A Child's Christmas at the Nutcracker

Outside, the moon was bright behind a scrim of luminous clouds in a cold and mostly clear sky. True, there wasn't snow -- not until a few faux flakes floated down on the Van Duzer stage -- but it was as close as Arcata comes to a fine winter night.

Inside, in the opening night crowd for this year's The Nutcracker, performed by North Coast Dance last Friday at HSU, there were a lot of children -- possibly more than were in the show. Children on both sides of the footlights are a major reason this is a popular community event during the winter holiday season across North America and around the world.

It's a good show for adults, too, even those who don't have a child in it. The NCD production has plenty of evocative sets, handsome costumes and magical lighting to entertain any eye. Artistic Director Danny Furlong fashioned a crisp first act, emphasizing the narrative, with lots of movement and comic asides, to set up the second act of mostly dancing, to the most familiar Tchaikovsky music.

But I kept thinking about a child's experience.

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