With only three chances left to see the Insurgo Nutcracker, the owl clock is counting down the minutes until the prince goes back on a strict hazelnut diet. Insurgo’s version of the classic scored by Tchaikovsky isn’t as different from the original as you might expect. For starters, there’s an enchanted nutcracker who might really be a prince (Brandon Oliver Jones); a beautiful dancing ballerina in a tutu—who might be Clara or the Sugar Plum Fairy (Michelle Meyer)—and her clownish foil (Melanie Ash); and a story that’s danced and mimed rather than spoken. There are, of course, big differences, though: In place of an evil Mouse King, we get an implication of the sad effects of global warming and an incompetent, absentee Santa.
Calendar
- Insurgo Nutcracker
- Through January 7, 7:30 p.m., $15.
- Insurgo Theater, 772-3897.
- Beyond the Weekly
- Insurgo Theater
Mostly, however, this year’s Insurgo Nutcracker is charming and, gasp, cute. That’s right, though cute is often the most reviled of compliments, a holiday season filled with stress and binge drinking could use an adult-sized penguin dance, a giggle, a pinch of adorable. This show fills that void and does it in under an hour, efficiently putting a damper on any post-Christmas malaise. Short and sweet, the Nutcracker holed up in the Plaza could give the original wooden soldier a few tips in the “less is more” department.
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