Audition Three: The Nutcracker, Again.

For the seventh year in a row, DB has auditioned for the Nutcracker that our professional ballet puts on.  He has always been "The Fritz" which for this company is the Main Boy Role and he's loved it.  He got to dance it in Washington DC at the Kennedy Center when The Ballet Company travelled there.  They call him "The Workhorse" or "Old Reliable" or something like that because he knows every part in the ballet, save one (The Nephew, which he has not done yet - too short in years past) and he works like a dog.   So, Darling Boy auditions for Nutcracker again this year.

The first year we did this, he was eight years old.  We went to the Ballet Audition not knowing a thing.  He was wearing bike shorts and a white tee shirt.  He looked at the Big Boys who were in "real tights, Mom" and who were jumping and spinning and just looking cool as hell.  He was impressed.   He was cast as the "Spank Boy" that year - the smallest boy in the production who is called Spank Boy (Weird, I know, right?) because at one point he goes through the Grandfather's legs, gets hauled up, and then gets a spank.  The next year, he got the Fritz.  He was shocked.  We all were.  It was a thrill.  He remained the Fritz for six more years.  He was a really good Fritz.  They told me he could really act the part and that he crafted it to make it his own, layering it year after year.   When you watch your kid in something like this, a real production, you truly can't look at anyone else, ever.  I've seen The Nutcracker fifty times but I've never really seen it - I've only had eyes for Darling Boy.

Well Darling Boy is 14 now.  And this year he finally was cast in the only role that would allow someone who is a teensy bit under five feet to do:  He got the Nephew.   This means he gets to wear this totally Liberace Purple Cape and Top Hat.  It's an acting role more than a dancing role.  He is thrilled because "Now I think I beat the record for being in Nutcracker the longest."  And because it's the only kid role in the whole thing that he hasn't done before.

He has been assisting a little bit with the teaching of the Young Fritzes.  They need help and the lovely ballet staff are stretched very thin.  They know they can count on him and he really and truly likes it that they do.

I love the Nutcracker, because that is what made him fall in love with the stage.  I will always love it.  I wonder what it will be like, the day I watch it, and he is too old to be in it - until he is about 18 and then Voila - he can be in it again!  As it is, he has Fourteen Shows to deal with in December.  (Last winter because of the Kennedy Center, it was over 20).  As I type this, I realize that I need to get him his flu shot. Pronto!