Fort Hood official plays Mother Ginger in 'The Nutcracker'

Fort Hood Cmdr. Col. Donald MacWillie played Mother Ginger in the matinee show of "The Nutcracker" Saturday.

It's an Austin tradition to have exceptional community leaders play the jolly role, but in this case, the role means something more.

For Cmdr. Col. MacWillie, it was a way to carry on with life and the holidays despite the recent shooting tragedy at Fort Hood.

On Nov. 5 a member of the military, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, opened fire at Fort Hood, killing 13 people and injuring several more.

"We just never thought it would happen there, so to be able to come down and start to smile again, start to have fun is important to all of us," MacWillie said. "It's been a lot of work to try to get us to relax a little bit and say 'It's OK to come back outside.'"

"The Nutcracker" will be on stage at the Long Center through Dec. 23.

Other guest stars include Austin Chief of Police Art Acevedo and Head Coach of UT Women's Basketball Gail Goestenkors.