Author(s): Rebecca Shelley
Mentor(s): Glenn Webb, Timothy Francis, Ka-Wai Yu
Institution UTech
Purpose: Create a full-length Broadway-style musical. Process: Write the Book by adapting Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Ballet into a musical set in a United States city in 2025. Compose the musical selections, including solo, group, and instrumental/dance numbers. Orchestrate the music for performances. Outcomes: Complete the project and present it as a senior capstone project. Synopsis: When Ratigast and his rebels overrun the Sugar Plum Fairy’s palace, they curse her self-centered brother, Prince Faedwen, into the netherworld (2025 US city). Faedwen arrives in the city at the same time as a busload of war refugees in the Refugee Resettlement Program. Presumed to be one of the refugees, Faedwen is placed with a host family, where he confronts the challenges of the struggling middle-class and anti-refugee sentiment. Stripped of his magic, Faedwen searches for a way back to his own land. His search leads him to Marie, a young professional ballet dancer. They audition together for the Nutcracker Ballet and are cast as Clara and the Nutcracker Prince. After the audition, Ratigast’s assassins shoot Faedwen, and he is forced to fake his death, leave Marie, and begin a new life as a traffic control flagger. Through the loneliness and need for manual labor, Faedwen comes to understand the hunger and desperation that drove Ratigast and his people to rise up against him. Still seeking the magic to return home, Faedwen attends Marie’s opening night performance in the Nutcracker Ballet. After the show, he sneaks backstage, meets Marie there, and they dance the climactic Nutcracker Ballet “Pas de Deux” together. This creates the magic that takes Faedwen and Marie to the Sugar Plum Fairy kingdom. Regaining his magical power, Faedwen confronts Ratigast, but instead of using his power to kill Ratigast, he uses it to create food and clothing for his starving subjects. Ratigast takes advantage of Faedwen’s moment of “weakness” to capture Marie and use her to control Faedwen until Marie claims the deceased Sugar Plum Fairy’s power and helps Faedwen stop Ratigast for good. Assessment: The music took longer to compose than planned, but turned out compelling. The show could pose a challenge for high schools or small community theaters to produce, because the leading man and lady must have strong ballet skills. However, the plan was to create a Broadway-style musical, which implies professional level performers.