State Theatre Center for the Arts continuing the tradition of ‘The Nutcracker’
鈥淭he Nutcracker," featuring local dancers, will return to the State Theatre Center for the Arts from Dec. 9 to 11.
Submitted
Local dancers take on the roles in 鈥淭he Nutcracker,鈥� which comes to the State Theatre Center for the Arts in Uniontown from Dec. 9 to 11.
A local production of the holiday favorite 鈥淭he Nutcracker鈥� will grace the stage at the State Theatre Center for the Arts in Uniontown next weekend.
The show has become a Christmastime tradition for both the State鈥檚 patrons and the show鈥檚 actors, bringing in local dance school students to perform the timeless ballet. The theatre started the local production in 2015, and with the exception of 2020, it has been performed at the Main Street venue every year.
When the ballet returned last year, it was met with exceptional enthusiasm.
鈥淚 think people were thrilled to have the opportunity to return to some normalcy to come here and have their annual 鈥楴utcracker鈥� performance,鈥� said Erica Miller, executive director of the State Theatre Center for the Arts. 鈥淚t was very successful.鈥�
Donna Marovic, the choreographer for the show, said the dancers were eager to return to the show in 2021, even though they didn鈥檛 get to do the typical morning show for the local schools last year.
鈥淭his year, we have a sold out school show,鈥� she said, adding that everyone loves that particular performance. 鈥淭he energy and excitement from the young audience is always a great way to start the run of our show.鈥�
Marovic said they added a new backdrop to the second act of the show last year, and this year, they鈥檙e adding a new backdrop to the first act.
鈥淲e also have new choreography for the snow scene and some of the variations in Act II, and a few new roles have been added,鈥� she said. 鈥淪ometimes you just have to mix things up.鈥�
While changes are made to the production 鈥� some little, some big 鈥� year to year, Miller said the most interesting thing about the evolution of the show is seeing the same performers appearing on stage throughout the years.
鈥淪ome of these kids in the show started out years ago as a young child playing a snow flurry or a mouse,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淣ow some of them are likely in the snow scene, and they鈥檝e grown up looking forward to auditioning and seeing their new role.鈥�
Marovic said there are 140 performers in the show and the crew has approximately 10 to 12 people.
There will be four shows of 鈥淭he Nutcracker,鈥� with showtimes being 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 9, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10 and 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 11.
Tickets are $15 each and can be purchased online at statetheatre.info