A look into the costumes of "The Hard Nut"

November 04, 2019

A look into the costumes of "The Hard Nut"

The party scene: Guests gather in the Stahlbaum home. (Frank Wing)

The winter holiday season recalls the spirit of giving, time spent with loved ones, and for the Mark Morris Dance Group, the return of The Hard Nut. This year, Mark Morris’ “refreshingly contemporary” Nutcracker will be presented by Seattle Theatre Group at The Paramount Theatre, marking the first performances of The Hard Nut in Seattle, Washington, Mark Morris’ hometown.

Stacy Martorana warms up while waiting for her entrance in Waltz of the Snowflakes. (Erin Patrice O'Brien)

Stephanie Sleeper has been Costume Coordinator for the Dance Group since 2010, and first worked on The Hard Nut in 2009. She leads a team of twelve dressers through the two-hour show in which 31 dancers perform as many as four roles each, with distinct costumes for each part. Sleeper will travel to Seattle ahead of the dancers to unpack the approximately 100 costumes and help familiarize the local dressers with them. When the dancers arrive, they will meet the dressers and rehearse the show without costumes. During that rehearsal—a "dry run"—the dancers and dressers will discuss how to best manage their costume changes, rather than actually practice them. The company will have one full dress rehearsal before the show opens to the public.

Costumes hang backstage.

Sleeper estimates that over half of the costumes, designed by Martin Pakledinaz, are from the original 1991 production. Others, like those for Waltz of the Flowers (pictured hanging above), have recently been remade.

The Waltz of the Flowers dresses have detachable skirts in three colors, allowing them to be switched out in case of a last-minute casting change. (Julieta Cervantes)

Mark Morris and John Heginbotham as Dr. and Mrs. Stahlbaum. (Erin Patrice O'Brien)

“Overall, each design has remained how it was originally intended,” she says. Completely new costumes are manufactured infrequently, such as when a different dancer steps into a role and doesn’t fit into the costumes of their predecessor. Even so, Sleeper and her team can make the same pieces work on many different-sized people. “I’ve fitted [the Barbie Doll’s] silver boots to dancers from sizes five to nine.”

Stacy Martorana as the Barbie Doll. (Erin Patrice O'Brien)

The costumes are one-of-a-kind, another reason why Sleeper and stitchers hired especially to prepare for The Hard Nut diligently maintain the pieces instead of attempting to replace them. In the months leading up to the run, the stitchers go through all of the costumes meticulously and refurbish them. Items may need a fresh coat of paint, new zippers, new elastic and wire, or in the case of the tutus worn in Act I’s famous finale, Waltz of the Snowflakes, sequins affixed in the exact pattern developed for the first production of The Hard Nut.

The sequins on each tutu are applied by hand to match this precise layout.

Even the fabric of many of the costumes is unique. The plaids of Drosselmeier’s pants and several party guests’ attire were crafted by overlaying ribbon onto the materials. The designs on Fritz’s pajamas were hand-painted. The patterned fabric of Louise’s party dresses was printed specifically to be made into those costumes.