A preview of Michael Mao's "The Firecracker":<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Firing Up `The Nutcracker'<P>LAUREL GRAEBER, NY Times<P>When Marie sets off on her whirlwind journey in "The Nutcracker," she doesn't have immigration in mind. But in the choreographer Michael Mao's version, the heroine doesn't go to the Land of Sweets. Her final destination is a different land of hopes and dreams: America.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><a href=http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/07/arts/07FAMI.html?searchpv=past7days target=_blank>More</a>