Ballet Comedy in a Nutshell

THE TELEVISION SHOW: “The Hard Nut,” part of the “Dance in America” series, airing at 3:30 p.m., Sunday, on KCET/Channel28.

THE SETUP: Choreographer Mark Morris’ untraditional version of Tchaikovsky’s 19th-Century “Nutcracker” ballet. America in the ‘60s and ‘70s and the visuals of satirical cartoonist Charles Burns provide visual inspiration.

THE COSTUME DESIGNER: Martin Pakledinaz, whose work previously appeared in a PBS staging of “Hamlet,” in “Lucia de Lammermoor” at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and in the movie “Grand Isle” on TNT.

THE LOOK: While the clearly delineated, two-dimensional realm of comic book visuals provides important detailing, it is only a jumping-off point. Images of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s--from the ubiquitous bell-bottoms worn by revelers at the Christmas party to the op-art halter dresses worn by daughter Louise--blast off the screen in amusing succession. No grotesquely funny detail is overlooked; Christmas guests wear peace symbol jewelry, shoulder-wide shirt collars and Afros.

The cross-references in time and Morris-style in-jokes are ongoing, but you have to be quick to pick them out. The unisex snowflakes, for instance, flutter about in midriff satin tops that look suspiciously like sports bras and traditional silver tutus, but they wear declasse black pointe shoes (instead of the traditional nude ones) or none at all.

SCENE-STEALERS: Pop art imagery is used in a comforting though perverted “Real Brady Bunch” sort of way. Here, the Nutcracker is Bob’s Big Boy reincarnated with pompadour hair and shiny checkerboard trousers. Pay attention also to the waltzing snowflakes who wear hard (plastic) headpieces that resemble swirls of Frosty Freeze ice cream.

QUOTED: “I’m 39 and Mark is a couple of years younger and we were always trying to refer back to images when we were growing up. For the king and queen, I thought, right, what’s the most important crown we know? Oh, it’s the one on the butter package. I always thought of Imperial Margarine,” said Pakledinaz.

THE RESEARCH: Pakledinaz studied Burns’ work, especially his book, “Hard-Boiled Defective Stories.” He conducted period research of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s, as well as that of regional dance costumes at the picture collection in the New York Public Library.

THE SOURCES: Everything was made in New York and London costume houses. The hairpieces for the snowflakes were manufactured at Martin Adams Inc., London. The painted and printed fabrics, including op art, was done at Izquierdo Studio, New York.