2025 Nutcracker Cast
We are excited to announce that our Nutcracker cast for 2025 involves more than 140 young dancers between the ages of 6-18 from our local community. We are thrilled that these young people will have the opportunity to experience being a part of the Nutcracker magic this year!
The Prologue
Clara skipped across the cobblestones of the village square, her velvet cape trailing behind in the cool winter breeze. The sleepy little town of Pascagoula stirred with unusual bustle, its moss-draped oaks, aglow from the light of the lanterns below, winked in the soft gulf breeze. Shopkeepers leaned out of doorways waving hello, while children darted past with armfuls of presents and pine boughs. The whole town seemed to hum with expectation, for tonight was the Krebs’ grand Christmas party—the kind of celebration that stitched Pascagoula together year after year.
Clara’s feet danced in a cheerful rhythm and she hugged a worn little book to her chest. As she skipped along the winding lane, the gilt letters of The Nutcracker caught the last blush of sunset. The oaks whispered overhead, their branches swaying like watchful sentinels, and the salty air from the gulf carried the faint scent of cedar garlands already hung for Christmas.
The Christmas fairy drifted softly above the Krebs’ home, her wings shimmering with a warmth brighter than the lanterns below. She lingered in the hush between the chiming bells and the laughter, watching over Clara with kind, knowing eyes.
With patience and grace, the fairy waited, knowing that when the moment came… the moment the music would swell and Clara’s gaze would fall upon the Nutcracker..her spell would open not just a story, but a whole world.
Clara’s every step seemed lighter than the last, as though the story inside her book was spilling into the world around her, blurring the line between page and pavement. She didn’t know it yet, but by the time she reached her doorstep, the first threads of magic were already trailing her home.
Soon, the rooms of the Krebs’ home would be filled with music and laughter, and her godfather’s arrival—always tinged with a whisper of secrets—would mark the beginning of the night’s enchantment. Clara slipped through her front door, the book pressed warmly to her chest, and at once the Christmas fairy’s spell twinkled to life…
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A Coastal Mississippi Nutcracker
Music by: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Prologue
Godfather Fernando Gautier……………………………………......……Randy Kirksey
Clara……………………………………………………..….............…….Sadie Hilsabeck
Christmas Fairy……………………………………………………….…….June Perkins
Villagers
Little Girls……………Sessions Pugh, Annagrace Lawrence, Mary Rhodes Hamrick, Blaire Ryann Dykes
Girls…………………………………Everly Donald, Hazel Harris, Eliza Gordon, Amelia Maples, Mila McClendon, Lily Madison, Aubrey Maxwell, Isabel Mitchell
Teenagers………………Jillian Cowart, Emma Grace Freridge, Lennon McWhorter, Sadie Randall, Leilani Rodriguez, Amelia Kate Smith, Jessica Thomas, Abbie Vann
The Cart Lady……………………………………………………...Emery Paige Baber
Scene I – The Party
Frau Krebs……………………………………………………….….…...…Taylor Sublett
Herr Krebs…………………………………………………………………Patrick Russell-Shira
Nanny………………………..…………………………………...………Ashlee Richards
Fritz………………………………………………………………………Berkley Naquin
Marie Krebs……………………………………………………………..……Wesley Eure
Parents……………………………...….Ross Baker, Andrew Battley, Deanna Battley, Joshua Borden, Katherine Bosio Unglesby, Sarah Busby, Louis Davis, Casey Hanna, Jenny Reid, Matthew Reid
