Ibsen's 1879 play left audiences shocked. Now in Pasadena, the door opens to 'A Doll's House, Part 2'

In “A Doll’s House, Part 2,” playwright Lucas Hnath cheekily proposes an reply to a question that has haunted the theatre for much than a century: Whatever happened to Nora aft she walked retired connected her matrimony astatine the extremity of Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 drama, “A Doll’s House”?

The doorway slam that concludes Ibsen’s play ushered successful a gyration successful modern drama. After Nora’s exit, thing was imaginable connected the stages of respectable European playhouses. Conventional morality was nary longer a choke clasp connected melodramatic characters, who were allowed to acceptable unsafe caller precedents for audiences that whitethorn person been easy shocked but were by nary means easy deterred.

Elizabeth Reaser and Jason Butler Harner successful “A Doll’s House, Part 2” astatine Pasadena Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

“A Doll’s House, Part 2,” which opened Sunday astatine Pasadena Playhouse nether the absorption of Jennifer Chang, is simply a sequel with a puckish difference. Although ostensibly acceptable 15 years aft Nora stormed retired connected Torvald and her 3 children, the play takes spot successful a theatrical contiguous that has 1 antique-looking footwear successful the precocious 19^th period and 1 whimsical sneaker successful the aboriginal 21^st.

The hybrid quality of “A Doll’s House, Part 2” isn’t conscionable reflected successful the costume design. The connection of the play moves freely from the declamatory to the profane, with immoderate of its funniest moments occurring erstwhile fury impels a quality to unleash immoderate naughty modern vernacular.

More crucially, drama and calamity are allowed to coexist arsenic parallel realities. Hnath has constructed “A Doll’s House, Part 2” arsenic a modern drama of ideas, divided into a bid of confrontations successful which characters get to thrash retired antithetic perspectives connected their shared history.

Elizabeth Reaser successful “A Doll’s House, Part 2” astatine Pasadena Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

Chang stages the play similar a courtroom drama, with a information of the assemblage seated connected the signifier similar a jury. The spare (if excessively dour) acceptable by Wilson Chin, featuring the doorway that Nora made celebrated and a mates of rearranged chairs, allows for the brisk transit of grounds successful a play that lets each 4 characters person their say.

Nora (played with a interaction excessively overmuch comic affectation by Elizabeth Reaser) has go a palmy writer of arguable women’s books espousing extremist ideas astir the trap of accepted marriage. She has returned to the country of her home transgression retired of necessity.

Torvald (portrayed with compelling inwardness by Jason Butler Harner), her stolid erstwhile husband, ne'er filed the divorcement papers. She’s present successful ineligible jeopardy, having conducted concern arsenic an unmarried woman. And her militant feminist views person won her enemies who would similar thing much than to nonstop her to prison.

Kahyun Kim successful “A Doll’s House, Part 2” astatine Pasadena Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

Nora needs Torvald to bash what helium was expected to person done years ago: officially extremity their marriage. But not knowing however helium mightiness respond to her reemergence, she makes arrangements to strategize privately with Anne Marie (Kimberly Scott), the aged nanny who raised Nora’s children successful her lack and isn’t peculiarly inclined to bash her immoderate favors.

After Torvald and Anne Marie some garbage to cooperate with her, Nora has nary prime but to crook to her daughter, Emmy (crisply played by Kahyun Kim). Recently engaged to a young banker, Emmy has chosen the roadworthy that her parent abandoned, a distressing realization for Nora, who had hoped that her illustration would person inaugurated a caller epoch of anticipation for women.

Hnath works retired the puzzle of Nora’s dilemma arsenic though it were a melodramatic Rubik’s Cube. The play hasn’t immoderate ax to grind. If there’s 1 prevailing truth, it’s that relationships are murkier and messier than ideological arguments.

Jason Butler Harner successful “A Doll’s House Part 2” astatine Pasadena Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

Nora restates wherefore she near her matrimony and explains arsenic champion she tin the reasons she stayed distant from her children each these years. But her actions, nevertheless necessary, near down a tonnage of quality wreckage. “A Doll’s House, Part 2” offers a analyzable motivation accounting. As each character’s forcefully held presumption is added to the ledger sheet, suspense builds implicit however the playwright volition equilibrium the books.

Each caller accumulation of “A Doll’s House, Part 2” works retired the mathematics successful a somewhat antithetic way. The play had its satellite premiere astatine South Coast Repertory successful 2017 successful an elegant accumulation that was somewhat much somber than the Broadway accumulation that opened soon aft and earned Laurie Metcalf a well-deserved Tony for her performance.

The play recovered its dependable done the Broadway developmental process, and Metcalf’s imprint is unmistakable successful the rhythms of Nora’s whirligig monologues and bracing retorts. Metcalf is the uncommon histrion who tin lunge aft drama without sacrificing the earthy poignancy of her character.

Elizabeth Reaser, left, and Kimberly Scott successful “A Doll’s House, Part 2” astatine Pasadena Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

Reaser adopts a humorous mode but it feels forced. More damagingly, it doesn’t look arsenic if Hnath’s Nora has evolved each that overmuch from the skittishly coquettish woman of Ibsen’s play. The intelligence arc of “A Doll’s House, Part 2” suffers from the mincing mode Reaser introduces the character, with small condemnation for Nora’s feminist principles and lone a superficial consciousness of the long, exhausting roadworthy of being calved earlier your time.

The aboriginal moments with Scott’s Anne Marie are unsteady. Reaser’s Nora comes disconnected arsenic a shallow pistillate oblivious of her privilege, which is existent but lone partially so. Scott has a fantastic earthy quality, but I missed the impeccable timing of Jayne Houdyshell’s Anne Marie, who could halt the amusement with an anachronistic F-bomb. Chang’s staging initially seems similar a work-in-progress.

The accumulation is galvanized by the fantabulous performances of Harner and Kim. Harner reveals a Torvald changed by clip and self-doubt. Years of solitude, sharpened by intimations of mortality, person cracked the banker’s consciousness of certainty. He blames Nora for the wounded he’ll ne'er get over, but helium doesn’t privation to spell down arsenic the paragon of atrocious husbands. He excessively would similar a accidental to redeem himself, adjacent if (as Harner’s canny show illustrates) quality is not infinitely malleable. Bad habits endure.

Kimberly Scott successful “A Doll’s House, Part 2” astatine Pasadena Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

Kim’s Emmy holds her ain against Nora adjacent arsenic her projected solution to her mother’s dilemma involves immoderate questionable ethics. Nora whitethorn beryllium disappointed that her girl is making specified conformist choices, but Emmy sees nary crushed wherefore the parent she ne'er knew should consciousness entitled to signifier her life. The brusquely controlled mode Kim’s Emmy speaks to Nora hints astatine the water of unresolved feelings betwixt them.

The accumulation is somewhat hampered by Anthony Tran’s cumbersome costumes and Chin’s grimly rational scenic design. Elizabeth Harper’s lighting enlivens the dull palette, but I missed the surreal notes of the South Coast Repertory and Broadway stagings. Hnath creates his ain universe, and the plan choices should bespeak this wonderland prime to a jauntier degree.

But Chang realizes the play’s afloat powerfulness successful the last country betwixt Nora and Torvald. Reaser poignantly plunges the depths of her character, arsenic estranged hubby and woman stock what the past 15 years person been similar for them.

“A Doll’s House” was considered successful its clip to beryllium politically incendiary. Hnath’s sequel, without squelching the politics, picks up the forgotten quality communicative of Ibsen’s indelible classic.