Roll over Tchaikovsky and tell the Nutcracker the news – he’s coming back to The Villages.
The Moscow Ballet’s “Great Russian Nutcracker” is returning to The Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center for two shows on Sunday, Nov. 25, at 2 and 6 p.m. The ballet was here a few weeks ago until a power failure stopped the second show.
The story will not only return to the stage, but Disney’s movie “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” plays daily at the Old Mill Playhouse at Lake Sumter Landing Market Square.
Some people – like local resident and performer Mary Jo Vitale – can never have enough “Nutcracker” for Christmas.
“The first time I set foot on a stage, it was not to sing, but rather to dance,” Vitale said in an e-mail. “I began ballet lessons at the age of three. The feeling of performing captivated me.”
So did “The Nutcracker.”
“The first time I saw ‘The Nutcracker’ was on an old VHS tape my mother bought me for Christmas. I must have been 6 or 7 years old,” she said. “The show starred the legendary Mikhail Baryshnikov as the Nutcracker and Gelsey Kirkland as Clara.
“That video quickly became part of my own personal Christmas tradition. I loved to watch the dancers spin and leap across the stage – especially the Sugar Plum Fairy, because she reminded me of the ballerina that danced in my music box.
“If I was ever going to be a ballerina – that was the part I wanted to play! I have seen ‘The Nutcracker’ live many times over the years and it still brings back the same feelings of wonder and holiday joy as it did the first time I watched that old VHS (tape).
Over the years, Vitale said, as dancing took a backseat to her aspirations as a singer, her love for “The Nutcracker” never waned.
“I was excited to share it with my children for the first time this year,” she said. “We saw the new Disney ‘Nutcracker’ movie at the Old Mill Playhouse and it was a wonderful homage to the original story but with more details and character development.
“My 8-year-old son (Daniel) enjoyed the action and adventure and my little girl (Lila Rose) was mesmerized by the beautiful music and dancing. My daughter is nearly three and will begin ballet lessons next year. I hope that she will carry on the (Nutcracker) tradition and maybe it will light a fire in her as it did for me.”
Tony Violanti is a veteran journalist and writes for Villages-News.com.
