Critic Reviews GISELLE Performance at TPAC's James K. Polk Theater

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Running October 2-4 at TPAC’s Polk Theater, Nashville Ballet breathes new life into the tragic tale of GISELLE.

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It is finally October, and the autumn season is in full swing. What do you do to kick off the month? Visit a pumpkin patch? Shop for Halloween costumes? Go to the ballet? Wait, what? Maybe ballet isn’t the first thing to come to mind when you think of spooky season, but let me introduce you to a little ballet called Giselle . Set in the autumn season, we follow a lovely peasant girl named Giselle as she falls in love with a stranger going by the name “Loys”. Unbeknownst to the innocent girl, “Loys” is actually Count Albrecht, a deceptive nobleman. After she discovers his true identity, the poor girl dies and then returns as a ghost. Those who had summoned her are the Wilis, a sisterhood of ghosts who had died after being betrayed before their wedding day. Those familiar with this story know that Giselle is able to save Albrecht from the Wilis in the original ending. However, that didn’t sit well with Nashville Ballet’s CEO and Artistic Director, Nick Mullikin. Marking the piece as his first full-length ballet since taking the position, Mullikin was given creative freedom to create a new ending for a show that the company hadn’t done since 2009. Running October 2-4 at TPAC’s Polk Theater, Nashville Ballet breathes new life into the tragic tale of Giselle.

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Before I officially begin, I have two things I’d like to address. First, this production is dedicated to the memory and legacy of Martha Rivers Ingram. She was a businesswoman, a philanthropist, a civic leader, the chairman of Ingram Industries, and a proud supporter of the arts and education. Referred to as “the principal architect of Nashville’s cultural infrastructure”, she was the board chair of the Advent Theater, Nashville’s first professional repertory company. I can’t list all of her accomplishments and contributions, but it is worth noting that she was very involved in the development of TPAC in the 1970s and the establishment of the Tennessee Repertory Theatre (now Nashville Repertory Theatre). She had served on the board for several companies, including Nashville Ballet. To say that she made a difference to the arts here in Nashville is an understatement, and we can’t thank her enough for all that she has done.

The other thing I’d like to address is the Nashville Symphony, which is collaborating with Nashville Ballet for Giselle. Nashville Symphony recently released a statement in which they announced that their 2026-2027 season was being suspended due to financial problems. You can read the complete statement on their website for more information, and you can also take the opportunity to make a donation. I normally start a review with the set design or the directing, but I’m actually going to kick things off by reviewing the music. These talented musicians are playing as if the world is ending, and I wouldn’t mind this being the last thing I’d hear. In fact, I’d be in pure bliss. I’m sure that the standing ovation that the orchestra received before the overture even began gave them the love and support they needed to really give the audience a show. Principal Conductor Ming Luke is so smooth in the delivery, even in the more sharp and dramatic moments. In my interview with Nick Mullikin, I was informed that new pieces of music would be added to the score. These were arranged by Stephen Lamb, and it all blends in with Adolphe Adam ’s original score. There’s only so much that you can replace with technology, and live performances are not the same without live music.

I will not fully spoil the new ending of Giselle, but I must give a standing ovation to Nick Mullikin for what he contributed. Having done different productions of this piece over the last quarter of a century, he found it hard to believe that Albrecht was “beyond redemption for what he had done to Giselle, her family, the village, and his own fiancée”. After seeing Albrecht’s true colors reveal themselves by the end of Act I, it was satisfying seeing his fate in Act II. Again, I won’t say exactly what happened to him, but I got to say that it’s a little brutal for a ballet from the romantic era. I thought it was brutal in the original ending of Swan Lake in which Odette throws herself off a cliff, but that feels like relief compared to Albrecht’s new fate. I kind of already spoiled it by quoting Mullikin’s statement, but Albrecht does have a fiancée named Bathilde, whom he also betrays. Mullikin wanted to expand her role and make her more of a character, and I loved how we saw more of a connection between the duke’s daughter and Giselle. Their additional interaction adds another emotional layer, as they each understand that neither is at fault for what the smallest man who ever lived had done to them. It’s so refreshing to see the despicable man get what he deserves and witness the two women reconcile rather than end the tale at each other’s throats. Mullikin, I salute you.

