By Mark Ambrogi
For Carmel-based Ballet Theatre of Indiana’s co-artistic director Stirling Matheson, the company’s second production of “The Nutcracker” should go smoother than before.
“Last year we did the whole show with eight women and two men, and it was just insane,” said Matheson, whose wife Sabrina is the other co-artistic director. “This year we’ve grown a bit. We have 13 ladies and the same two men, so the casting and logistics of it got a lot easier, and we have all the sets and costumes that we came up with last year. We had a chance to refine and improve things rather than getting it all done as fast as we could and then (exhaling).”
There will be four performances at the Basile Theatre at the Historic Athenaeum Dec. 16 through 18. A show was added this season because of strong attendance last year.
“It’s going to be a more refined production this time around. Not that it wasn’t a great show last year, we got great feedback from the audience, but we’re fixing those kinks,” said Matheson, who founded BTI with his wife three years ago. “When you create something, you know every aspect of it, and there are always things you want to tweak. It’s fun to have the time to tweak this time around.”
Matheson said 60 percent of the choreography is staying in the game with just a few tweaks.
Audrey Robson, the company’s public relations and marketing director, will reprise her role as Sugar Plum Fairy. Catherine Jue will share the role.
Although his wife has retired from dancing, Matheson will appear as Herr Drosselmeyer and the Nutcracker.
The cast for Dec. 16 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 17 2 p.m. shows are Sugar Plum: Catherine Jue; Snow Queen: Emma Beigel and Dew Drop: Abigail Crowell. The cast for Dec. 17 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 18 3 p.m. shows are: Sugar Plum: Audrey Robson; Snow Queen: Christine Fortin and Dew Drop: Annie Mushrush.
For more, visit btindiana.org/events/.
