Nutcracker, Nutcracker, Nutcracker

Off to the Nutcracker, our raison d’etre from October to Christmas. The girls are soldiers and mice this year, playing both sides of the epic battle. (The mice lose.) As usual, it is snowing, but at least it isn’t ice, we don’t have far to go, and you’ll pull my four-wheel drive from my cold, dead fingers.

If, unlike me, you haven’t seen the Nutcracker about 400 times (or even if you have), Ovation TV is broadcasting a wide selection of Nutcracker versions, from the classical to the ridiculous and all the way to WTF. Loved discovering the bizarre Candyland interpretation by Matthew Bourne last year, but this year I was quite taken with the “Nutcracker: The Motion Picture” version, with its magnificent mouse puppet and highly creepy Drosslmaier (spell it how you will).