For its first three years, “MeshugaNutcracker” was the exclusive property of adoring Bay Area audiences.
No more.
This year the popular Chanukah-themed musical expands its boundaries beyond the Bay Area, with stops in Sacramento and Los Angeles as part of its annual tour. That means a month of hopscotching across the state.
“Leave it to us to write a show that can only have life for a month,” laughs Shannon Guggenheim, one of the show’s creators and stars. “As we establish the brand, we’ll let it ride as long as it can.”
Set in the mythical shtetl of Chelm, “MeshugaNutcracker” borrows liberally from the Tchaikovsky ballet score to retell the Chanukah story, along with a few hip contemporary references thrown in.
Eight actors portray 100 characters, which include dancing dreidels, dancing latkes and singing sufganiot. Then there’s that 25-foot wide, 10-feet tall dreidel.
Guggenheim says the show is geared towards kids and parents equally. “We’re most proud that we created something everyone can enjoy,” she says. “It’s not like propping the kids in front of ‘Barney’ and having the adults suffering through it.”
The premise of the show is that eight performers from Chelm are waiting for their “director” to show up to explain the true meaning of Chanukah. “It’s kind of like ‘Waiting for Guffman,'” says Guggenheim. “The actors have to figure it out on their own.”
This year, as always, one of the “meshuganuttiest” aspects of the show is bringing out a special surprise guest to play that long-awaited director. The role invariably goes to a noted Bay Area Jewish community figure. More often than not, he or she is a total amateur when it comes to acting, but once they get on stage, the muse seems to strike.
“We’ve had everyone from an 87-year-old woman from Hadassah to the Jewish American Idol,” says Guggenheim. “They are potentially entering the land of fools, but they always look great.”
Those surprise guest stars aren’t hard to find. Most performances of “MeshugaNutcracker” are “adopted” by local Jewish agencies: synagogues, day schools, social services agencies and the like. It’s a clever way of selling tickets, spreading the word and making sure the event becomes a Jewish community experience.
Guest stars this year include Sherri Morr from the Jewish National Fund, Karen Cagan of the Berkeley/Richmond Jewish Community Center, Rabbi Mark Bloom of Temple Beth Abraham, Rabbi Rick Winer of Congregation Beth Emek, and Rabbi Evan Goodman of Congregation Beth Israel Judea.
After three years of “MeshugaNutcracker,” Guggenheim says most shows have come off without a hitch. The only mishap she recalls is having to eat pre-cooked latkes on stage, which didn’t come out all that tasty one year. “We needed bubbe to make the latkes,” she says.
Guggenheim put the show together with her husband, Scott Guggenheim. Together they run the National Jewish Theater Festival and Guggenheim Entertainment, which designs and stages themed events and live performance entertainments. In fact, just as their schedules heat up for “MeshugaNutcracker,” the Guggenheims are also busy creating Christmas pageants for shopping malls.
But their work with National Jewish Theater Festival remains closest to their heart, especially their retelling of the Chanukah story.
“It’s become a children’s holiday,” says Guggenheim. “When you look at it historically, it’s bloody. Now, Chanukah is about kids and being with your family.”
That includes her own. She and Scott have a daughter, Lily, who already has expressed interest in being in “MeshugaNutcracker” one day, even though she is only 3 years old.
Lily also has to deal with her parents’ annual disappearing act when they devote so much energy to “MeshugaNutcracker.”
After arriving home from another long day at the office, says Guggenheim, Lily looks at her and says, “Mom, is that you?”
“MeshugaNutcracker” plays in the Bay Area from Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 1-4 at the Thrust Theater, 2025 Addision St., Berkeley. Also Dec. 13-18 at USF’s Presentation Theater, 2350 Turk St., S.F. Tickets: $18-$36. For specific times, (877) 456-4849 or www.njts.org.