The Hard Nut

Modern dance work in two acts with choreography by Mark Morris, music by Tchaikovsky, set by Adrianne Lobel, and costumes by Martin Pakledinaz. Premiered 1 Dec. 1991 by the Mark Morris Dance Group at Théâtre Royale de la Monnaie, Brussels, with C. Marshall, R. Besserer, and W. Wagner. This dark, ironic, and highly comic version of The Nutcracker is inspired by the work of cartoonist Charles Burns. It is set in a pop American household where the Stahlbaums' guests wear bell-bottoms and Afro wigs and party in 1960s' disco style.