To the onstage participants in the scene, it’s the most exciting 60 seconds in “The Nutcracker.”
Deep into the second act, out rolls Mother Ginger, a giant matron dressed in red and white. From underneath her voluminous skirts emerge a dozen or so children in candy-colored costumes, who prance expertly around the stage for about a minute.
Meanwhile, Mother mugs, points and gestures. She is oftentimes accompanied by props associated with the semi-celebrity — sometimes a bona fide celebrity — playing her that night.
That includes — note this, Texas legislators — men. Yes, prominent Texas males performing in drag. Because it’s funny. And fun.
It takes some guts to play Mother Ginger. One’s short reign includes backstage visits from friends and family, as well as those darling, dancing youngsters who play one’s offspring.
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The stage makeup alone is positively alarming. The surviving pictures can go viral, not always for the best reasons.
Ballet Austin has been presenting the Nutcracker since 1962 and since 1997, hundreds of Central Texans have played Mother Ginger. A different celebrity is featured in every performance. Thousands of dance students have taken up the roles of her children. This year’s mob can be seen in “The Nutcracker” at the Long Center for the Performing Arts through Dec. 23.
Among the Mothers this time around are Leslie Pool, Austin City Council member; Dewitt Pert, CEO of Downtown Austin Alliance; and Russell Lowery-Hart, chancellor of Austin Community College District.
Who has played Mother Ginger for Ballet Austin in the past?
Looking back on a Ballet Austin spreadsheet that lists the Mother Gingers going back to 1997, I pulled some names from different inexact categories.
- Politicians: U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Gov. Ann Richards, U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett, as well as at least six Austin mayors: Kirk Watson, Will Wynn, Carol Keeton, Lee Leffingwell and Steve Adler (apparently a job requisite)
- Athletes: Vince Young, Tom Kite, Major Applewhite, Augie Garrido, Lance Armstrong, Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson, Jody Conradt, Gilbert Tuhabonye, Paul Carrozza, Josh Davis
- Musicians: Sara Hickman, Ray Benson, Shawn Colvin, Pat Green, Kathy Valentine, Kinky Friedman, Graham Reynolds, Peter Bay
- Philanthropists: Luci Baines Johnson, Ada Collins Anderson, Michael Dell, Willie Kocurek, Kevin Rollins, Joe Long, Tom Meredith, Sarah Butler, John Paul DeJoria, Etta Moore, Kendra Scott, Nav Sooch, Jo Anne Christian, Forrest Preece
- Educators: Pat Forgione, Larry Faulkner, Jesus Chavez, Denise Trauth, Geronimo Rodriguez, Stephanie Elizalde, Matias Segura, Jay Hartzell, Meria Carstarphen
- Entertainers: Joe Sears, Ray Anderson, Shannon Sedwick, Turk Pipkin, Karen Kuykendall, Robert Rodriguez, Jim Ritts
- Media: Jenna Bush Hager, Fred Cantu, Jim Spencer, Ron Oliveira, Judy Maggio, Evan Smith, Mark Murray, Olga Campos, Dale Dudley, J.B. Hager, Rich Segal, Jake Silverstein, Stephen Moser, Robert Hadlock, Kevin Connor, Scott Simon
- American-Statesman crew: Arnold Garcia, John Kelso, Kitty Crider, Rich Oppel, Mike Laosa, Pam LeBlanc, Tony Plohetski, Jane Greig, Marques Harper, myself
Some stories about past Mother Gingers
Austin native Forrest Preece, who wrangled 90 percent of the Mother Ginger celebrities from 1997 to 2013, but was only on duty backstage for 50 percent of the performances, provided me with some anecdotes taken from his show diary.
- The very first person who did the role was University of Texas basketball coach Jody Conradt in 1997. She came out beaming and was all smiles during her performance. A couple of weeks later, my wife and I were guest coaches for the basketball team in Erwin Center. During the pre-game activities, we had been seated behind the bench. Soon Coach Conradt came in with the team parading single file after her. When she spotted me, she stopped abruptly, gave me “The Look,” and said, “You owe me big time! I’ve never been so self-conscious!”
- Kirk Watson the second performance in the first year. After the great show Jody Conradt put on, I was hoping for someone else to knock it out of the park. Kirk came through with flying colors. What a showman! And the Statesman put his photo on the front page the next day. After we had two terrific performances, I was really feeling better about making the whole thing work.
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- Shannon Sedwick of Esther’s Follies fame was also part of the first year’s lineup and she did her trademark “Patsy Cline” number, pulling a saw, a golf club and lots more out of her costume. The next year, Esther’s magician Ray Anderson made his little dog appear while he was “on the dress.” They were so good to work with and it was nice to honor an Austin institution like Esther’s.
- John Paul DeJoria did it for us in 2006. He was so personable and down-to-earth backstage— asked us all about ourselves, was nice to everyone. And he was a natural at doing the role. The next morning, I got up to get the papers in and found a large box on my front porch. It was filled with Paul Mitchell products and had a gracious thank you note attached. I can see why he has been such a success.
- City Manager Marc Ott was one of the biggest surprises ever. In his public appearances to that point, he had been very understated. Perfectly dressed, button-downed and all business. A real gentleman. When he was rolled out for his act in 2009, whoa! He started boogieing down like he was in a dance competition. Everyone backstage was floored!
- Besides being a terrific actor, comedian and author, Turk Pipkin is an expert juggler. After he accepted my request to do the role, he said that he wanted to juggle ping pong balls while he was up there. Artistic Director Stephen Mills just laughed and said, “No way!” If he had accidentally dropped one of the balls, it would have been a problem to get it off of the stage.
- Carole Keeton did it in 2003 while she was the state comptroller. A lot of people don’t know that in her youth, she was an actor in plays around Austin, so being onstage and backstage was a natural thing for her. After her act was over, she sat down by me and was admiring the deft work the ballet’s stage manager, Bill Sheffield, was doing on the control board. She leaned over and said, “Oh man, he’s good.”
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- In 2004, I finally managed — with Evan Smith’s help —to get Kinky Friedman to play Mother Ginger. The night of his performance, at the end of the first act before he had to get gussied up in his costume, he took a seat in a stage wing and watched Lisa Washburn perform the Snow Queen solo. As the curtain came down, he walked over to me, his eyes watering, and asked me about what he had just seen. I told him that it was the Snow Queen solo and Lisa was the performer. He said, “My gosh, Forrest, that is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen — and to think how hard she must have had to train to get to this point — and one injury could ruin it all. I’m going to write a column about this!” He was writing a column in Texas Monthly at that point. Of course, right after that, he decided to run for governor and our chance for a column went by the wayside. My point is, the guy had a heart of gold.
Ballet Austin’s ‘The Nutcracker’
When: Various times through Dec. 23
Where: Dell Hall at Long Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets: $20-$125
Info:balletaustin.org.
