Photos: A DOLL'S HOUSE, PART 2 Comes to the International City Theatre

Lucas Hnath fans, rejoice! International City Theatre presents A Doll's House, Part 2, the Obie-Award winning playwright's bitingly funny, thoroughly modern, 90-minute "sequel" to Henrik Ibsen's 1879 classic. Trevor Biship-Gillespie directs this stand-alone continuation (no need to know the original) for an April 15 opening at ICT's home in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center, where performances continue through May 1. Two low-priced previews are set for April 13 and April 14.

In the final scene of Ibsen's groundbreaking 19th century masterwork, Nora Helmer makes the shocking decision to leave her husband and children to begin a life on her own. This climactic event, often referred to as "the door slam heard around the world," symbolically marked the start of the fledgling feminist movement and instantly propelled world drama into the modern age.

Hnath's play begins with a knock on that very same door 15 years later. Nora has returned, and it's she who is knocking. But why is she back? And what will it mean for those she left behind? Hnath's smart comedy explores all the ways that women's roles have - and haven't - changed in the 143 years since Ibsen's play was first staged.

"The setup is there's a woman who left her family 15 years ago. That's kind of the only information you need," Hnath explained in an interview. "All of the things that were debated and negotiated in A Doll's House are still topics that are debated and negotiated now. So one of the first ideas that I had about A Doll's House, Part 2 is it's a play about how much we've grown, and how much we haven't, in terms of thinking about equality between men and women."

ICT audience favorites Jennifer Shelton (Master Class, Ain't Misbehavin',The Story, Honk!) and Eileen T'Kaye (Doubt, Other Desert Cities, Dead Man's Cell Phone) star as Nora and as Anne Marie, Nora's old nursemaid who has stuck around all these years to raise the kids Nora left behind. Scott Roberts (Open Fist productions of The Soldier Dreams, Dancing at Lughnasa) takes on the role of Torvald, Nora's not quite, as it turns out, ex-husband. Nicolette Ellis (Off Broadway productions of The Girls of Summer and Their Eyes Were Watching God) plays Nora's daughter, Emmy, now all grown up.

The creative team includes set designer Yuri Okahana-Benson, lighting designer Donny Jackson, costume designer Kim DeShazo, sound designer Jeff Polunas, properties designer Patty Briles, and hair and wigs designer Anthony Gagliardi. Casting is by Michael Donovan, CSA and Richie Ferris, CSA. The production stage manager is Donna Parsons.

Lucas Hnath is known for wildly original plays, including Hillary and Clinton, Dana H, The Christians, Red Speedo, Isaac's Eye, Death Tax and The Courtship of Anna Nicole Smith. He is a resident playwright at New Dramatists, and his plays have been produced or developed at Actors Theatre of Louisville, The Culture Project, Ontological-Hysteric Theater, Ensemble Studio Theatre and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, among others.

A Doll's House, Part 2 runs Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., April 15 through May 1. Two preview performances take place on Wednesday, April 13 and Thursday, April 14, both at 8 p.m. Tickets are $49 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays (except April 15, opening night, for which tickets are $55 and include a post show reception), and $52 at Sunday matinees. Low-priced tickets to previews are $37.

To purchase tickets and for more information, including up-to-date Covid-19 safety protocols, call (562) 436-4610 or go to www.InternationalCityTheatre.org.