From the 1977 production
| 2006 Performance Dates |
| Dec 13-16 7pm |
| Dec 17 2pm & 7pm |
| Tickets |
| $8 per seat |
| Sales begin December 6, 2006 (six ticket maximum) |
| Purchase at Parks & Community Services Office, 23 Russell Blvd., Mon-Fri 8am-5pm |
| Website |
![[WWW]](http://wikispot.org/wiki/eggheadbeta/img/sycamore-www.png){kind=small} www.city.davis.ca.us/pcs/nutcracker/ |
| Established |
| 1977 |
The Davis Children's Nutcracker started in 1977. It was the brainstorm of Bob Bowen, then head of Davis Parks and Recreation, as a Christmas/Winter holiday activity for children. It was advertised that everyone who auditioned would have a role in the show. Seventy-five children auditioned and a tradition was born. It was performed at the Veterans Memorial Theatre and continues in that venue to this day.
The show is now up to 250 children participating, and inclusion is by lottery held in early September. The theater is not large enough to hold all the family members who want to come, so now they are even selling tickets to the dress rehearsal. Eventually, there were too many children involved to take a photo of the entire cast on stage.
From the 1985 production
In 1980, tragedy struck The Davis Childrens' Nutcracker. Sabrina Gonsalves and John Riggins, who were part of the staff of that year's production, were kidnapped and ultimately murdered after attending a rehearsal. The murder went unsolved until 2004.
For a history of the Davis Children's Nutcracker, see the web site
Comments:
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2004-12-12 11:11:31 My son and his wife met for the first time in 1977, in the first production of "The Nutcracker." They were both clowns. The theme of their wedding was "clowns" for that reason. - BevSykes
2006-08-04 02:01:49 that is awesome. —JoeRunnels