Aunt Ginger………………………………………………………..……..Amy Carlson
Children
Girls: Vivian Avery, Ann Banahan, Fallon Jordan, Josephine Foots, Paisley Farr, Natalee Smoak, Allie Seals, Emery Waters
Little Party Girls: Alice Kate Burrow & Pearl Klasky
Boys: Kate Martin Battley & Whitlie Hults
Babies……Mattie Elizabeth Feeney (Friday Morning), Arthur Brandon Fallo & Baylor Battley Jackson (Friday night), Emerson Ray Mount (Saturday Morning), Lily Jean Thomas (Saturday night)
Uninvited Guest………………………….…………..………………….Mirralee Klasky
Special Party Guests…. Dr. Caterria Payton (PGSD Superintendent- Friday Morning), Ann Fallo (Friday night)
Bird………………………….…………………….………………………..Railey Inbau
Gumdrop Marionette Dolls……………….…….……… Lilly Larsen & Camille Purdy
Harlequin Pas de Deux………………..……….…....Mollie McNeel & Ryan Raines
Scene II – The Battle
Mice….....……………Price Berry (Clara), Laine Lachaussee (Nanny), Emery Kate Rone(Fritz), Ashlee Richards, Ansley Sisk, Sadie Randall, Emma Grace Freridge, Abbie Vann, Mary Kate Arrington, Lila Larsen, Rylie Burns
Baby Mice……Ada Grace Busby, Hart Banahan, Abigail Clifton, Millie Parr, Sophia Gordon, Saxton Taylor
Rat Queen…………………...…………………………………………Mirralee Klasky
Queen’s Guard………Isy Lockard, Hallie Harris, Emily Pugh, Mary Ryan Schnoor, Nydea Brumfield, McKinnley Gautier
Nutcracker…………………………...……………………….……….…Ryan Raines
Soldiers………………………Addison Baber, Emery Baber,Fiona Cunningham, Madellyn Green, Anne Frances Inbau, Railey Inbau, Ava Landsiedel, Lilly Larsen, Mollie McNeel, June Perkins, Camille Purdy, Kaitlee Young
Scene III - Land of the Snowflakes
Snow Queen…………………………….………………….………..……..…Ansley Sisk
Snow Prince……………………………………………………………..Brian Martinez
Snowflakes……..Addison Baber, Price Berry, Fiona Cunningham, Madellyn Green, Railey Inbau, Mirralee Klasky, Ava Landsiedel, Lilly Larsen, Mollie McNeel, June Perkins, Camille Purdy, Emery Kate Rone, Ashlee Richards
~Fifteen Minute Intermission ~
Act II
The Journey of a Dream
Scene I -The Enchanted Passage
Seraph…………………………………………………………………..Mollie McNeel
Angels…Mary Kate Arrington, Rylie Burns, Jillian Cowart, Laine Lachaussee, Lila Larsen, Ella Lawrence, Jessica Thomas, Addie Pace
Cherubs………………Maryn Diaz, Avery Ellis, Presley Everett, Alice Jane Frederic, Jersey Glaude, Meredith Heidelberg, Cambreigh Lynd, Lilly Jane McKenzie, Libby Nan Perkins, Mary Gentry Rushing, Delaney Schoenberger, Lily Vance, October Wheat
Scene II-The Kingdom of Sweets
The Sugarplum’s Grand Welcome
The Sugar Plum Fairy………………………….………………………Ashlee Richards
Bakers………………..... Jennye Mae Banks, Callen Carzoli, Charli Tayt Dinsmore, Abigail Jones, Marie Jones, Imani Taite-Thomas, Adler Whittington, Kennedy Widdows
Candies…………….. Abbie Adcock, Ella Affolter, Elizabeth Fondren, Caroline Hults, Madalynn Olivares, Natalie Scarberry
Sweets from Afar…………..Elizabeth Blackmon, Paisley McKenzie, Annie Kate Duvall, Camilla Taylor, Olivia Hollis, McKinley Hollis, Berkley Chu, Tinsley Clifton, Tiana Hillhouse, Scarlett Watts, Abigail Binion, Danielle Jones, Caroline Broun,
Berkley Naquin, Presleigh Hester, Halle Poole
Gumdrops…...Nydea Brumfield, Hallie Harris, McKinnley Gautier, Isy Lockard
Gifts from Around the World
Chocolate from Spain………………………………….…….. Emery Kate Rone (soloist)
Addison Baber, Price Berry, Mirralee Klasky, June Perkins
Coffee from Arabia…………………………………..…………..………Ava Landsiedel
Tea from China
The Pearl…………………….……………………………….Fiona Cunningham
