular holiday tradition. But this season, don't overlook the Norman Ballet Company's unique take on the Christmas classic.
Yet another official centennial production, the Norman Ballet Company's staging of "Oklahoma Nutcracker" will be performed Saturday and Sunday at The Sooner Theatre, 101 E. Main in Norman.
The production is based on Tchaikovsky's traditional two-act ballet, itself drawing inspiration from the early 19th-century E.T.A. Hoffmann short story of "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King." However, according to Marjorie Kovich, artistic director of the company, "Oklahoma Nutcracker" is the only adaptation to offer an Oklahoma setting and characters.
Now in its sixth year, the ballet is set in the Overholser Mansion for Act 1, and on the Oklahoma prairie for Act 2, with the latter incorporating the state bird: the scissor-tailed flycatcher.
"The Overholser Mansion "¦ was the perfect setting for our ballet, which is set in 1907," said Kovich, in a press release. "The Tchaikovsky score fit right into that elegant drawing room, and having little Henry Ione Overholser "? who was by all accounts, quite feisty and imaginative "? become our 'Clara' was a perfect fit."
The dance begins at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, with an additional 7 p.m. performance Saturday. Tickets are $16 for adults and $12 for children age 12 and younger.
For more information, call 326-9147 or visit www.normanballetcompany.com.
"?Rod Lott
