Magical Kingdom of Sweets

By Susan Branham Santa Paula TimesBlanchard Community Library became the magical Kingdom of Sweets one cold December night not long ago. The Library was visited by a Nutcracker, the Rat King, the Sugar Plum Fairy and a young girl named Clara. Master Puppeteer Jim Gamble brought his dancing marionette magic to Santa Paula, where community children delighted in the classic ballet “The Nutcracker.”“I want to tell you a story,” Jim Gambel told the audience of over 300. “Mr. Tchaikovsky wrote this music for a ballet. It is more than music; it is a story with dancing.” Gamble’s production wove together the story of the Kingdom of Sweets with rod puppets, marionettes and hand puppets. Clara’s godfather Drosselmeyer the toymaker introduced the story of Clara’s dream about a toy soldier nutcracker.As Drosselmeyer would say, “Christmas is a time for dreams to come true. If Clara’s did, maybe yours can, too.”Amy Dragoo brought her three daughters, Josephine and Claire, age 4 and Lucie, age five to see the performance at the library. “I thought it was magic to see their faces,” she said. “They were locked in on so much action. It is a neat gift to give the kids, it was amazing. We got here early to get good seats. It was so well put together, and beautiful to watch.”Abagail Butler was one of the children appreciating the performance. “My favorite part was when the nutcracker and Rat King were fighting,” Abagail said. “It was funny and I was laughing.” Dylan Patterson also enjoyed the story. “It was cool,” he said. “My favorite part was the ice skater.”