Norway, circa 1894. Nora has returned home, 15 years later after leaving behind her husband and children to start a new life as a free woman.
In A Doll’s House, Part 2, playwright Lucas Hnath continues the story of Nora Helmer (Jennifer Shelton) and her relationships with husband Torvald Helmer (Scott Roberts), nanny Anne Marie (Eileen T’Kaye), and daughter Emmy (Nicolette Ellis).
In Henrik Ibsen’s original ending of his play A Doll’s House back in 1879, Nora slammed the door, leaving behind her house, husband, and kids to embark in a self-discovery journey as a free woman, with no money and nowhere to go. As expected, Ibsen’s play caused a great deal of controversy at the time, as a woman’s role was limited to being a good wife and a nurturing mother. It has been said that Nora’s slamming of the door was heard all around the world, triggering a feminist movement never seen before. Lucas Hnath’s play adds more substance to the story by introducing new elements such as Tovard’s decision not to file a divorce after Nora’s departure, nanny Anne Marie’s point of view, and daughter Emmy’s life as a grown up and soon-to-be wife.
A Doll’s House, Part 2 tells us that Nora became a successful author, writing about women’s rights. She was able to buy a house with her own money and explore relationships with various men. All of her achievements are now being challenged by a judge that sees her feminist standpoint as unacceptable and wants her to retract from all of her writings. Since Nora uses a pseudonym to write, the judge threatens with exposing her real identity so people find out that she is indeed a still married woman making contracts for her writings without her husband’s consent, a crime punishable with jail time in those days. This is how Nora finds out that Torvald never filed for divorce, as only the husband could grant a divorce back then. Nora now has to return home to convince Torvald to dissolve their marriage and avoid prosecution.
Why did Torvald never file for divorce? What is nanny Anne Marie’s opinion on having to raise the three kids without Nora around? What does Emmy have to say about Nora’s absence? Did Nora make the right decision leaving her family behind to pursue her freedom? The play does not answer the latter explicitly. Rather, it presents the facts and consequences of such an impactful decision, showing what each of the characters think based on how they lived through that experience. From Anne Marie’s loud “Fuck you, Nora”, to Emmy’s mordacious “I know nothing about marriage, you left. But I know about absence”, the insults show the negative effects of Nora’s departure on the lives of these two characters. On the other hand, Nora’s only choice at the time would have been to stay and fake a perfect existence, living in misery and sacrificing her own dreams and goals just to fit social conventions. Sounds familiar? For Torvald, Nora’s departure wasn’t only a blow to his ego, it was also a punch to his heart, as the play paints him as a human being with a wide spectrum of feelings rather than just a one-dimensional caricature of a macho. It is now time for Nora to face the people she left behind and try to strike a deal, tempting Anne Marie with a better life and expecting Emmy to change her destiny to avoid the same misery she went through as a married woman. Will Anne Marie and Emmy side with Nora? Will Torvald grant Nora’s freedom once and for all?
One of Nora’s statements was that through her writings, she wanted to inspire women to experience freedom so in the future they wouldn’t have to be in a state of submission. Fast forward to 2022 and that statement lingers in the air as a rhetoric question: Are women really free at this time in history?
As for the technical aspects of the play, the lighting design by Donny Jackson is creatively striking, ranging from dramatic, to high key, to low key at times, used masterfully for such a big and airy stage with a very high ceiling. Scenic designer Yuri Okahana-Benson worked with a very basic design, a table, a few chairs, and a big door frame, a perfect setting where the script and the actors are the main focal point. Director Trevor Biship-Gillespie makes great use of the space, blocking the actors to move around the big, circular stage, placing Nora downstage center when delivering some of her most important statements.
A Doll’s House, Part 2 is a remarkable realistic play that will start a conversation for sure, just as the original did more than 140 years ago, with humor, emotion, and conflict in the mix.
The International City Theatre is an ample and elegant place that will make your attendance a pleasurable and special one.
A Doll’s House, Part 2
INTERNATIONAL CITY THEATRE
Long Beach Performing Arts Center
330 East Seaside Way
Long Beach, CA 90802
Performances April 15 – May 1
Wednesday at 8 p.m.: April 13 ONLY (preview)
Thursdays at 8 p.m.: April 14 (preview), April 21, April 28
Fridays at 8 p.m.: April 15 (Opening Night), April 22, April 29
Saturdays at 8 p.m.: April 16, April 23, April 30
Sundays at 2 p.m.: April 17, April 24, May 1
For tickets: https://tix6.centerstageticketing.com/sites/internationalcity/event-details.php?e=726
