A holiday classic returns to the stage

It begins with a family party, but becomes a Christmas Eve dream filled with toy soldiers in red, sequined uniforms, a sword-fighting Mouse King, dancing snowflakes and a pirouetting Sugar Plum Fairy in the Land of Sweets.

Those are some of the “magical things” that happen in “The Nutcracker” being performed by the Burbank-based Red Chair Children’s Production Co. at the Alex Theatre in Glendale this weekend. It’s the ninth season the company has performed the holiday classic, which features an iconic score by Peter Tchaikovsky.

“It’s the best time of the year,” said John Burroughs High School junior Faye Bosco, 16, who plays the Sugar Plum Fairy. “When it’s ‘Nutcracker’ [season], you know it’s Christmas.”

PHOTOS: “The Nutcracker” at the Alex

The company performed its first run-through of the production Friday morning for hundreds of school children from eight local schools. Jennifer Thompson-Bosco, the company’s creative director, said it’s “the perfect children’s introduction to ballet” because audiences of all ages can relate to the holiday themes and the fantastical dream sequences.

But while the show is about magical happenings, it’s the result of a lot of real work, the organizers said. With a cast of 127 performers — mostly children — it takes as many behind-the-scenes volunteers to put it on, Thompson-Bosco said. “[And] a lot of hours.”

All that work has its “magical parts,” too, she said, such as when the few adults in the cast get to dance with their own children in fancy dress during the party scene.

“It’s my favorite part,” Thompson-Bosco said. “Those moments, they’re very special.”

Sylvia Kelman, the dance company’s business director, shared another story about what makes this show special. A couple who had been in the audience on their first date several years ago now has a 6-year-old daughter in the production.

“They told us last year at their first audition, ‘We’ve been waiting for this moment for years,’” Kelman said.

For other cast members, seeing the Red Chair’s production of “The Nutcracker” is what attracted them to take up ballet themselves.

John Muir Middle School student Kourosh Dolatshahi, 13, is the Nutcracker Prince in this year’s performance, but started out four years ago as one of the children in the party scene. He said he got involved in the production after watching his sister’s performance in the ballet.

The Red Chair company will perform “The Nutcracker” at 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets can be purchased at the Alex Theatre box office, 216 N. Brand Blvd. in Glendale, by calling (818) 243-2539 or online at www.alextheatre.org.