Umbrellas……….Addison Baber, June Perkins, Mirralee Klasky, Ansley Sisk
Dragon…………..……McKinnley Gautier, Emily Pugh, Mary Ryan Schnoor
Fans Soloist………………………………………………………..……..Price Berry
Ribbons……Madellyn Green, Anne Frances Inbau, Lilly Larsen, Mollie McNeel
Russian Trepak………………...Emery Paige Baber, Railey Inbau, Ava Landsiedel
Marzipan Shepherdess………………………………………Madellyn Green -Soloist
Lilly Larsen, Camille Purdy, Emory Kate Rone, Ansley Sisk,
Ashlee Richards, Kaitlee Young
Sheep……………………………………………… Abigail Banahan, Adeline Busby, Ellastyn Donald,
Kennedy Langfitt, Allison Rosado, Mary Gentry Rushing
The Royal Patisserie
Madame Sucre (The Cart Lady)……………………………………Emery Paige Baber
Jesters………………..…..Mary Augustine Hegarty, Maggie Hilsabeck, Elliot Odom, Ann Marie Purdy, Mary Margaret Taylor, Clare Ann White
Peppermints……..Tatum Larsen, Bryson Hill, Kalia Peyton, Caroline Robinson
Macarons…….Jillian Cowart, Bowen Mayfield, Taylor Mayfield, Lennon McWhorter
Chocolate Orange Tartes…………………….…Lilly Doebler, Quinn Doebler, Meredith Hollis, Dalani Shelton
Petite Fours………………………………………..Natalie Brown & Victoria Fondren
Mother Ginger……………………………………….……….…..…Emery Kate Rone
Bon Bons…… Abigail Broun, Emily Danos, Eliza Gordon, Matti Jane Green, Abigail Hamilton, Lily Madison, Mila McClendon, Caroline Nunn, Adleigh Pitts, Eliza Wills
Waltz of the Flowers
Dew Drop Fairy…………………………………………….………..…Addison Baber
Dew Drops…………………………Price Berry, Madellyn Green, Mirralee Klasky, Fiona Cunningham, Camille Purdy, Ansley Sisk, June Perkins, Kaitlee Young
Flower Corps……...., Emery Paige Baber, Nydea Brumfield, Hallie Harris, Isy Lockard, McKinnley Gautier, Anne Frances Inbau, Railey Inbau, Kaitlee Young, Emery Kate Rone, Mollie McNeel, Lilly Larsen, Ava Landsiedel, Emily Pugh, Mary Ryan Schnoor
The Royal Pas de Deux
The Sugar Plum Fairy…………………………………….……….…Ashlee Richards
Cavalier……………………………………………………………………Brian Martinez
~ A Farewell to the Kingdom of Sweets ~
As we end our story, Clara awakens beneath the Christmas tree, her Nutcracker once again just a toy. Was her journey only a dream, or did the magic really happen? Perhaps, on this enchanted Christmas night, dreams and reality became one in the same.
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Credits
Artistic Director………………………………………………Dylan Kirksey Demouey
Rehearsal Mistresses…...………………….…Jennifer Madison & Mary Emma Peavy
Costume Designer………………………………………………….Sarah Peavy Roberts
Costume Assisstants……………………….………Mary Emma Peavy &Allison Peavy
Stage Manager.…………………………..……….………………………Craig Mayrose
Lighting Design…………………...……..…….….……….………………Terry Partain
Audio………………………………………………………………………….Mike Evans
Programs………………………………......…….……………….……....Action Printing
Visual Production……...…………………………………..……C.A. Video Productions
Hair Stylists…….Debbie Frederic, Nicci Brady, Wendy Schnoor and Tina Stallworth
Photography…………………………………………………………………..Kerry Bass
Nutcracker Design 2025…………………..………………………….……Olivia Randle
Flowers …………………………………………………………………….Pugh’s Florist
Tux Rentals…………………………….…………………………………..Fish Boutique
Performing Arts Center Coordinator…………...…………………Anna Harris, PGSD
PGSD Sound Engineer & Lighting Designer……………...…………..Laurel Lemaitre
Vintage Costumes made by JoAnn Christopher
We would like to give a special thank you to the staff of the Studio of Dance for their assistance backstage: Ann Fallo, Mary Emma Peavy, Elizabeth Blackburn, Erica Peyton, Micah Gatchell, Jenna Baber, Haley Ware, Mikah Shoemate, Bailey Feeney, Mary Kirksey, Faith Mims, and Ryan Raines
