A truly entertaining production of “The Nutcracker” should leave you questioning whether the performance was just a dream. “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,” a take on the holiday classic staged by the New National Theatre, Tokyo, in the run-up to Christmas, is no exception. Performed for the first time in 2017, Wayne Eagling’s choreography is danced with precision and imagination by a rotating cast in the principal roles.
From the moment the strings sweep in with the familiar refrain of “The Nutcracker Suite,” the audience is carried into a world of life-size dolls and dancing snowflakes. Pyotr Illych Tschaikovsky’s renowned score is played masterfully by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. The curtain opens on a snowy and festive winter scene where dancers trade their slippers for skates and skillfully glide across the stage. A bright-eyed and confident young Clara (Riria Kobayashi) takes us through an inviting party scene where we get our first view of the Nutcracker, who later becomes the Prince, played by the mesmerizingly consistent Yudai Fukuoka.
As day turns to night, Naoji Kawaguchi’s sophisticated sets transport us into Clara’s dream. The show is immediately amplified by Ayako Ono, who takes over the role of Clara during the battle scene between the Prince and his rival, the Mouse King. Introduced with enthusiastic applause, Ono’s command of the stage makes it difficult for the Mouse King and his disciples to scare the audience. Later in the show, Ono transforms into the Sugar Plum Fairy, signifying that Clara has become the queen of her own dream. Apparently resilient to fatigue, Ono masters three different strenuous pas de deux throughout the show.