Merde! to Toledo Ballet's 'Nutcracker'
A salute to the longest-running annual production in the nation - its 81st in 2021!
As a public service for those of you have not logged 258 consecutive days of learning French on the Duolingo app, as I have, allow me to translate the word I am using above to congratulate Toledo Ballet on its 81st annual production of “Nutcracker,” the longest-running production in the nation: “merde,” translated from French, means “shit,” in English.
Wait, what? That’s correct - although you might send a singer, or an actor onstage with a hearty, “Break a leg!” wishing the same upon a ballet dancer, as he or she enters the fray would be exceedingly inappropriate, because, you know, legs are a pretty important tool in the production of a ballet.
Back in the 19th century, wealthy patrons of the Paris Opera Ballet would arrive at the theater by horse-drawn carriage. And, a packed house would have generated a significant amount of horse-manure out front. So, the greater the presence of horse-manure, the more successful the show, I suppose. Therefore, the grand tradition of hailing ballet companies with Merde! was born.
I had the distinct pleasure of serving on the board of Toledo Ballet for a few years, and got to know the Ballet’s founder, Marie Vogt, who at that time, in her 90’s, remained an active member of the board. I crafted a remembrance of my friend Marie, last year, upon her death, deeper into her 90’s, which was published on a different platform - that column is reprinted below, with the kind permission of the author.
Marie’s Shelf
by Bill Southern
June 26, 2020
My friend, Marie Vogt. died last week, at the age of ninety-nine. She was a remarkable woman, founding the Toledo Ballet in 1939 (let that sink in for a moment), and mounting a production of “The Nutcracker” a couple of years later, which I’m told represents the longest-running consecutive annual production of “The Nutcracker” in the nation.
Having known Marie for fewer than ten years, I defer to others who have known her for a much longer period of time to reflect on her legacy of delivering the arts and arts education to the Toledo community. There is no doubt about the significance of her contributions on those fronts.
Instead, I’d like to recall my personal relationship with Marie, which began seven or eight years ago, when I was asked to join the board of the Toledo Ballet. Marie, at that point in her nineties, was an active board member, never shy about sharing her opinions. She typically eschewed such honorary titles as, “Founder”, or “Emeritus”, although she was quite savvy in recognizing the merits of deploying them when there was promotional or development benefit to be garnered for her beloved Toledo Ballet.
Whenever I saw Marie, she was always solicitous, asking me about my work, and, given that I worked for the local newspaper publisher, never failed to comment on articles appearing in that day’s newspaper, and offered her thoughts. She enjoyed discussing sports; LeBron James was a particular favorite of hers, during his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Marie had long ago recognized the disconnect between the arts and the business communities; people operating primarily in one sphere or the other spoke different languages, and viewed the world differently. Likely her husband, Ted, had helped to expose that chasm. In fact, Marie gifted to me a copy of a book she published in 1973, entitled, “The Businessman’s Ballet Book”, intended to bridge that gap, and enable husbands, boyfriends, and fathers to better understand the world of ballet enjoyed by their loved ones. Thanks to Marie, I’m able to freely discuss and admire the proper execution of an arabesque, or a jete’.
Marie was a more dutiful friend to me than I was to her. She was attentive to the practice of sending handwritten (and, actually hand-drawn) notes frequently – a practice encouraged by my mother when I was a youngster, but which apparently never really took hold. I’ll admit that I struggled a bit reading her handwriting, but I could certainly detect the warmth and kindness in these notes. And, as I suggested, she had personally drawn these note-cards, as well as crafting the illustrations included in her 1973 book – a true renaissance woman, indeed.
I had the good fortune to be in attendance, as she was honored several times in recent years. One such award was the “Governor’s Award for the Arts Ohio”, presented by the Ohio Arts Council; another was as a “Woman of Achievement” from the YWCA. My memory of the Governor’s Award event was of dining with Marie and others during that trip to Columbus, during which she dug-in with a bone-in ribeye and a dirty martini. I got the sense she could adapt to virtually any social situation, and be comfortable, just as she was that evening. Assisting her with getting to and from the stage to be honored was a task I welcomed. She referred to me as one of her “boys”; being forty years her junior, I was proud to wear that title.
Perhaps by the time I got to know Marie, she had become the kinder, gentler Marie. But, I certainly got the sense that she could be a tough taskmaster when it came to her craft. She shared with me a story about casting The Nutcracker in the early days, and indicated that she had cast a young girl in the Clara role, in part due to a generous financial contribution provided to the Ballet by the girl’s father. The following year, the girl had put on some weight, and in Marie’s opinion, was no longer Clara-material. Her principled stance led her to cast a new Clara. I never learned whether or not that action affected the Ballet’s pocketbook.
The evidence of the impact of Marie’s friendship is actually quite tangible for me. In my office in the Pittsburgh area is a bookcase which features a shelf dedicated to my collection of those handwritten, hand-drawn notes, and my copy of “The Businessman’s Ballet Book” – it is simply, “Marie’s Shelf”, and I eagerly share my stories about Marie with visitors to my office. I invite you to stop in some time to view it.
Thanks,
B.S.
Ed. note: This column can be viewed in its original home at: Marie's Shelf
In crafting this column, I didn’t set out to sell tickets to Toledo Ballet’s Nutcracker, but, as luck would have it, this weekend is “Nutcracker Weekend” at the Stranahan Theater, and tickets might still be available for today’s and tomorrow’s performances - 2:00 p.m., and 7:00 p.m., each day. You can climb aboard the “Nutcracker Express” here:
Toledo Ballet Nutcracker Tickets
I’d like to think that, if Marie were here today, she would join me in offering a heartfelt Merde! to the Toledo Ballet team on another successful Nutcracker outing. Merde! to all. . .from me and Marie.
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