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The Yorkville Nutcracker
December 1998

by Mary Cargill

Francis Patrelle, a New York teacher and choreographer, has produced his own version of the Nutcracker, which was performed at the Kay Playhouse in Hunter College last week. Like most Nutcrackers, it includes a mixture of students and professionals, but it has about as much in common with many seasonal productions as, say, Tchaikovsky has with Minkus. I do like listening to Minkus, and regional Nutcrackers can be fun. But I enjoyed Patrelle's version without any qualifications.

He has changed the location from Germany to Gracie Mansion (hence the "Yorkville") in 1895, where the then Mayor, William Strong, is giving a Christmas party for his children Mary (the Clara) and Putnam Bradlee (the Fritz). All the Consul Generals, with their children, come in their native costumes, so the party scene is wonderfully colorful and varied. (The costumes were all beautifully designed and very well made.) Mary and Putnam's uncle, Noah Wheaton, is the Drosselmeyer, who brings suitably American toys, including a life-sized bear. The bear is the family friend Theodore Roosevelt in disguise, danced by Francis Patrelle, in the most fun-loving appearance of Roosevelt on stage since Arsenic and Old Lace.

The story is the traditional Nutcracker, except that Mary's brother also takes the Nutcracker Prince role. This fortunately leaves absolutely no room for any allegory of a young girl's coming of age. (I do wish choreographers who want to make a ballet out of The Interpretation of Dreams would leave the Nutcracker music alone.) The New York locale suits the story very well--the snow scene is on a pond in Central Park in front of the Dakota, and the last act takes place in the Crystal Palace of the Bronx Botanical Gardens. The sets are painted flats (there is little room on the stage for any furniture), very well designed and effective. The tree even grows.

The choreography is also very good, not of course as expansive as Balanchine's, and quite varied, with interesting contrasts between the social dances, the character dances, and the classical variations. I
particularly like the adagio from the Nutcracker pas de deux, where the plaintive rising and falling music can invite difficult and cumbersome lifts. Patrelle's choreography was not flashy, but had a musical flow
and genuine charm.

His sugar Plum was Jenifer Ringer, who has recently been back dancing with the New York City Ballet. She had been a joy to watch at City Ballet, until, reportedly, a serious injury interrupted her career. Her performance was radiant. She always had an elegant and refined upper body, which Patrelle's choreography showed off, and a warm and generous stage presence, which the intimate stage magnified.

The Yorkville Nutcracker would be a pleasure just for a chance to see her, but many of the other dancers were very impressive. Mary was the 12-year old Daria Foner, whose dark, expressive eyes make her look a bit like the young Natalie Wood. She is a natural actress, going from wide-eyed joy to despair over her broken Nutcracker without every becoming coy or self-conscious. Deborah Wingert, formerly of the New York City Ballet, was a majestic and gracious Snow Queen. I particularly enjoyed the young Philip Spencer (a student at SAB) as the Russian dancer. He has a sharp, energetic, yet graceful and accurate style, and he looked particularly dashing in his red uniform.

This was a warmhearted and charming Nutcracker, which though it lacks the grandeur of a larger production, might in some ways be more fun for
children, because of its intimacy. And the quality of the dancing certainly made it fun for adults.