Debut: hijinks and jokers.

Don't be fooled: Playing the Joker is no laughing matter. Ask American Ballet Theatre's Carlos Lopez, and he will tell you that, in fact, it's no easy part. This season, Lopez debuted as the Joker in the crowd-pleasing production of Jeu de Cartes ("Card Game")--a part that demands great stamina and technique as well as theatrical role-playing.

Jeu de Cartes, originally choreographed by Balanchine for the American Ballet, had its world premiere in 1937 to a commissioned score by Stravinksy. Today, the most frequently performed version is John Cranko's, which premiered at the Stuttgart Ballet in 1965. Egon Madsen danced the Joker, both then and four years later, when the company gave Jeu de Cartes its American premiere at New York's Metropolitan Opera House.

Staged by Jane Bourne, a distinguished dance notator, Cranko's Jeu, which ABT premiered this past May in Orange County, represents a poker game in three deals, with dancers playing the parts of individual cards. Cranko's lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek choreography is complemented by Stravinsky's score, which is organized with an eye to the the of the ballet--composers are mixed (Rossini, Tchaikovsky, Ravel, Delibes, Strauss), much like the cards that are "shuffled" onstage. In each hand, the Joker puckishly cavorts among his fellow cards, sometimes improving a hand by knocking another card out, at other times finding himself the odd man out. The Joker's is the most mercurial role; he is at turns elegantly confident, then humorously dejected.

The mixing of the cards, and of music, was the hurdle for Lopez. "Stravinsky is one of the most difficult composers to dance to--with all of the instruments being played--and he included parts of three different operas here." As he makes his appearances, the Joker must interrupt not only the stage situation, but also the music. "I asked for the sheet music," Lopez said, "so that I could memorize the choreography with the counts, and then transpose the ballet through my body."

The Joker, in effect, must know and match the beats, and also upset them. That wasn't as easy as Lopez made it look, especially when bringing jinks, gimmicks, and personality to the stage in addition to all those moves. On top of the pressures of the role itself, Lopez was also debuting on the heels of performances by other male luminaries at ABT, like Julio Bocca and Herman Cornejo. In his own right, though, Lopez carried out each of his leaping entrances with great gusto and good height. His litheness in slipping between the cohesive flush of hearts, say, in the second deal, was especially adept.

Cranko's Joker, according to ABT ballet master Kirk Peterson, who danced the part himself in the early 1970s, is physically exhausting. "Carlos killed himself to build up the required endurance." Lopez practiced by dancing full-out through all the "deals" and finale in rehearsals, just to build up the necessary stamina--which he achieved, in spades.

Lopez's playfulness as the character of the Joker was winning. "Once you master the technicality of it, the character is just so demanding." Demanding, but not without fun. In the third deal, the Joker assumes the role of the Queen of Spades, and prances about in drag. Lopez got a tickle out of parodying ballerinas in tutus. "Normally," he laughed, "you don't get a chance to make fun of the classic ballets like Sleeping Beauty."

A lot of face time, so to speak, went into the making of the Joker. Lopez donned the character's orange-red, Ronald McDonald-like wig and white makeup and sat in front of the mirror practicing expressions, in order to know what he would look like in full character.

"Carlos' humor in the role was unexpected," Peterson said. "We all knew he could do the dance part, but what was so amazing was that he found his own voice in this piece."

In the end, for Lopez, the reward was surprising. "You never know what the audience is going to think," he said. "You push yourself during the rehearsals, and just to get through the ballet is a reward in itself." But, he went on, "it's another thing to have the audience members say how much they enjoyed it--and, after all, that's who we're doing it for."