Those looking to get into the Christmas spirit will be able to kick off the season this weekend with several performances of the Nutcracker. Over 75 young dancers and actors have been working on this year’s performance since August.
Co-director Breezy Berryman is getting her dancers ready for the opening performance of the Nutcracker Saturday.
Young kids to teenagers are working through the steps as Co-director Jennifer Norton and Berryman look on, making sure every last detail is perfect.
This is the thirtieth year the Nutcracker has been put on in Homer. Berryman, who has danced in or helped facilitate the performance for most of her life, said she likes to pick a new theme each year. Past performances have played with the Alice in Wonderland story and there have been sea-based versions as well.
“Because I feel like the typical nutcracker story is not much of a story. It’s just sort of like there’s this girl Clara. She gets a nutcracker and in her dream, she goes to this magic world and then she wakes up from her dream,” Berryman said. “So, to me it’s not much of a through line, so that’s why we like to play with other thing to make it more interesting.”
Berryman didn’t want to give away this year’s theme just yet, but she did say her cast will expand the storyline.
“This year, I guess I can say this part, I thought it would be interesting to take a little more of the hard nut story, which is sort of is the backstory about how the nutcracker actually gets turned into a nutcracker doll. ”
There are other twists on the performance. Berryman said they swapped one male character with a female performer, and they’re also incorporating live music this year.
“We have some live singing as well as some live musicians playing the violin for one of the dances which is kind of fun,” she explained. “It’s coming together. I feel like we’re ready.”
Berryman also notes that this year’s group of dancers is the strongest she’s ever had.
The opening performance is 3 p.m. Saturday at the Mariner Theater. The show will run through Sunday and next weekend.