Assistant provost plays role of Mother Ginger in local production of "The Nutcracker"
David Yancey, assistant provost of special projects at CCU, has been cast in a local ballet troupe's annual production of "The Nutcracker," performed this year on the Wheelwright Auditorium stage.
"I am thrilled to be playing the part of Mother Ginger this year," Yancey said. "I'm thankful to the Coastal Youth Ballet Theatre for providing the opportunity to participate."
He will be performing at the Dec. 8 show at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at tickets.coastal.edu.
According to a release from the Coastal Youth Ballet Theatre, audiences look forward to seeing the campy and loony Mother Ginger take the stage in Act Two of the ballet in all of her off-the-wall attire, up in an elevated contraption, adorned with a crazy wig and a skirt that looks like it is couple hundred pounds of fabric. The Mother Ginger character provides the comic relief in the ballet!
The celebrities and public figures are nominated by their community members to be featured individually in each of the performances. The other Mother Gingers are:
- State Rep. Alan Clemmons, District 107, performing Dec. 8 at 7 p.m.
- Sgt. Jeff Benton, Horry County Police, and DJ with iHeart Radio, Dec. 9 at 3 p.m.
- Lt. Jon Evans, deputy fire marshal for the City of Myrtle Beach Fire Department, Dec. 15 at 2 p.m.
- Realtor Jamie Broadhurst, president of Century 21 Broadhurst, Dec. 15 at 7 p.m.
- Adam Dellinger, iHeart program director, Dec. 16 at 3 p.m.
From the release:
Past “Mother Gingers” have included Barbara Jo Blain-Bellamy, mayor of Conway; Ed Piotrowski, chief meteorologist for WPDE; Johnny Vaught, Horry County councilmember; and Randal Wallace Myrtle Beach city councilmember, among others.
“The Nutcracker” tells the story of young Clara who is given a magical nutcracker doll on Christmas Eve by her eccentric uncle and godfather, Herr Drosselmeyer. Adventure awaits as she and her transformed Nutcracker Prince battle the frightful Mouse King before embarking on a journey through the Land of the Snow. With the help of the Snow Queen, Herr Drosselmeyer, Clara, and her Prince travel to the Land of the Sweets where they are entertained by the Sugar Plum Fairy, her Cavalier, and her Entourage of Sweets.
CYBT ballerinas Kiely Elizabeth Clark and Alyssa Dionne are the featured Sugar Plum Fairies and New York City guest artists Mikhail Ilyin and Simon Wexler will perform as the Cavaliers. “The Nutcracker” is staged by CYBT professional artistic directors Liza Mata and Karen Mata to the music of composer Peter Tchaikovsky.
