The time is right The women of APT talk about why Ibsen’s "A Doll’s House" matters

By Gwendolyn Rice, Isthmus, August 15, 2019.

Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen shocked European audiences at the end of the 19th century with his play, A Doll’s House. In this classic domestic drama, Ibsen vividly portrays the limited legal and personal options available to women at the time. He also introduces viewers to a completely new kind of heroine — one who defies societal expectations by leaving her family to pursue her own goals.

Since that time, many other writers have speculated about what happened to Nora after she slammed the door at the end of the play. But none captured the audience’s imagination like Lucas Hnath’s 2017 A Doll’s House, Part 2. Set 15 years after Nora declared her independence from the men in her life, it’s a reckoning that allows each of the characters in the original to explore the consequences and results of her actions. After a successful run on Broadway and eight Tony nominations, the play has swept through regional theaters. This summer, it finally arrives on a Wisconsin stage.

As the second half of American Players Theatre’s season approaches, the company will give its audience a double treat: the canonical A Doll’s House followed closely by the state premiere of the sequel, both produced in the indoor Touchstone Theatre. This two-play series is similar to last season’s pairing of The Recruiting Officer and Our Country’s Good, which uses a production of the first play as a central plot point. Audiences didn’t need to see both shows, but linking the two in one season was a delight.

When artistic director Brenda DeVita read about the sequel’s premiere on Broadway two years ago, she immediately flew to New York to see it. “I’m a huge fan of A Doll’s House,” she says. “I’ve been waiting for the right time to include it in our season, and for the cast to reveal itself. Celebrating our 40th season, I knew it was time. Then when I saw the Hnath, I thought this could really be something.” DeVita will direct A Doll’s House, Part 2.

Like many other viewers, DeVita had her own fantasy about what happened to Nora. “I was really curious about what this play had to say. I’m so taken with the continuation of Nora’s story because the act of a woman leaving her children to strike out on her own is so devastating. The circumstances are so extreme. This woman’s need for self determination, to claim her own life and pursue her own needs, is both primary and such a revolutionary idea.”

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