‘A Doll’s House, Part 2’ @ Onstage in Bedford
Photos by Kris Ikejiri
—Hannah Kneen
At Onstage in Bedford, a closed door opens in Lucas Hnath’s brilliant play A Doll’s House, Part 2, directed by Hannah Bell. Don’t let the Part 2 bit scare you; you don’t have to know Part 1 to enjoy the show. The history reveals itself early on, making the situation clear even if you don’t know Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 A Doll’s House.
It’s been 15 years since the events of the original play. There’s a knock at the front door of the Helmer home. This door, the same one wife Nora (Libby Hawkins) closed behind her when she left her husband Torvald (Bradford Reilly), opens for the return of a woman very different from the one who left. Nora Helmer thought she’d left her past—and her family—behind long ago, but it turns out that the past doesn’t die that easily.
She might need something from them yet.
Nora was sure she’d left a situation that was no good for her. You might understand the feeling. But what will happen now? How will Nora face the consequences of her actions for those she left behind?
The three people Nora must face are her old nanny Anne Marie (Rose Anne Holman), her husband Torvald (Bradford Reilly), and her now-grown daughter Emmy (Bethany Soder). I was, quite frankly, impressed with the performances of each of the actors. They spoke naturally, interrupting each other or hesitating in a way I’ve rarely seen done as well onstage. Rose Anne Holman’s Anne Marie, put into a difficult position between people she loves, is very genuine and surprisingly funny at times. I particularly loved when she really let rip with her temper–and her language.
Soder’s Emmy is confident and brilliant. When she and Nora finally have their incredibly awkward meeting, the two characters seem so similar, yet so different—two outspoken, intelligent women, their differences highlighted as Emmy talks about her views on marriage. What seems to Nora a bright ideal future of dissolved marriages, absolute freedom, and feminine independence and power is shown through Emmy’s eyes as something so sad and lonely as to be almost tragic. The playwright has crafted a beautiful dichotomy.
Reilly’s Torvald challenges Hawkins’ Nora in a way I really appreciate. It might seem easy to approve of Nora’s decision to leave, wave some pom-poms, say “rah rah feminism!” and leave it at that. But this play shows a reality that’s not so simple. Both characters are complicated and have their flaws. Their arguments are very much at odds, but it’s shockingly easy to agree first with one, then the other—at at some moments, with both of them at once. I’m not sure I’ve experienced that during a play before. Every character wields their truths like a scalpel—and with words that often both cut and heal.
And Hawkins’ Nora handles what must be an exhausting role without ever faltering. Her performance brought out all the complexities of the character, never just one thing but all: self-centered, caring, wounded or wounding, exhausted or renewed.
Hannah Bell’s direction of this tricky but impactful play is impressive. Too often I see shows where an argument means everyone is shouting at everyone else all the time, where one or two actors are far ahead of the others or falling behind, where the pacing lags, or where the actors are afraid to just sit in silence for a moment. None of these were problems in this production. A number of distinct moments really hit me: Nora and Torvald sitting together in silence, exhausted and hurting, is one I’ll not forget anytime soon. So much about this show felt entirely genuine—not something that’s easy to achieve.
The technical aspects of Bell’s production serve the play instead of distracting from the actors’ work. The door is a central part of Colin Wintersole’s set as well as the play’s plot. It’s even lit up around the trim as if to emphasize its significance. Michael B. Winters has done an excellent job with the stage lighting, using it to stress important things and indicate shifts in tone throughout the play, in a way that’s effective but never overbearing. There is little sound in the play itself, but Alex Wade’s sound design creates a lovely atmosphere for the opening and closing of the show. Erika Durham’s costumes place the play in Norway in the late 1800’s, and Kristan M. Burgess’s props are simple and appropriate.
Onstage in Bedford has an intimate theater that suits this intimate show, but I would have been happier to have more people in the audience with me. This is a production worth seeing.
WHEN: Sept. 29-Oct. 15, 2023
WHERE: Old Bedford School, 2400 School Lane, Bedford, TX 76021
WEB: onstageinbedford.com
