Dancing around the truth

Dianna Cuatto certainly hopes that crime pays.

She'd like all the seats at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts to be filled when the nutcracker is stolen for the second consecutive year. This time, though, there's a slightly different plot in the Ballet Theatre of Maryland's "The Case of the Missing Nutcracker."

Last year, when the artistic director of the troupe initially cooked up this alternative to standard holiday fare, the maid turned out to be the culprit. Ms. Cuatto, of course, won't divulge this year's guilty party before the Dec. 20 show, but those who guess all of the clues and crack...