More than 250 people crowded into the Community Center’s gym on December 13 to attend Greenbelt’s version of the Nutcracker. Called The New Deal Nut: A Greenbelt Nutcracker, the dance production was the culmination of the city’s dance classes, some of which started work on the project in August.
“We have students from ages 5 to 15,” said Angella Foster, director of the studio. Inspired by the Nutcracker, Foster wrote the production to include Greenbelt, past and present. The show opens in Greenbelt in the late 1930s with the kids attending a holiday party. As Clara walks home, the Rats of Roosevelt appear and her nutcracker comes to life. A sudden snowstorm transports the cast into Greenbelt’s future.
In the future, Clara meets the Sugar Plum Fairy, Chef Lou’s Chocolatiers, New Deal Coffee Clutchers, Beijing Fortune Cookies, the Pollinators and the Greenbelt Theater Popcorn Maniacs.