[NoHo Arts District, CA] – Beverly Hills Playhouse’s THE DOLL’S HOUSE PROJECT – A Doll’s House Part 2 by Lucas Hnath, directed by Allen Barton.
Set 15 years after Nora leaves her family, A Doll’s House Part 2 is a complicated, compelling examination of choice and regret. Nora returns to what was her home, she has become the person she was meant to be. Financially independent, an accomplished writer, her life lived free from complication, responsibilities and accountability. It seems perfect. However, she had to leave behind not only her husband but her two children. Although she knew they would be well provided for and loved, she was their mother and she left. That kind of scar does not leave a child.
When she returns it is not for a reconciliation, far from it. She has just found out that Torvald never completed the divorce and this has left her in a vulnerable legal position. So it is here that we find them all. Nora, Torvald, their daughter Emmy and the long suffering housekeeper Anne-Marie, who gave up her own daughter many years before to take care of Nora as a child when her mother died.
There is of course some anger, understandably. Nora feels as if she owes little explanation, her freedom at any cost seeming to her to be perfectly understandable. But she does have regrets, and not just with Emmy. As boorish as Torvald could be, he did love her, and society in 1879 Norway was hardly progressive. He fulfilled his role as husband and provider unquestioningly. But he has changed almost as much as Nora has.
This play is a fascinating proposal. The original A Doll’s House was revolutionary at the time. It caused quite an uproar, something which Ibsen himself was totally unprepared for. But for a woman to seek a life outside of her marriage and without her children and to not be considered a villain was unheard of. It became an iconic feminist cry for freedom. So to return to these characters years later and see the repercussions of such an act is revelatory.
The performances by these extraordinary actors are phenomenal. They are of course played by different actors than A Doll’s House, and I wasn’t sure how I might feel about that. I saw them both in the same day and would I miss the wonderful performances of the original play I wondered. The answer to that is yes and no. This second play is a continuation of the first, but it is also a stand-alone piece. And the point is really to see how they have changed. Nora’s metamorphosis began at the end of A Doll’s House and when we meet her again 15 years later she has utterly transformed in character. Torvald too has changed. Don’t we all in 15 years, especially men since they mature much more slowly than women? He has come into his own. Having to become a father who wasn’t always absent at work or elsewhere, not concerned with the daily work of parenting. Since Nora left he filled her role in many ways and that was a gift and not something as it turns out he resents in the slightest.
Emmy is engaged and thrilled about it. Nora tests the prospect of Emmy fulfilling some assigned role she has no interest in, but Emmy it seems is as determined to be who she is as Nora was to reject it. Haven’t we all wondered what it would be like to go back? To people, to lovers, to situations and places long in our past and to see just how it all coped without us? It’s a dangerous proposition perhaps, especially if we have any expectations that we matter now more than we did then.
Returning can mean a kind of vanishing once again, but an unwilling one. No one likes to think of themselves as insignificant. Our memories always revolve around ourselves and it can be strange to relive them through the eyes of another. This is what Nora faces and it’s as surprising to her as it is to us.
A Doll’s House Part 2 was a smash hit on Broadway in 2017 and I can see why. It’s a chance for actors to perform some serious self examination on stage. These characters morph through so many emotions it’s incredible to watch. Nora is all strength and resolve at first, but once Emmy meets her, something she was trying desperately to avoid, her walls begin to crumble as she sees herself in this strong beguiling young woman. Trovald is also a jumble of emotions and I have to say watching Peter Zizzo’s Torvald wrestle with every single moment on stage was an absolute delight. Mia Christou’s Nora was a bold and beautiful choice. Almost goddess-like in her stage presence, her facade cracking ever so slightly. Tati Jorio as Emmy was exquisite and formidable and Lisa Robbins almost stole the show as Anne-Marie!
It’s a truly brilliant play packed full of wonderful heartbreaking performances and I absolutely loved it. Spending the day with all these characters was such a treat. I recommend both plays in one day, but if you can’t do that then see them however you are able…but see them. Ibsen is a master and Luca Hnath’s clever and very moving continuation of these wonderful characters’ lives is completely unmissable.
Both plays run through December 8, but remember how quickly time passes and get your tickets now!! If you have family in town for Thanksgiving take them to remind them just how dysfunctional families have always been!
Tickets:
When:
November 1 – December 8
Friday, Saturday & Sunday
Where:
The Beverly Hills Playhouse
254 S Robertson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048
The Cast
Director – Allen Barton
Mia Christou as NORA
Peter Zizzo as TORVALD
Lisa Robins as ANNE-MARIE
Tati Jorio as EMMY
The Team
Mentor Stage Manager – Miles Cooper
Stage Manager – Kenny Pollone
2nd Stage Manager – David Bello
Lighting Design – Derrick McDaniel
Set Design – Mia Christou
Sound Designer – Allen Barton
Assistants to Producer / Director – Elena Musser and Ariana Parsa
Publicity by Sandra Kuker PR (Sandra Kuker-Franco)