Michigan ballet company's props stolen weeks before "Nutcracker" performances
(CBS DETROIT) — A Michigan ballet company is asking for the public's help to save Christmas after a trailer with its "Nutcracker" props was stolen over the weekend.
Video captured when a truck drove off with the Plymouth-Canton Ballet Company's prop trailer.
"It just makes me sick to watch the video, and ... so quickly. It was five minutes. They hook up, and they are gone. And I'm going, 'That's my stuff,'" said June Smith, the company's artistic director.
Smith said the trailer was stolen from their Canton rehearsal space around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday. It was filled with backdrops, sets, fog machines, and props vital to their 40th anniversary "Nutcracker" performance, less than three weeks away.
But of course, the show must go on, as 80 students from 20 local dance studios have been preparing for weeks.
"Everyone was really upset about it. Because it's truly the props that pull the whole Nutcracker together, it was really unfortunate that someone would do that cause they don't know how much it really means to us. And how much affects the show," said Francesca Kardos, who plays Clara in "The Nutcracker."
The nonprofit company is now rushing to rebuild what it can and has launched a GoFundMe to raise money to repurchase props.
They are also asking the public to watch for their 24-foot black trailer and the items inside.
"They have probably dumped this stuff someplace. So if somebody sees this enormous grandfather clock or an enormous fireplace… that looks like a prop of some kind, then call Canton police," said Smith.
But holiday magic will be center stage no matter what happens with the props.
"We're going to make it work because it's truly the dancers who perform that really make the show," said Kardos.
