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WALTZ OF THE APPLIANCES
Other Kitchen Gadgets That Auditioned for the Role of ‘The Nutcracker’
Would generations of parents have taken their kids to see ‘The Salad Spinner’?
Did you know the Nutcracker, one of the most iconic and enduring characters in all the arts almost never came to be? When producers approached composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to adapt the thin literary property they had optioned into a ballet, he declined, explaining he suffered from severe nut allergies as a child, and subsequently a crippling fear of nutcrackers.
Desperate to attach a bankable name to their project, the producers encouraged Tchaikovsky and his choreographer, Marius Petipa, to recast Herr Drosselmeyer’s magical gift to Clara, his goddaughter and future homemaker, with any suitable substitute he might find in the pantry.
The production team held open auditions with historic results:
1. Pepper Grinder
A serious contender. Tall, masculine, fit, and majestic. Unfortunately, he spoiled every interlude by demanding ‘Say when’.
2. Potato Ricer
Handles and parts clattered and swung wild with every ungainly move, inevitably pinching and gouging…
