#adollshouseparttwo

[brothermarc7theatre]

Season Announcement Wednesday

Hello and welcome to this week’s Hump Day highlight of a new season. This week, and the next few weeks, are literally hot-off-the-press announcements! Since my most recent show-seeing endeavor was with this company, I am highlighting them this week. Let’s journey on down to the beautiful city of Palo Alto to see what the Peninsula’s longest-running theatre group has in store for audiences!

Shows/Dates: Bright Star (September 14th - 29th); A Christmas Story, the Musical (November 9th - 24th); A Doll’s House, Part 2 (January 18th, 2020 - February 2nd, 2020); Matilda, the Musical (April 25th - May 10th); An Act of God (June 13th - 28th)

Venue/Address: Lucie Stern Theater @ 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto 94301

Website: www.paplayers.org

Facebook: “Like” them at- Palo Alto Players

Twitter: “Follow” them at- @paloaltoplayers

Description: Palo Alto Players has been a source for theatre for over 80 years! Not only have I enjoyed seeing their productions of Altar Boyz, Boeing, Boeing, A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine (show #600 for me!), and their currently-running Shakespeare in Love, I had the wonderful opportunity to perform with them in Chicago. This upcoming season is jam-packed with new Broadway hits and classic stage adaptations of your favorite books and films. Palo Alto Players is always a yes when it comes great titles and great productions of those great titles. So say yes to Palo Alto Players and go see their shows! Hope to see YOU at the Lucie Stern!

[dramastylestardom]

Thank you @dsicre for taking me to see A Doll's House Part 2. Such a brilliant cast and brilliant script. #adollshouseparttwo #adollshouse #lauriemetcalf #broadway #play #theatre #arts #performingarts #nyc #stage (at John Golden Theatre)

[ukipnfkn]

The latest Economy Daily! https://t.co/fzv2aQv8yq Thanks to @lsebrexitvote #adollshouseparttwo #mugwump

The latest #Brexit Economy Daily! https://t.co/fzv2aQv8yq Thanks to @lsebrexitvote #adollshouseparttwo #mugwump

— UKIP Nonsense - 48% (@UKIPNFKN) April 28, 2017

via Twitter https://twitter.com/UKIPNFKN Published: April 28, 2017 at 08:06AM

[brothermarc7theatre]

Season Announcement Wednesday

Phew! After an exhausting, fulfilling week in New York, I am back in the California homeland, gearing up for a summer full of shows, season announcements, and Tony awards! This week takes us to an East Bay staple of the theatre community. This professional, nationally-recognized company produces theatre's newest releases, provocative classics, and everything in between. Come on this journey with me and let's get all sorts of excited for the 2018/2019 coming to Berkeley Repertory Theatre!

Shows/Dates: A Doll's House, Part 2 (September), Fairview (October), Paradise Square: a new musical (December), Metamorphoses (January 2019); Home (March); The Good Book (April); TBA (???)

Venue/Address: Roda Theater and Peet's Theater @ 2025 Addison Street, Berkeley  94704

Website: www.berkeleyrep.org

Facebook: "Like" them at- Berkeley Repertory Theatre

Twitter: "Follow" them at- @berkeleyrep

Description: I mean, Berkeley Rep with professional Bay Area is synonymous. They are the go-to for all things new, fresh, and thought-provoking. My personal audience history with Berkeley Rep has been seeing their productions of In The Wake, Red Hot Patriot...,  Amelie, and Macbeth. I already have my tickets booked for their current production of Angels in America, both parts. A truly great thing about Berkeley Rep is their commitment to having affordable ticket prices for students, educators, etc. They are just a hop off the BART, and have two beautiful facilities to enjoy theatre in. Go see a show! 

[brothermarc7theatre]

"A Doll's House, Part 2" show #753

Lucas Hnath’s daring continuation of Henrik Ibsen’s classic, A Doll’s House, is a modern gem, a truly marvelous play. Berkeley Repertory Theatre is currently playing Mr. Hnath’s Tony-nominated Best Play, A Doll’s House, Part 2, with a stellar four-person cast, and under the sturdy direction of Les Waters. Mr. Waters, a close colleague of Mr. Hnath, understands the comedy and rhythm of Mr. Hnath’s words, making this production an illuminating, intimate portrayal of the Nora-Torvald drama that picks up fifteen years after Nora’s shocking exit from her family.

(Mary Beth Fisher (Nora); Photo credit: Kevin Berne)

Mary Beth Fisher portrays Nora, the model to women taking charge of their marital bliss, with impressive delivery and astute patience. Mr. Hnath’s script ensures that audiences need not remember too much from Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, allowing each cast member to give nuance and personality to his and her character without needing to embody Ibsen’s original. Ms. Fisher’s Nora is a spitfire matron, a woman on a mission to get what she so desperately needs: Torvald to finalize their divorce. The stakes couldn’t be higher for Nora, as she has gone on to become a renowned writer, inspiring many women to walk out of their marriages, and children, as well. Ms. Fisher’s domineering conversation opposite a genial-yet-snarky Nancy E. Carroll as house maid, Anne Marie, and soft spoken John Judd as Torvald, are well-paced, full of deep-seated anger and motivation, while always maintaining a level of approachable empathy towards the injustice Nora faces in being such a stigmatized woman.

(John Judd (Torvald) and Mary Beth Fisher (Nora); Photo credit: Kevin Berne)

Ms. Carroll has some wonderful moments of cursing and berating Nora for the decisions she is making, none more volatile than figuring out a way to force Torvald to finalize the divorce. Ms. Carroll’s motherly approach towards Nora and Torvald is warm and caring, but not at the expense of her devastating portrayal of a housemaid who’s further along in her years and is a somewhat trapped by her upbringing, career choice, and dedication to Torvald’s family. Mr. Judd plays the long game with Torvald, a constant simmer of sadness and rage apparent from the moment he first sees Nora, to an epic explosion of passionate frustration when he obliges Nora’s wish, but isn’t able to reconcile the marriage. The chemistry Mr. Judd and Ms. Fisher have created sparks all the elements a marriage would contain, being an authentic depiction of this theatrically seminal couple. Nikki Massoud rounds out the cast as Torvald and Nora’s youngest daughter, Emmy. Ms. Massoud enters with a seemingly naïve and bubbly outlook on the world, when in fact she travels down a very smart, forward-thinking plot to ensure that her own interest regarding her marital future is kept intact.

(Nikki Massoud (Emmy); Photo credit: Kevin Berne)

A solid showing all-around, Mr. Waters’ helming is aided by Andrew Boyce’s near-bare but visually stunning scenic design. The action takes place in Torvald’s household, in the first room nearest to the door. With only a few chairs, a coat rack, and a table, these simple set pieces speak volumes when used within Mr. Waters’ staging. Yi Zhao’s lighting design is subdued and effective, especially when capturing the scene transitions and the actor(s) on stage reacting to what just happened and preparing for what’s to come. I urge you to run, not walk, over to Berkeley Repertory Theatre to satiate your curiosity as to what happened to this family fifteen years later. It is a living room drama you won’t want to miss.

Details:

A Doll's House, Part 2 runs through October 21st

Berkeley Repertory Theatre at the Roda Theater, Berkeley

www.berkeleyrep.org