How to see the Metropolitan Ballet’s Nutcracker from the safety of your home

Taurean Everett, a Wichita native and Broadway talent, is hoping audiences watching a local “Nutcracker” production available on demand next week will notice his take on Mother Ginger.

Mother Ginger tends to be a bit of an understated role in the ballet’s second act. She hides little children, called polichinelles, who pop in and out from underneath her large hoop skirt to dance onstage.

But Everett, whose Broadway credits include “Mamma Mia,” “Miss Saigon” and “The Cher Show,” would like Mother Ginger to get a little limelight too. So imagine a taller-than-7-foot Black drag queen.

The 6-foot Everett will get an extra lift from drywall stilts to make room for the dancers under his character’s skirt. Traditionally, Mother Ginger is performed by a man; in theatrical parlance, dressing as a member of the opposite sex is called “en travesti.”

Living and working in New York City, Everett said he’s gained an appreciation for the art of drag and the ability of actors to transform themselves with makeup and costumes. He dabbles with drag only for the fun of posting videos and photos on social media. Besides working as a personal trainer and model, his true heart is for music theater, he said.

Everett is also playing the character of Herr Drosselmeyer, the magician who gives Clara the nutcracker toy that eventually transforms in her dreams, for the Metropolitan Ballet’s performance of “The Nutcracker.”

Metropolitan Ballet was formed in 2018 under the artistic direction of second-generation ballet instructor Jill Landrith after she retired from a long career from Ballet Wichita, which was originally founded by her mother, June. This is the third year Metropolitan Ballet is performing “The Nutcracker,” and its 2020 performance was to mark its first in Century II.

Because of the current health mandate limit on live events, the company’s performance is being videotaped Dec. 19 on the Century II stage and then made available on-demand Dec. 21-27. Tickets are $25 and available through wichitatix.com; ticket sales end at 11:59 p.m. Dec. 26. The ticket is good for a one-time viewing on Vimeo.

One silver lining of changing to a streaming performance is that this year’s production will be broadcast for free to area nursing homes, assisted living facilities and Wesley Children’s Hospital, said Allie Cornett, Metropolitan Ballet’s board president.

“Residents at these places wouldn’t normally get to see a live performance of ‘The Nutcracker’ — and we’re thrilled that this new, digital streaming outlet will give them the opportunity to experience the production in a safe environment. It’s one of the most exciting things that 2020 has brought us,” Cornett said. Underwriting by Credit Union of America is making the free streaming available to those facilities.

The production features more than 60 performers, ages 6 to 60. Along with Everett, guest artists Eileen Fisher and Brandon Ramey from Ballet Memphis will make appearances as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier, respectively. Ramey is returning for his second consecutive appearance as the prince.

Everett has performed in previous productions of “The Nutcracker,” directed by Landrith, but this is his first time in the roles of Drosselmeyer and Mother Ginger. During his collegiate career, he also performed in Music Theatre Wichita shows.

With what Everett calls “an alarming shortage of Black male dancers,” audiences rarely see Black dancers among “Nutcracker” performers, much less an openly Black gay dancer, he said. But representation is important to Everett, who graduated from Wichita Heights in 2003 and went on to earn a dance degree at Wichita State in 2007 with dreams of performing on Broadway, a goal he achieved in 2014.

“In order to be it, you have to see it,” he said. “I take after my mom and I don’t care what anyone thinks of me. The only person who is going to meet my goals is me.”

His mother is Junetta Everett, a Delta Dental of Kansas executive who recently served as the first person of color to chair the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce board in the chamber’s 102-year history. Junetta’s career has been marked by several firsts, including being the first Black dental hygienist to graduate from WSU.

The WSU alum had been enjoying a successful music theater career since leaving his hometown, playing in several regional and off-Broadway productions before his Broadway debut in “Mamma Mia” as Eddie in 2014.

In the past couple of years, his career was moving quite well, with his performances in the original Broadway production of “The Cher Show” leading to several other opportunities: a guest spot on Andy Cohen’s Bravo TV show “Watch What Happens Live,” model appearances on season 18 of “Project Runway” and in New York’s Fashion Week, lead campaign model for the long-running “Burlesque Bares” multimillion-dollar fundraising show, and an opportunity to walk the 2019 Met Gala red carpet as a litter-bearer for Billy Porter who was in an Egyptian-themed ensemble. “Vogue” magazine called it “the most fabulous entrance in Met Gala history.” Everett is visible as the right front litter-bearer on photos from the event.

“The Nutcracker” performance is marking Everett’s first return to a full production since suffering a severe groin injury during a July 2019 audition for another show in New York. The injury forced him out of finishing the final few weeks of “The Cher Show.” He underwent surgery in August 2019 and earlier this year, he had just gotten a role in the world premiere of “Swept Away” with the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in California when the pandemic shuttered live theatrical performances nationwide.

Metropolitan Ballet’s “The Nutcracker”

What: third annual live performance by Wichita’s Metropolitan Ballet of the holiday classic ballet, featuring more than 60 performers ages 6-60 and guest artists Broadway talent Taurean Everett and Ballet Memphis dancers Eileen Fisher and Brandon Ramey

When: on-demand viewing on Vimeo Dec. 21-27

Tickets: $25 per household for a one-time viewing. Purchase at wichitatix.com; ticket sales end at 11:59 p.m. Dec. 26.

Editor’s note: The names of Brandon Ramey and June Landrith were incorrect in an earlier version of this article.

This story was originally published December 18, 2020 at 5:01 AM.