Scene from the RATcracker on the Hill dress rehearsal Wednesday evening at Duane Smith Auditorium. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
BY KAITY BURKE
Dance Arts Los Alamos
It’s that time of year again! Dance Arts Los Alamos (DALA) is performing its yearly production of the Nutcracker, but with a twist. This year’s production is the second installment of Artistic Director Jonathan Guise’s “Nutcracker on the Hill” trilogy and is called “Ratcracker On The Hill”.
Last year’s Nutcracker transported the audience back in time to a Christmas Party in Fuller Lodge in 1944. We saw the swing dancing Manhattan Project characters admire the Nutcracker given to Gwen Groves (the daughter of General Groves), and the Spy sneaking into the party to steal a Top Secret document from Oppenheimer. As the night was settling down, the Spy was confronted by Oppie and Gwen, but was able to escape when the mice flooded the stage.
The Rat Queen appeared and roused her army. Oppie split an atom to bring the Nutcracker to life to fight the Rat Queen. After the Queen’s defeat, a mysterious suited figure offers her an alliance and helps her offstage. The Nutcracker leads Oppie and Gwen after the Spy to retrieve the document. They fly in a balloon over the Jemez Mountains, and arrive in the Land of Sweets. The Land of Sweets characters help the trio chase down the Spy and retrieve the document. However, the story ended with the Mysterious Figure confronting Oppie, stealing Gwen and the Top Secret document, and the Rat Queen taking over the Land of Sweets.
This completed 2023’s production of the Nutcracker on The Hill.
This year’s production picks up with most of the heroes reuniting and preparing to infiltrate the Rat Queen’s party. The heroes trick the Queen into giving back the stolen Nutcracker and fight their way free before reuniting with the Spy. The Heroes are finally sent back to Los Alamos after their year-long adventure. However, the few party stragglers at Fuller Lodge say that only a few hours had passed and that several individuals had gone home such as General Groves and Kitty Oppenheimer. Oppie, the Spy, Dew Drop, the Russian Dancer and the Nutcracker begin their search for Gwen Groves.
A few of the notable Manhattan Project characters such as Dorothy McKibbin, Laura and Enrico Fermi, Naomi Livesay, etc. dismiss Oppie’s crazy search and continue the party.
The second act features multiple dance styles and characters that had not been seen at the party earlier, such as the Sailors, the WACs, and many more. Oppie and the Spy continue their search for Gwen.
As an employee of the Los Alamos Historical Society, and one who often nitpicks the small details in Manhattan Project inspired stories, I must say that the creativity and talent in this production is astounding. Jonathan worked very hard to incorporate his research and the spirit of Los Alamos into the traditional Nutcracker story. Where else will you see someone portraying a Nobel prize winning physicist through ballet? Where else can you see a fictional ballet that uses the splitting of an atom as a story point?
The performances for “Ratcracker on The Hill” are 7 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Duane Smith Auditorium. Tickets are available for purchase on DALA’s website.