A Doll’s House
Hosted by the Guthrie Theater
A perfect life is difficult to achieve but near impossible to maintain. This is the foundational message within Amy Herzog’s dynamic adaptation of the classic Henrik Ibsen play, A Doll’s House, kicking off the Guthrie Theater’s 25-26 season.
When Nora Helmer’s husband Torvald is promoted to bank manager, she dreams of a continued life of extravagance that any spouse would. That is, until she is confronted with the possible revelation of a safely guarded secret that could derail her dreams and create a scandal that would affect everyone around her.
The classic Ibsen play has been read, performed, and studied for over a century. So it is no surprise that it is due for some kind of update or modernization to introduce audience to the story but without the more flowery language that the original is known for.
Enter Amy Herzog, whose recent adaptation was the source script for the recent Jamie Lloyd production mounted on Broadway, starring the incomparable Jessica Chastain. The creative team at the Guthrie has used the same script and it definitely pays off. Keeping the story set in 1879 but incorporating a modern vernacular works surprisingly well for a story so timeless. The success of the updates are most evident in the comedic moments that are scattered throughout the show, mostly in the first act when Nora is at her most sane. It is worth noting that Herzog has also done a wonderful job of keeping the story moving at a rapid pace, thus keeping the audience engaged for the entirety of the piece and not dosing off in the quieter moments.
It may be Ibsen/Herzog’s words we are hearing but it is Nora’s life we are witnessing and Amelia Pedlow is triumphant in her turn as Nora. To say it is a juggernaut of a performance would put it too lightly. Her ability to enchant and delight one minute and break our hearts the next is a marvel. As Pedlow moves further into Nora’s mania, the audience is pulled right down into that spiral with her, almost forcing them to gasp for air as it reaches a breaking point. It really is Pedlow’s show, standing on a pedestal above the rest.
Assisting in her star turn is the dashing and swoon worthy David Andrew Macdonald as Nora’s steadfast husband, Torvald. Providing a firm foundation for Nora’s “perfect” life, Macdonald has a charm that is very reminiscent of Kevin Kline’s and it is completely magnetic. He portrays Torvald as a man who just wants to keep his wife safe and provided for and the audience can’t help but be swept away by the chemistry that he has with Pedlow. We root for them to find a path through the raging storm that is just on the horizon of their lives but know that they won’t come out unscathed.
While he is a charmer, Macdonald knows just how to take that and use it as a weapon against those around him, His portrayal of Torvald’s menace is perhaps his greatest strength. Just beneath the sultry smirk he puts on, is a tongue that lashes Nora with words like a whip., showcasing his talent for hiding an inner rage that is begging to be released.
Although Pedlow and Macdonald are the titans of the show, it is made more evident by the unfortunate miscasting of Ricardo Chavira (Krogstad) and Catherine Eaton (Kristine) who unfortunately don’t fit into the world that director, Tracy Brigden, has created for them to reside in. They feel too modern in a piece that is so well sculpted to be the world of 1879. While I am a fan of Chavira’s previous work, it is evident that he is not a period actor. As he plays such a pivotal role, it is unfortunate that the character isn’t given the full treatment they deserve. There is very little emotion that the audience feels because he is played so one note until he has his brief bouts of anger.
As the show deals with the mental decline of a woman on the verge, scenic designer Luciana Stecconi has masterfully crafted a set that reflects that. At first glance it appears that the sitting room, where the entirety of the piece takes place, is simply surrounded by freshly fallen snow (it takes place around Christmas) but as the story unfolds, it almost transforms into a room floating in a cloudy emptiness; almost like a snow globe of sorts. Genius design.
All of the elements align for a remarkable and thought provoking night at the theater and it is certainly a worthy start to what is sure to be another memorable season at the Guthrie.
Fun fact (SPOILERS)
From Wikipedia:
A Doll's House was based on the life of (maiden name Laura Smith Petersen), a good friend of Ibsen. Much that happened between Nora and Torvald happened to Laura and her husband, Victor. Similar to the events in the play, Laura signed an illegal loan to save her husband's life—in this case, to find a cure for his tuberculosis. She wrote to Ibsen, asking for his recommendation of her work to his publisher, thinking that the sales of her book would repay her debt. At his refusal, she forged a check for the money. At this point, she was found out. In real life, when Victor discovered Laura's secret loan, he divorced her and had her committed to an asylum. Two years later, she returned to her husband and children at his urging, and she went on to become a well-known Danish author, living to the age of 83.
