Review by Don and Peggy Doman, Lavinia Hart, and Dale Westgaard.
A Doll’s House is a three-act play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having been published earlier that month. The play is set in a Norwegian town circa 1879.
The play concerns the fate of a married woman, who at the time in Norway lacked reasonable opportunities for self-fulfillment in a male-dominated world. Despite the fact that Ibsen denied it was his intent to write a feminist play, it was a great sensation at the time, and caused a “storm of outraged controversy” that went beyond the theatre to the world of newspapers and society.
In 2006, the centennial of Ibsen’s death, A Doll’s House held the distinction of being the world’s most performed play that year. UNESCO has inscribed Ibsen’s autographed manuscripts of A Doll’s House on the Memory of the World Register in 2001, in recognition of their historical value. – Wikipedia
Lucas Hnath is a successful American playwright. He picked up the ball that was left by Ibsen’s character Nora Helmer 139 years ago. He wrote Part 2, an “incredibly imaginative” play, which hit Broadway in 2017. Laurie Metcalf won Best Actress in the Play in 2017 for her performance in A Doll’s House, Part 2. The set at TLT closely resembles the Broadway staging . . . a mostly empty room with several chairs and the actors in plain dress of the time.
Marilyn Bennett directed both the original A Doll’s House in the TLT 2018-2019 season and this stunning follow up of Part 2. Very well done!
Annie Katica Green plays Nora, the wife of Torvald. She has performed on stage in L.A., San Diego, Seattle and now back to Tacoma. Green controls the stage as she struts around and sits like a man, which is quite a change from the original play. On stage she is the one we are looking at. Ms. Green listens carefully to the opinions of her housekeeper, her husband and her daughter as though her life depends upon understanding their point of view. Her rare belief in a woman’s right choose her own values and beliefs comes a microscope over the course of the play. The play write and Ms. Green leave us wondering how much has changed between the 19th and 21st centuries.
Dana Galagan plays Anne Marie. She played Mrs. Peacock in “Clue” at TLT. She also appeared in Blithe Spirit and Steel Magnolias.
Sean Neely was cast as Torvald, Nora’s husband. He played Torvald in the 2018 production of “A Doll’s House.” Sean played Michal in TLT’s award winning production of The Pillowman.
Brookelyne Peterson plays Emmy, Nora’s daughter. This is her first appearance at TLT, but she has had numerous experience and awards from Utah to Washington. Her favorite roles were in Macbeth and The Drowsy Chaperone. Emmy was just a child when her mother left. Here abandonment has a deep affect on her personality. She played disdainful towards her mother to good effect.
In this production we see blood, crying, and arguing . . . much like many family homes today.
A Doll’s House, Part 2 runs thru February 11th.
A much enjoyed, thought provoking script by American playwright, Lucas Hnath with actors who performed with absolute excellence. Bravo!