The 40th annual performance of “The Nutcracker” in Canton, Mich., was weeks away, and June Smith was anxiously awaiting one of her last Sunday rehearsals with dozens of her student dancers.

But before Ms. Smith, the artistic director of the Plymouth-Canton Ballet Company, even walked into the rehearsal space on Nov. 17, she noticed that something was off: the trailer holding many of the ballet’s props was missing.

The police said that a white pickup truck hauled away the 24-foot trailer earlier that day, about 3:30 a.m., hours before Ms. Smith arrived. Key set pieces from the ballet worth thousands of dollars, including the expandable Christmas tree, the grandfather clocks and the throne, as well as a few props the company had used since its very first production, had vanished in moments.

Now the ballet company is racing against time to replace what was stolen as it prepares for its two shows on Dec. 7 and 8. But what started as a devastating setback has instead turned a spotlight on a community’s Christmas spirit as it has banded together to support the production.

And for Ms. Smith, 61, the show must go on.

“This is going to happen,” Ms. Smith said in an interview with The New York Times. “It will look different, but it will happen.”