By Paul Horsley

It’s true that the production of The Nutcracker Todd Bolender created for the Kansas City Ballet is more than 40 years old, but through the years many a hand has helped freshen up the holiday classic, which runs at the Kauffman Center from December 7th through the 24th. An altered variation here, a structural tweak there, even a celebrity supernumerary now and then. Todd himself reconfigured the choreography along the way, as did others, and in the 1990s the company unveiled new scenic designs. There’s life in the ole girl yet, yes: but there’s also a good chance we won’t be seeing it for much longer.

Devon Carney, who began as KCB’s new artistic director In July, has put his mark on Todd’s Nutcracker for 2013, though most of the changes will be unnoticeable to all but the most seasoned KCB fans. “I really don’t want to fool around with Todd’s production too much,” says the former Boston Ballet principal dancer, who was previously associate AD for Cincinnati Ballet. “Certainly I’ve done a few adjustments, that’s what I’d call them. And I think the program notes are going to say something like ‘additional choreography by Devon Carney.’ Because there are a couple of little things here or there that I do want to change, and I don’t want to do that without making it clear that something’s been done.”

Probably the most noticeable alteration is the elimination of a character who was never part of the original Nutcracker in the first place. “I’m not a big fan of what’s called the Nephew of Drosselmeyer,” Devon says. “It just doesn’t make any sense.” This character, seen in productions around the country, was apparently drawn from a tradition Balanchine brought with him from Russia. The Nephew (whose famous pantomime was always danced by a boy here) is now replaced with the Nutcracker Prince, “because that’s something I feel creates more of a dramatic line from start to finish,” Devon says. In Balanchine’s and Todd’s version it’s unclear as to whether it’s the Nephew or the toy Nutcracker that becomes the Prince: Or do they both? In Devon’s more straightforward telling, the doll grows, logically, into a “life-sized” Nutcracker (now portrayed by a company dancer), “who battles the bad guys and then transforms into the Nutcracker Prince and takes Clara off to the Land of Snow and the Land of Sweets. So Clara has this consistent character with her.” This change necessitated the creation of a new uni-costume that can be worn by the dancer as both Nutcracker and Prince: The former “gets humanized because he loses his Nutcracker head … and stands up and there he is, this handsome Prince.”

A few other minor tweaks are in the offing this year, such as moving the Sugar Plum’s variation closer to the end of Act 2, or the elimination of the momentum-sapping solo violin cadenza (borrowed from Tchaikovsky’s score for The Sleeping Beauty) that was played while Drosselmeyer repaired Clara’s Nutcracker doll. “It’s an energy vacuum,” Devon says of this interpolation, which was apparently also something Balanchine cooked up, “a black hole. And it just kills the energy that’s being built at the end of the Party Scene.” Not to worry: The Nutcracker doll still gets fixed in this minor plot restructuring, Devon says, “it just happens at the end of the party scene, so you still get the point across.”

If all this sounds like the talk of a man preparing to create his own first Nutcracker, that’s because to some extent it is. But Devon wants to “do it up right,” and as a result his own new version won’t be unveiled until 2015 at the earliest. “When this comes along I want it to be a high-quality production with good designers involved. … It’s not something you rush into.” Still, it’s high time to “step into the 21st century and see The Nutcracker in a whole new light,” he says, “with new sets, new costumes, new special effects, and all of those things that will hopefully ensure success in the long run. Bright, colorful, costumes, full of life, and very three-dimensional sets. And then there’s choreography on top of that!”

CHECK BACK HERE FOR A FULL TRANSCRIPT OF OUR CONVERSATION WITH DEVON, IN WHICH HE TALKS ABOUT “NUTCRACKER” AND HIS FIRST FEW MONTHS AS THE BALLET’S ARTISTIC DIRECTOR.

The Ballet’s Nutcracker runs through December 24th. Call 816-931-2232 or go to kcballet.org.

Paul can be reached at phorsley@sbcglobal.net or on Facebook (paul.horsley.501).

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