A
Doll's House Part 2 is an imagined
sequel to Henrick Isben’s classic 1879 play, A Doll's House. Isben ended his play (140 years ago) with Nora
slamming the door as she left Torvald, her overbearing husband and three
children. This was a gutsy and groundbreaking move for a character in the
1800’s. Many wondered what became of Nora
who was navigating
solo two
centuries ago.
In A
Doll's House Part 2 playwright Lucas Hnath picks up the story 15 years later. Nora not only survived on her
own,but in many ways flourished. Her return stirs up the lives of those that she
left behind in this comedic drama that contemplates the complex nature of marriage.
 |
| Handmaid,Anne Marie (Helna Ruoti) reunites with Nora (Lisa Velten Smith) |
Slamming a door and saying adios can be cathartic but it’s followed by the enviable question, “what now?” In A Doll's House Part 2 Nora (Lisa Velten Smith) boldly walks back into her home as a conqueror of the “what now?” She is confident and financially successful as, what else, a writer of books urging others to leave their husbands.
During a time when women had limited rights to be free of matrimony, Nora’s reason for
returning was to secure a divorce. The play jockeyed through various humorous scenarios that would secure the divorce.
The play
opened with Nora’s knock, reuniting her with her shocked family handmaid, Anne
Marie (Helena Ruoti). Ruoti’s animated expressions as she attempted to understand Nora’s decisions elicited a continual flow of laughter during their interaction. Nora explained
that the normal progress of life is for people to change. She felt that it was unnatural
to be stuck to someone until death even when that person has morphed into someone
totally different. Although I did not
agree with all her views, Nora convincingly argued that marriage certainly is
not for everyone and, for her, it was a prison.
 |
| Nora (Lisa Velten Smith) reunion with her daughter Emmy(Marielle Young) |
Nora’s reunion
with her spunky daughter Emmy (Marielle Young) was
not what I had expected. I was surprised that Emmy harbored no animosity about her mother’s
desertion. Emmy, unlike Nora, was an
advocate of marriage. Alluding to her mother’s life choice, Emmy commented that
“People who skate though relationships like nomads, never find a person who
really knows them.”
 |
| Tovald (Daniel Krell) and Nora (Lisa Velten Smith) expressing there version of the union |
Leaving, I overheard couples joking about their marriages
and one husband nudged his wife asking if she was now ready for a divorce. A Doll's House Part 2 takes place in the
1800’s but bursts open the timeless complexities of marriage.
(For Tickets to A
Doll's House Part 2 and to see what’s next at Pittsburgh Public Theater go
to ppt.org.)
Spiritual Reflection
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:If either of them falls, down,one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? (Ecclesiastes 4:9_
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