editor’s note: my mid-winter vacation prevented me from covering a couple of things that I normally would have written about. And it also meant that I didn’t see two important plays until their closing weekend, The Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s A Doll’s House and The Lake Country Players’, The Dining Room. So my apologies as you read my responses, these shows have already closed.
After Shakespeare, Henrik Ibsen is the classic playwright that I most look forward to seeing on local stages. But given his place as a father of modern theater, is Ibsen’s work actually classic? Well, absolutely. So here we have the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre presenting a new adaptation by Amy Herzog of A Doll’s House!
Herzog’s interpretation leaves nothing behind from Ibsen’s exposure of misogyny and the cultural and societal subjugation of woman in a male dominated society. But she does bring the language to a cleaner and more enjoyable contemporary feel that makes this version flow smooth and more easily understood for the modern audience. Unfortunately we can relate to the story of Nora Helmer as she tries to move from her position as a ‘doll’ to one of a complete and independent human being…as we see start to sense regressions in our current society.
Director Leda Hoffmann has taken full advantage of the new text and has put together a fluid and engaging presentation completely putting front and center the conflict that Nora experiences. Her blocking and timing of the play work perfectly and she pulls out the full implications of the story.
Front and center is Nora Helmer of course…and she is wholly embodied by Jennifer Vosters…who amazingly moves from being the ‘doll’ to realizing how much more life has to offer. Vosters’ Nora is lucid and aware and brings us into her corner immediately and holds us there until that very last door slam. But even in the early scenes where she plays to the ‘doll’ to her domineering husband, you can feel that she is aware that she deserves more in life than this. And given she is on stage for all but a few moments for some simple costume changes, I have to admire Vosters’ stamina and stage presence. Without Vosters as Nora, this play wouldn’t have worked nearly as well.
Josh Krause plays it hard and cold as Torvald Helmer. And despite his continual declarations of love for Nora and the cute nicknames, it never seems to go beyond his own identification of self and his own sense that he deserves ‘her’ and her devotion to him and his family. Krause certainly is able to bring that sense of entitlement to the role…and completely locks Torvald into that entitlement as Nora initiates her new sense of self…again, right down to that fatal door slam.
Matthew Bowden is Nils Krogstad…a loan shark who lends money to Nora and a bank manager with a past who is fired by Torvald. Bowden gives us a Krogstad who wants to find redemption from his past but isn’t quite sure how to do it. He eventually does in a very round about way and through the intervention of Kristine Linde, boldly played by Kat Wodtke. But when he is threatening Nora, I didn’t feel that he was quite sinister enough. And Anand Nagraj is Dr. Peter Rank, a best friend of both Nora and Torvald…and a daily visitor to the Helmer residence. And he has a secret too which is somewhat apparent but I don’t think it quite worked. But I put that to the words that Amy Herzog provided for Rank and not on Nagraj.
Normally I would close with information about tickets and additional information, but instead let me share this YouTube video about A Doll’s House from the actors and director:
Nice summary of the play – I’ve seen several productions and think that this production was the best so “thumbs up” to the rewrite and the acting. One question I had was about the costumes – maybe the purpose was to make them appear unspecific to any time period in which case they succeeded. But the two dresses for Nora just didn’t work for me and I’m still wondering why? My 2nd observation was that the transition at the end was troubling – it almost felt like two different people from the initial Nora and Torvald and I wonder if it would have come across more authentic if the acting wasn’t so “over the top” for Torvald and so “assertive” for Nora. That being said, I was glad I got to see the play and I’m still thinking about it.