This year's 'Nutcracker' reminds us of imagination, dreams

As the holiday season descends, our world is in flux and chaos. It’s not always that easy to find comfort and peace in traditional fare. 

Most of our familiar Christmas stories like “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “A Christmas Carol” and “The Grinch” are built on the idea and reality of gratitude, stories about recognizing and being thankful for what we have, what we are, and what we can be. 

“The Nutcracker” is not like this. It is a celebration of the magic and power of dreams, pure and simple. 

Our time spent dreaming, imagining and believing in happiness is as valuable as happiness itself, it’s the path we walk to get there, and, this year’s offering of “The Nutcracker” ballet, cleverly renamed “Clara  vs. The Mouse King,” is an oasis along that rocky path.

This year’s production was a delightfully and practically pared-down version, featuring and drawing on the talents of a largely new group of performers from last year. 

With more than 50 in the cast and a crew of 30, this production is concrete evidence that belief in the magic of beauty and imagination is not dead here in Libby. 

Kudos to Director/Choreographer Lori Stevens, the Wilkinson family and all the other performers who embodied this magic for a second time. 

But the sweetness for me this time around was the freshness and newness of the largely novice cast and crew, who treated us with some lovely dancing, gorgeous props and exquisite costumes. 

And, as always, the little ones were super cute, engaged and delightful. 

Thank you all for a sweet evening, and for reminding us not to forget the power of our imaginations and the force of our dreams.