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Trish Madigan openly acknowledged that she would burst into tears of joy and gratitude this weekend seeing her daughter Kate in "The Nutcracker."
But Mom fibbed a bit.
Tears pooled at the first dress rehearsal Sunday afternoon. Trish smiled and dabbed her eyes with a tissue.
"The main thing for us right now with her," said Pat Madigan, Kate’s dad, "is living in the moment."
And what special moments they expect when 8-year-old Kate, who has battled the childhood cancer of neuroblastoma for five years, takes the stage in a specially created role. She will be an angel to the character of Clara, who dreams of a nutcracker springing to life in the classic seasonal story.
"I just feel good that things finally can be almost normal (for her)," said Dancers Studio Inc. Artistic Director Alma Wiley.
She wrote the part for Kate, knowing the youngster probably needed more than playing a soldier again with much younger children. To make Kate’s role of riding with Clara in a sleigh more attractive is this: Kate’s friend and dancer-hero of sorts, Katie Bridgeman, will return from Purdue University to pull the sleigh and briefly duet with Kate in a dance number.
"Kate insisted that they have identical costumes," said Trish.
Kate simply smiles when asked about such elements. Shyness pushes her to tuck her face behind Mom’s arm when meeting new people.
Dancers Studio’s Kristen Bridgeman, Katie’s mother, feels certain emotion will overflow for more than just Trish when Kate helps open the production with elaborate costuming and sets.
"Those of us who know all this child has been through tear up at the thought of this sweet little addition to the show," said Kristen.
All she has been through indeed. Five surgeries. Twenty rounds of chemotherapy and repeated radiation.
Numerous trips to Indianapolis’ Riley Hospital for Children and New York’s Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. More shots and injections than she cares to count. Dozens of scans and biopsies.
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