(Above: Vanessa Greenway and Dan Pegoda are in the cast of A Doll’s House, Part 2 at Oregon Contemporary Theatre.)
By Randi Bjornstad
If you have seen or read Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s famous play, A Doll’s House, you probably remember how it ends.
The plot turns around the life of a young wife and mother, Nora Helmer, who comes to realize that in a male-dominated world, she has spent her both her life and her eight-year marriage being, trying to be, or pretending to be what the men in her life — and indeed society as a whole — demanded her to be.
In the final scene, a fed-up and burned-out Nora decides she can’t take it any more and makes her exit, leaving her family behind in her determination to live her life as she wants it.
End of play.
But now, there also is A Doll’s House, Part 2, written by Lucas Hnath, who was nominated for a Tony for Best Play for his efforts. In sum, the play had eight Tony nominations in 2017.
The story line of Part 2 picks up 15 years after Nora made her explosive exit, with a knock on the door that reveals her return. This time the plot turns around her reasons for coming back and what it means not only for her but for those she abandoned all those years ago. In the meantime, she has become a successful author, writing about feminist issues. In fact, one reason for her return is to present her husband, Torvald Helmer, with divorce papers for his signature.
If this all sounds a bit modern, it’s not. In fact, it was somewhat scandalous at the time, because it raised women’s issues that in the Victorian era were not often contemplated, much less put on stage. Henrik Ibsen wrote A Doll’s House in 1879, at age 51. He died in 1906, at 78.
Oregon Contemporary Theatre originally had A Doll’s House, Part 2, in its 2020 lineup.
“Rehearsals had just started for A Doll’s House, Part 2 when the pandemic closed our doors in March of 2020,” OCT producing artistic director Craig Willis said in announcing the show. “We’re thrilled to finally bring Lucas Hnath’s funny, searing play to the OCT stage.”
The 2022 production is directed by Tara Wibrew, associate director at OCT. The cast includes veteran OCT actors R. L. Nachison and Dan Pegoda, along with OCT newcomers Alessandra Ferriso and Vanessa Greenway.
The crew includes lighting designer Emily Bolivar, costume designer Erin Wills, scenic designer Adam Whittredge and sound designer Dara Willmarth. Colleen Rooney is production stage manager .
A Doll’s House, Part 2
When: Preview performances 7:30 p.m. March 9 and 10; regular performances at 7:30 p.m. March 11-12, 17-19, March 24-26; matinee performances at 2 p.m. on March 20 and 27
Where: Oregon Contemporary Theatre, 194 E. Broadway, Eugene
Tickets: Preview performances are $15 general admission, $10 students (pay-what-you-can admission starts at 6:30 p.m. on show nights; regular performances are $20 to $44; tickets available online at octheater.org or through the box office at 541-465-1506.
