Review: THE NUTCRACKER by ARB at State Theatre is Spectacular

Every year, the American Repertory Ballet (ARB) brings one of the most beloved of all holiday season entertainments, The Nutcracker, to life at venues all across New Jersey performed by the company's acclaimed dancers and select students from the Princeton Ballet School. In the past, we at BroadwayWorld.com have had the delight of seeing the ARB's festive version of the show take the stage at Princeton's McCarter Theater.

This year, though, we were on hand as the company ended its run with a spectacular performance at New Brunswick's State Theatre. Here, Tchaikovsky's seminal music was performed by a complete orchestra and an accompanying youth choir; over 100 performers, all told, were on hand to bring life to the enduring wintertime story of a young girl named Clara and the prized nutcracker that transports her into a world of dreams and adventure.

With its ballet renditions of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, and other works of classic literature, the ARB has excelled in melding sophisticated narrative with expressive dance. Its version of The Nutcracker does something similar; it finds points of storytelling interest even as the dances intrigue and entertain.

As directed by the company's Artistic Director Douglas Martin, the ARB's signature version begins with social comedy, as Clara's antic relatives make their way to her opulent home, then transitions to a kinetic battle between an army of rats and a regiment of toy soldiers, the latter headed by the Nutcracker himself. By the time the show segues into its second half--dances representing an array of world cultures, performed by ARB principals--you will feel yourself swept away by the latest incarnation of the ARB's own holiday magic.

The American Repertory Ballet continues their successful season with special events in their Princeton studio, Masters of Dance and Music on 3/10 at Raritan Valley Community College; A Midsummer Night's Dream at UCPAC on 4/1; Pride and Prejudice at McCarter Theatre on 4/21 and 4/22 and Sleeping Beauty at Patriots Theater at the War Memorial on May 20th.

For more information on the American Repertory Ballet and the Princeton Ballet School, please visit their web site at http://www.americanrepertoryballet.org/.

Photo Credit: Leighton Chen - Mizuki Sato as the Dew Drop Fairy in "Waltz of the Flowers"

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