Like the production of Swan Lake I reviewed earlier in the year, the set for Giselle feels as if you’ve opened up a pop-up storybook. Mullikin did share in our interview that some of the set pieces were from the company’s last production of Giselle all the way back in 2009; they just needed some polish. Scenic Designer Oren Parker brought new life to the set. The layers of the set that are evenly divided so that the dancers can exit and enter with ease are so impressively detailed. Act I’s autumn village is so picture-perfect with the shades of orange, brown, and green, complete with a gorgeous scenic backdrop for the performances to leap and twirl in front of. As for Act II’s spooky forest, there is this eerie beauty with the trees on the backdrop and the shades of white and grey. Elevating the set and performances is the lighting by Lighting Designer Benjamin Gantose and Assistant Lighting Designer Mattison Andrews. Their work is already stunning in Act I, but they take it to the next level in Act II when the ghost story really kicks in. I liked the illumination on the Wilis as they glided across the stage, as well as additional lighting that looked like moonlight piercing through tree branches. Really nice attention to detail. Mullikin also shared that some of the costumes from the 2009 production were receiving upgrades, and Stephen Petipas provided some marvelous spectacles. The Willis truly glisten in the moonlight with their sparkly new appliques, making them even more stunning. The villagers’ costumes have fun little details to marvel at, and the huntsmen are given dashing new looks so they can dance around more. Honestly, I was impressed with how illuminating Giselle’s blue dress was in Act I. Even when the focus wasn’t on her when the nobles paid their first visit, that dress of hers was its own spotlight. It literally highlighted the dancer, no matter what she was doing. As for Mullikin’s choreography, the audience couldn’t wait until the end of each dance to cheer. The moment they saw a move that blew their minds, they clapped so hard that their hands broke off. It was sharp, yet graceful, and everything was breathtaking.

Please note that the evening and matinee performances have different cast members sharing the same roles. For this review, I will be highlighting the cast for the evening performances because I attended Opening Night. However, I will credit some of the matinee performers in parentheses after naming each evening performer. Please show love to the matinee cast, especially since some of them play ensemble members in the evening performances.

Although most people would prefer to be the lead in a production, an ensemble is just as important. Giselle has a remarkable ensemble that really seems to bond well with one another onstage, especially when it comes to the villagers. They just feed off each other’s energy, and they really came together to give the audience a show. I loved how warm and cheerful everyone looked as they admired the performances by the Peasant Pas de Quarte. For Opening Night, these roles were filled by Celeste Borman, Joshua Binowitz, Marissa Stark, and Shaiya Donohue (Kennedy Brown, Joe Parker, Sarah Pierce , and Yusuke Otake). When it comes to dance numbers by non-principle characters, they have some of the biggest dance numbers in Act I. They played off of each other pretty well, and the audience loved them.

More than half of the named roles only appear in Act 1, and they make it count. Justin Abel (Nicholas Mihlar) really serves as the Duke of Courland. He’s barely onstage, but he makes sure that his presence is known. Maia Montgomery (Farin Taft) establishes her motherly nature as Giselle’s mother, Berthe, right off the bat. Without a single word and even with the gentlest of movements, you can see how protective she is of her daughter. Huxley Pillars-Capoccia (Will Giannuzzi) brought some surprising layers of emotion to the role of Albrecht’s squire’s Wilfred. When you first see him, he reluctantly goes along with the young count’s plan of parading as a villager. When everything falls apart in Act I’s finale, he goes into protective mode to get the Count out of there. He probably only got about five minutes onstage, but they left a mark. Sarah Pierce (Autumn Tierney) plays the Duke of Courland’s daughter and Albrecht’s fiancée, Bathilde. As noted previously, Mullikin wanted to expand her role, and I’m so glad he did. Pierce gets to add more emotional layers to Bathilde with her final encounter with Giselle. Combined with their earlier interaction, Pierce really establishes Bathilde as a more sympathetic character who isn’t just seen as an obstacle to Giselle.

And finally, before the curtain drops, we shine a spotlight for the four biggest roles in Giselle. Although he isn’t the male lead, the role of gamekeeper Hillarion is still crucial to the story. He exposes Albrecht out of his love for Giselle, only for everything to blow up in his face. Nicolas Mihlar ( Jorge Emilio Peña) steps into the role for the evening performances, and he brings this emotional complexity. You feel bad that he loses the girl he loves, but it’s also hard to do so because he also plays a role in Giselle’s death. It’s not entirely his fault, but you can’t feel too bad for him. Mihlar truly delivered in every aspect, and I’m glad that Mullikin offered some additional dances for his character so he can flesh out Hillarion more. Summer Montenegro (Marissa Stark) is hauntingly stunning as Myrtha, the Queen of the Wilis. She is actually the first character that we see in the show, meaning that Montenegro has the task of setting the mood for the show. She demands attention with her grace, and yet you’re too afraid to approach her. Just watching her slowly raise her arm towards her victims is enough to send chills down my spine. She is gentle, yet fierce. Garrit McCabe (James Lankford) is charismatic and slimy as Albrecht. After seeing his comedic performance as Sherlock Holmes in Penny Saunders’ Sherlock back in May, it is so jarring to see him play such a disgusting character. That is some serious range as a performer, and it was rather delightful to see McCabe lose himself as the two-timer. I mean, the audience was cheering the moment he made his entrance. Again, I refuse to spoil exactly what happens to the character in this new ending, but McCabe did it justice with his final dance number. And last but not least, Jamie Kopit (Colette Tili

_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/nashville/article/Review-GISELLE-at-TPACS-James-K-Polk-Theater-20261003)._