Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Doll's House part 2 @AuroraTheatre @braveatlpr #ATDollsHouse

I was given tickets in exchange for my review.


From Aurora Theatre:

"Based on the characters of the Henrik Ibsen classic play, this follow-up story imagines what would happen if Nora Helmer returned home, 15 years after she slams the door on her husband and family. Audiences don’t need to be familiar with the original story to enjoy this “Part 2,” as playwright Lucas Hnath juxtaposes contemporary and classic sensibilities to create a thought-provoking and sharp- witted comedy. A co-production between Aurora Theatre and Actor’s Express, A Doll’s House, Part 2 features a quartet of Atlanta’s top-tier talent. Three-time Suzi Award winner Tess Malis Kincaid will star as Nora, Rob Cleveland as Nora’s estranged husband, Torvald, Shelli Delgado as the Helmer’s daughter, Emmy and Deadra Moore as the nanny, Anne Marie. This all-star cast is under the direction of Freddie Ashley, Actor’s Express Artistic Director and two-time Suzi Bass Award Winner for Outstanding Direction."

My daughter and I attended the show this past Friday.  One major change is that Tess Kincaid did not star in the show.  Due to illness, she was replaced by an understudy.  She had to use the script to help her with the role (somewhat distracting), though.  The set itself was simple, but fit the play very well.  The only "problem" with the set is that my daughter and I found the lighting around the stage to be somewhat distracting.  Fortunately, not enough to really bother us.

The show was a good continuation of the original story.  You find that Nora has travelled, experienced more of life, etc. She has to return home, though, to keep a scandal from happening.  There she finds that nothing has changed for Torvald.  The play consists of a series of exchanges between Nora and Anne Marie, Nora and Torvald, Nora and Emmy.  The question is can anything be resolved for Nora during her exchanges?  

All together the actors did a good job.  Their facial expressions were on target for the characters.  I will say that I liked Shelli Delgado as Emmy.  The facial expressions she had were great.   I loved some of her "come back" lines too.  Individually, though, I didn't have a favorite character or actor this time around.

The show runs until February 10th.  You can get show dates/times and pricing on the Aurora Theatre web site: Doll's House Part 2

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