Pep & Pizzazz meets The Nutcracker:
The Holiday Magic of Family, Dance, and Theater!
By Shane Morgan
“ Allow me to explain about the theater business … The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster … Strangely enough, it all turns out well! How? I don’ t know. It’ s a mystery!”-Philip Henslowe( Geoffrey Rush), from Shakespeare In Love, 1998
Anyone who has ever been a part of a theatrical or dance production knows just how much effort and love goes into it.
Writing, casting, directing, choreography, learning lines, securing a space, funding, lighting designs, costuming, set design and construction, music and technical, getting the word out, making sure everyone is in the exact right place at the exact right time. Essentially, it’ s a lot of things going into one big thing.
And it’ s all done on a tight schedule because you never keep the audience waiting, and you don’ t delay the curtain.
But one of the secrets of putting all the pieces together is team, and there is no team like family. And as many a
theater buff knows, your show family has got your back.
Britani Shoemaker is the owner of local dance and cheer studio Pep & Pizzazz and the producer of its annual presentation of the holiday classic ballet, The Nutcracker. In its 11th year now and a holiday tradition for hundreds of performers and thousands of audience members over the years, this holiday season ' s edition will take place at Somerset High School’ s large and elegant W. B. Jones Auditorium, running from December 5 through December 8.
The show utilizes a large cast of Pep & Pizzazz students( around 140 this year), helping introduce young people— and audiences— to the iconic ballet featuring the music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and originally
choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, based on 19th century stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann and later Alexandre Dumas featuring a fantasy setting and of course, the soldier-like figure of the Nutrcracker himself.
Shoemaker would be the first to say that putting together a show with as many moving parts as The Nutcracker is a gargantuan effort requiring her whole theater and dance family.
“ Everything we do is collaborative,” she said.
Managing a large team of designers, makers and performers can be quite involved, to say the least, but Shoemaker, as is the way of show people, not only takes it in stride, but relishes in the constructive chaos.
“ I think that’ s kind of the fun of theater and productions," she said. " Every year is a new year, and even if you’ re doing the same show, it’ s hard to describe that excitement and buildup and everybody working together to create this thing – this
December 2025 SEKY- Southeast Kentucky Life • 7