MODERNIZED 'NUTCRACKER!' CRACKS ITS SHELL WIDE OPEN.

Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Critic

CAN YOU IMAGINE what life would be like if Matthew Bourne's version of ``The Nutcracker'' became the holiday perennial, the annual ``'Cracker'' of choice? ``Get your coats, kids, it's `Nutcracker!' time.'' ``Awesome! I wonder who are they going to get for Marshmallow girls this year, and last year's Knickerbocker Glory was just so slimy.''

Indeed, it's a usually family-friendly but still decidedly cracked ``Nutcracker!'' that's bouncing all over the Royce Hall stage through the New Year. With Bourne - he of the bare-chested male swans of ``Swan Lake'' - at the helm, you can expect nothing less than a stage full of demented wonderment. The kids won't necessarily get it (particularly if Bourne's version is balanced against Balanchine). Nor are they likely to soon forget it.

In ``Nutcracker!'' a winsome little girl named Clara (played opening night by Etta Murfitt) living in a creepy orphanage out of Dickens crossed with Edward Gorey (set and costume designer Anthony Ward deserves huge credit for his contributions) gets a Christmas doll that looks like a dapper Howdy Doody. She promptly dreams it to life (in the form of Alan Vincent), takes part in a revolt and heads off to Sweetieland with a pit stop at a celestial frozen lake. Her nemesis, a spoiled flirty orphan named Sugar (Michela Meazza), comes along too.

Now, when you've got adults playing children and enacting Bourne's rather bold agenda, a certain, shall we say, thematic innocence is sacrificed. While the director/choreographer keeps the thrashing bodies to a minimum, this is unquestionably a kind of sexual escape fantasy for Clara. In doll form, the adult Nutcracker may look and move like a robot, but when he sheds his toy trappings and turns into a shirtless prince, a stunned and grateful Clara drops her gaping mouth on to his chest.

The Sweetieland sequence is a bit risque as well. You gain admission by presenting a ticket and passing a bouncer (Phillips Willingham) stationed at the entrance: a sparkly pair of open lips. And apparently every creature who comes to Sweetieland tastes like sugar. At least I assume they do, since they're always tasting each other.

In Ward's color scheme, the action breaks out - ``Wizard of Oz''-like - from the somber gray of Dr. Dross' orphanage to the bubble gum pink of Sweetieland. Freed of their charcoal orphan wear, the ensemble dons white for the snow sequences and the brashest colors imaginable for the Sweetieland sequence.

As a choreographer, Bourne favors a busy stage with lots of movement, plenty of cheek and playfulness, and not much tightness of focus. Whether it's the orphans performing for benefactors or the Sweetieland wedding atop and around a giant wedding cake, a viewer isn't always sure where to direct his attention. And ``follow Clara'' isn't necessarily a great rule of thumb, since she isn't necessarily easy to find or - until she gets that blue and white polka-dotted dress - always even recognizable.

Still, Matthew Bourne's ``Nutcracker!'' is nothing if not inventive, witty and utterly unique. And for those who have developed a taste for the Bourne sensibility, his ``Play Without Words'' comes to the Southland in the spring.

Evan Henerson, [phone]

evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com

NUTCRACKER! - Three stars

Where: Royce Hall, UCLA, Westwood.

When: 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; 2 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday; 7 p.m. Sunday; through Jan. 2.

Tickets: $35 to $75. Call [phone].

In a nutshell: Balanchine would blanch. He'd also have a blast.

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Clara leaves an orphanage for a more colorful world in Matthew Bourne's ``Nutcracker!'' at UCLA's Royce Hall.