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CurtainUp The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features,
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A CurtainUp DC Review
A Doll's House, Part 2
Lucas Hnath's A Doll's House, Part 2 takes up were Ibsen's ended. Fifteen years have passed and Nora has come back to the house where she once lived. At first she knocks on the door gently, then a little more forcefully and on her third try, pounds away. She is determined to be let inside. The housekeeper/nanny, Anne Marie answers. What has changed in the intervening years? The housekeeper/nanny (an endearing performance by Nancy Robinette) eyes Nora (beautifully played by Holly Twyford) and notes that she is well-dressed, therefore successful and, most importantly, she has enormous self-confidence. The conversations that ensue cover marriage, divorce and women's rights. Nora, liberated from the confines of her role as a banker's wife and mother to their three children, has become a successful writer. Her first book is autobiographical and those that follow revisit again and again the theme that women have no rights, that they are "owned" by men, that they must do what their husband and community expects of them. "It's really hard," Nora says, "to hear your own voice." Having thrown off the shackles herself, she encourages others to do the same, even though she expects marriages to change in 20 to 30 years. Tell that to women in some Arab countries today! In 2019, it is easy to forget that women in 1879 lacked equal rights. It was presumed that they would go from their father's care to their husband's and assume the role expected of them. Or, if less fortunate as is the case with Anne Marie, a servant forever indebted to her employer. Ibsen was ahead of his time in writing about the inner turmoil suffered by women such as Nora and, indeed Hedda Gabler. Rounding out the quartet are Craig Wallace (Torvald) and Kathryn Tkel (Emmy), his and Nora's outspoken daughter. Wallace puts his admirable bass voice to good use, especially when telling Nora that she does not "deserve a divorce to be easy". Emmy tells says to Nora, "you don't want anyone to get married." Not surprisingly, her loyalty is not to her mother. All four actors are excellen and Director Nicole A. Watson has provided some touching and some evocative moments. The lovely but seemingly haunted by the past set by Paige Hathaway is a muted-beige room with double doors as a centerpiece. You get the feeling that it is a house but not a home. Empty picture frames lean against a wall, chairs are placed (and moved) in no particular order, and there's a trunk, with no hint to what might be stored inside. Lighting designer Harold F. Burgess II frames the all-important door with what looks like neon as lights are dimmed to convey a pause. Helen Huang's costume designs fit the players personae well. All visual elements of this production are a delightful. Although the play runs 90 minutes without an intermission, the script is somewhat repetitious. Its messages, however, stay with you long after the applause has died down. To read Curtainup's review of the New York production that nabbed a Best Play Tony, go here. |
PRODUCTION NOTES . A Doll's House Part 2 by Lucas Hnath Directed by Nicole A. Watson Cast: Nancy Robinette (Anne Marie); Holly Twyford (Nora); Craig Wallace (Torvald); Kathryn Tkel (Emmy). Set designed by Paige Hathaway Costumes designed by Helen Huang Lighting designed by Harold F. Burgess II . Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission. Round House Theatre, RoundHouseTheatre.org, currently performing at the Lansburgh Theatre, June 5-30, 2019. Reviewed by Susan Davidson at September 14 performance. REVIEW FEEDBACK Highlight one of the responses below and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
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