Family traditions during the holiday season can include everything from baking cookies to exchanging gifts, enjoying neighborhood light displays to watching holiday movies. Encore Director Maggie Osgood Nicholls especially enjoys the traditional Nutcracker experience, but she always wanted to make it resonate more with Jewish families.
After years of brainstorming and creating, Osgood Nicholls and the Encore team finally brought that dream to life. The Jewish Nutcracker – a celebration of the story of the Nutcracker adapted with a Jewish twist – took to the stage at The White Theatre at The J on Dec. 12. The performance featured all Encore students, from ages 2.5 to seniors in high school.
According to Osgood Nicholls, the idea started through conversations about the fun of having a family ‘nutcracker’ tradition. She mentioned it to her Encore students, to The J’s Arts + Culture Director Keith Wiedenkeller, and to others. It wasn’t until exposure to COVID left Osgood Nicholls and her two daughters quarantining for two weeks that she was able to put pen to paper.
“I started to really dive into what we could do,” Osgood Nicholls said. “I started with the general story and knew what elements I didn’t like about the Nutcracker and what Jewish values/traditions I wanted to add. I can tell you that as I was writing, I would crack myself up. Bringing a new element to the Nutcracker and making it ours, just had me giggling. Who doesn’t love a hip-hop battle between sour cream and applesauce or a Bubbe in a pantsuit?”
Why was it especially significant to open the Jewish Nutcracker this year? Encore’s first-ever class will be graduating as high school seniors in 2022.
“With this being our first year with seniors graduating, I knew that if we were going to do it and be able to have them be a part of it, it was now or never, so I got to writing,” she said.
Osgood Nicolls scoured the traditional Nutcracker script and found ways to truly make it her own, adding unique touches to create a new and inherently Jewish Nutcracker. Everything from items organized in sets of 18 to appearances from Israel’s national bird (the hoopoe) and national tree (the olive tree) transform this performance into something special for the Jewish community.
The storyline also tied the stories and imagery of Hanukkah throughout.
“After the defeat of the Mouse King (Antiochus & his huge army of mice), audience members met the Shamash (the helper candle) who leads Rebecca and the Nutcracker through the Land of Nosh,” Osgood Nicholls said. “There they are honored by dances performed by the kosher sweets, poppies, gelt, sufganiyot, Mother Latke with sour cream and applesauce, and spinning dreidels.”
It wasn’t just Osgood Nicolls who helped bring this idea to life. Working with other J staff members was crucial in developing a storyline that authentically incorporated Jewish imagery and elements.
“Stacey (Belzer, former director of Family Engagement at The J) and I met to go over different elements that would connect the story to Judaism and to Israel, and I would take feedback to Justin Dudzik (technical director) and Megan Segars (production manager), and we would talk about the different things we could do. Caroline Ivison (Encore coordinator and dance instructor) and I met to talk through the different elements. She really connected the dots between the characters and storyline, and she has been instrumental in bringing it to life.”
Once the different characters were developed, Encore teachers worked to choreograph different sections. In addition to Osgood Nicholls and Ivison, Jennifer Bruggeman, Desire Brown, Paige Riggs, Haley Pickert, Maggie O’Hara, Bree Tiffany, Austin Stang and Emily Ponder all contributed to the choreography.
The main characters, played by Livia Noorollah, Marin Smith, Izzy Romero, Sophia Gupta, Sophie Stang, Gabbie Granoff and EvaMarin Tuttle, were selected through an audition process earlier this year. The Encore students were assigned to different groups and elements for the show, with the youngest students playing kosher sweets, poppies, gelt and sufganiyot.
Along the way, The J community supported Osgood Nicholls as she brought her vision to the stage for the first time.
“Justin and Megan have listened to my ideas and then gone above and beyond to make them come to life or to make them even better,” she said. “When we were stumped on the sleigh that Rebecca (aka Clara) and the Nutcracker travel on, Keith Wiedenkeller designed and created the “sleigh-del” – just wait, it is amazing. I asked a local high school actress & member of The J, Emma Jacobson, to read the narration at the beginning of the show.”
The Encore students also went above and beyond.
“Marin Smith, our Nutcracker, designed and constructed the Nutcracker costume before they go to college for costume design,” she continued. “Livia Noorollah, Encore dancer and our main character, Rebecca, has artwork featured in the first scene. The 50 dreidel skirts (for the last number) have been a labor of love – Megan and Justin designed them, and Encore friends and family cut and constructed them. All of the Encore teachers contributed to choreography and different elements behind the show.
In the build-up to the first-ever performances of The Jewish Nutcracker, Osgood Nicholls reflected on the experience.
“This show has been such a fun collaboration,” she said. “I couldn’t be prouder of everyone and their excitement to make this a lot of fun for us all.
