A Note from the Executive Director
Thank you to all on both sides of the footlights and to those in the field helping to cultivate strong, disciplined and graceful dancers. The mission of Prairie Nutcracker Foundation, Inc. celebrates Kansas' pioneer past, the joy of simpler times, the value of hard work and the natural warmth and beauty of Kansas...
Whether by dancing, attending, or contributing, you are a vital pART of this conversation and mission. Prairie Nutcracker biennially proves to refresh and leave its participants wanting more...
Thank you to all who are giving our young men and women the chance to learn to dance in heartland America. Your support... is crucial in strengthening characters, families, communities and our artful work here in the heartland.
A very prairie thank you!
Betsie Andrews
Executive Director
Prairie Nutcracker Foundation, Inc.
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Prairie Nutcracker
- 36 page, landscape (12"x9"), laminated hardcover children's book.
- Written by Mary Rintoul based on the popular Nutcracker ballet adaptation Prairie Nutcracker© performed biennially since its 2000 debut at the Fox Theatre in Hutchinson, Kansas.
- Full page watercolor Illustrations by Katie Flindall.
Synopsis: In December 1869, nine-year-old Laura MacGufie and her family arrive in Kansas from Boston, where her father will fulfill his military assignment. Little Laura is fraught with worry about the lonely life she perceives, never imagining what her new homeland will reveal.
Verse 1
There was a young girl of only nine years,
Who came to the prairie in spite of her fears;
Her mother and father were honest and true;
To follow and trust them was all she could do.
Verse 2
They crossed the wide prairie by wagon you see;
I know this quite well 'cause the driver was me!
Through wind and through weather, through Kansas we pressed,
Until we arrived at a place called Fort West.
Verse 3
The family in quite simple quarters did dwell;
Her father gave orders and men served him well.
But orders could not make a little girl see
A reason for loving that lonesome prairie.
Verse 4
A Christmas Eve party was given that night,
And all of Fort West looked cheery and bright;
An evergreen Christmas tree stood in the hall,
'Twas grand though it was only four feet tall.
Verse 5
The soldiers all danced and the ladies did twirl,
A dizzying sight for a shy little girl;
The music was gay but our newcomer said,
"I'd rather have quiet, I'll just go to bed."
Verse 6
She drifted off clutching her old china doll,
Her new prairie doll on the floor it did fall;
She slept and she dreamt of what she feared most;
Of prairie fires, Indians and wild coyotes.
Verse 7
The slumber of travelers can be very light;
They toss and they turn through much of the night.
The Lieutenant's daughter through visions and dreams,
Soon learned that the prairie is not as it seems.
Verse 8
The land it is flat but the sky is round,
'Mid all of the quiet there's life all around;
The water will nourish, the fire will cleanse,
A cycle of life that never ends.
Verse 9
The little girl wakens 'mid light streaming down,
A night full of images spin all around.
Her life is a dream but her dream is alive,
A spirit 'mid friends is bound to survive.
How Prairie Nutcracker came to be…
With a new century, came a new century twist to a traditional holiday favorite. After many years staging the traditional Nutcracker, a band of choreographers working in Kansas felt it was time to launch an American tale celebrating the hardworking roots of America's pioneers and their simple holiday customs.
-Marian Fey, Omaha
Like the old century Nutcracker, the new century Prairie Nutcracker is set in the late 1800s, but instead of Germany, it is set at a fort on the plains of America. A frontier soldier replaces the Nutcracker and a prairie doll, not the sugar plum fairy, welcomes a little girl and her family moving to Kansas from Boston. Her father, a Lieutenant in the cavalry, has just been assigned to Fort West.
A Colorado pine, only 4 feet tall, graces the hospital barracks decked out in the red, white and blue patriotic Christmas decor of the day. The fort officers' children delight in their Christmas eve gift - a shiny red apple - more rare and treasured than the lavish presents found under the towering tree of their European counterparts.
Director of the Kansas Sampler Foundation
Tchaikovsky's score still remains adapted brilliantly by Boston composer Rick Kuethe. Tchaikovsky's mirlitons give way to pioneer women deftly hanging midday wash while nearby enlisted soldiers collect and stack wood every bit as energetically as the traditional Russian booted trepak. Kansas winds, Indian flutes, crickets, farm animals, fiddles and accordions add historical authenticity to the delightful Americana sound of Rick Kuethe's enchanting musical adaptation.
Since its debut in 2000, Prairie Nutcracker has captured the hearts of farmers and businessmen as well as the very young and the young at heart. "Better than the original" is often heard as the music, town dignitaries and dancers blend their talent and joy on the stage of Hutchinson's Historic Fox Theatre.
The story, set and costuming are authentic to 1869 Kansas under the auspices of Fort Hays in Hays, Kansas. In 2003, Prairie Nutcracker toured to Omaha, Nebraska and was mentioned in USA Today. In 2004, it was registered in the Library of Congress, and in 2007, became a nonprofit organization joining other state events promoting the beauty of Kansas and celebrating its proud pioneer heritage.
Our mission is:
- To provide instruction in various dance disciplines incorporated in productions of the Prairie Nutcracker.
- To introduce school children to the world of theatre and dance, and the possibilities for their artistic creativity and expression.
- To provide a forum for instruction to local and regional schools concerning Kansas history, turn of the century European and American customs and culture, classical music, ballet, stage dance and theatre etiquette.
- To provide scholarships for interested students who demonstrate ability in dance technique and discipline.
- To provide an event or events during the holiday season which will attract tourists to the host city and boost the local economy.
- To become a biennial signature event for the State of Kansas.
- To offer free historical and cultural Informances to interested persons, particularly school children in the 3rd, 4th and 5th grades.
- To work with the state and local tourism agencies to promote the the culture and pioneer heritage of the state and region.
Prairie Nutcracker
Once upon a time in Germany on Christmas Eve...
so begins the traditional Nutcracker.
Based on the original Nutcracker tale by ETA Hoffman, Prairie Nutcracker was conceived locally by the staff of ArtisTree in the spring of 2000.
The inspiring music of Tchaikovsky remains, freshly arranged by Boston composer, Rick Kuethe.
A fine Christmas Eve party still opens the story, not in Germany, but in the heartland of Kansas. Magical moments still happen: toys come to life, snowflakes dance, and a fanciful Kingdom welcomes a little girl.
The Nutcracker is now a toy frontier soldier. The Sugar Plum Fairy becomes a prairie doll.
Prairie Nutcracker is a tribute to the prairie spirit—pure, simple, and honest.
Christmas Eve 1869: Lieutenant MacGuffie, his wife, and daughter Laura arrive from Boston to Fort West.
Laura clings to her mother and Boston doll, unsure about leaving the East for the unknown prairie.
The family is greeted by the Commanding Officer’s wife and daughter. Preparations begin for the Officer’s Christmas Eve party.
The hospital barracks are transformed with patriotic decorations. Each child receives a luscious apple as a gift.
Laura is tucked into bed and given a prairie doll once cherished by another girl from the East.
Laura awakes from her dream on the open prairie, ready to face the new day. Was it just a dream—or something more?
