ML - Michigan Avenue

2012 - Issue 8 - December 2012/January 2013

Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!

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C originally for the New York City Ballet, uses actual children in those roles. But as noted, the Joffrey uses a large children's company, which is particularly prominent at the party. Says Holden: "There are so many kids in the party scene. They are in there for the whole time, and if they are a little bit out of control, part of your job as Clara or Fritz is to keep them in line." urrently, the Joffrey version is drenched in Victorian nostalgia— "like a picture print by Currier and Ives," as the lyrics to "Sleigh Ride" put it. "I still think in America we like to look back at that time," says Wheater. "So the production and the scenic idea is that it's all like a paper cutout book." However, after a quar- ter century, Wheater thinks it's time to revisit the conceptual framework. "A lot of things have happened in 25 years," says Wheater, adding, "I see us taking a look at the Nutcracker in a couple of years and asking, 'How do we make [the ballet] a relevant work for today?' This is a wonderful production, but we have to say, 'Is the story of Clara, this little rich girl with lots and lots of gifts and the happy home and everything else—is it a real story? What is the per- centage of people who relate to this today?'" Starting over with a new version won't be cheap. Conway estimates that it will cost between $3 mil- menu or decorating scheme knows, altering a Marks, "We're not throwing money away, but are we spending it wisely by replacing [costumes] if we're going to do a whole new Nutcracker in, say, two years?" Last year, the wardrobe depart- ment asking, 'how do we make the ballet a relevant work for today?'" —ASHLEY WHEATER, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR "I see us taking a look at the Nutcracker in a couple of years and beloved tradition carries some risk of backlash. "There is a thin line between what [audiences] remember nostalgically and freshening it up," says Maureen Dwyer Smith, the founder of the lion and $4 million, but adds, "It is a very exciting Women's Board of the Joffrey. She also notes, replaced the original hand-painted costumes for "Waltz of the Flowers" with digi- tally printed petals. Each of the costumes still features its own unique petal design, but going digital saved money—instead of $8,000 per cos- tume, the new flowers came in at around $2,500 each. "Hopefully, the overall look is still true to the design," says Marks. Whatever shape a new version might entail down the road, Wheater finds the company's "golden goose" still delights audiences. "I think we have a lot of subscribers who have seen the Nutcracker, but I keep saying to them that in its own right it's a classic and it has withstood the test of time," he says, adding with an air of mis- chievous understatement, "There is some kind of wonderful dancing in it." MA sponsorship opportunity [for a corporation]. The Nutcracker [draws] our largest audience. It sits down here in Chicago for a month and also travels to at least one other city every year. It's a chance to be associated with a family-friendly production for 20 or 25 years." Conway also says that the Joffrey is not averse to "above the line" sponsorship, such as "Coca-Cola presents Joffrey's Nutcracker." "I would be anxious to take Coke's call," he says with a laugh. As anyone who has ever changed up a holiday "The actual nutcracker is in fact held together with duct tape. He's sweet as can be, but when you see him up close and hold him, he's had a lot of repairs. It sort of symbolizes our show." Part of the annual "freshening up" involves the work of Marianne Marks, the head of ward- robe for the Joffrey, and her crew, who have to keep about 200 costumes—many of them origi- nal from the first production—in tip-top shape while being mindful of the bottom line. Says Christopher Clinton Conway, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Christopher Clinton Conway joined the Joffrey as executive director in September 2005 and promptly took the reins for the historic capital campaign that led to the 2008 opening of the company's flagship Joffrey Tower on State Street, which houses its administrative offices, school, and rehearsal facilities. Before the Joffrey, Conway's philanthropic résumé included serving as counsel for the Carter Center at Emory University, established by former President Jimmy Carter, and for the charitable endeavors of wine magnate Robert Mondavi. He also served as director of development for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Do you have any background in dance or performance? I am a terrible dancer—which is probably good because I never kid myself that I could get up there and do that. How many times have you seen the Nutcracker in your life? The first time I saw the Nutcracker was at the Arie Crown, which 118 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM was the Tribune production. [Chicago Tribune Charities presented a version choreographed by the late Ruth Page and performed by her Chicago Opera Ballet at the Arie Crown in McCormick Place nearly every year between 1965 and 1997.] I don't know how young I was, but young. I'm sure I've seen at least 200 performances. Do you have a favorite moment or memory from a production? Joffrey is my favorite because I know so much about the history and what happened behind the creation of the production, so I project a lot of emotion. I think the party scene is my favorite because that was truly Mr. Joffrey's hand completely. What's the strangest take on the Nutcracker that you've ever seen? When I travel, I take my dogs to this boarding place that is basically an old hangar. They did a dog Nutcracker. I totally watched it. It was hilarious. It was totally messed up—like 2-year-olds running around. The more the merrier. The more it is a part of contemporary culture and vocabulary, the better.

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