Review Roundup: A DOLL'S HOUSE PART 2 at Barrington Stage

Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in the Berkshires, under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, presents Lucas Hnath's A Doll's House, Part 2. Previews for A Doll's House, Part 2 through July 28 on the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage (30 Union Street).

Directed by BSC Associate Artist Joe Calarco (Ragtime, Breaking the Code), A Doll's House, Part 2 also stars Obie and Drama Desk Award winner Laila Robins (ABC's Deception) as "Nora," BSC Associate Artist Christopher Innvar as "Torvald," Ashley Bufkin as "Emmy," and Mary Stout as "Anne Marie."

In the final scene of Ibsen's 1879 ground-breaking masterwork, Nora Helmer makes the shocking decision to leave her husband and children and begin a life on her own. A Doll's House, Part 2 dares to wonder what Ibsen's Nora has been up to since she slammed the door.

A Doll's House, Part 2 has scenic design by Brian Prather, costume design by Jennifer Caprio, lighting design by Chris Lee, sound design by Lindsay Jones. Casting by Pat McCorkle. Production Stage Manager: Leslie Sears.

Performances of A Doll's House, Part 2 are as follows: Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:00pm, Thursday through Saturday at 8:00pm, Friday, Saturday (and Wednesday, July 25) at 2:00pm, and Sunday at 5:00pm. Opening night July 15 at 5:00pm. Boyd-Quinson Mainstage (30 Union Street). Tickets: $15 - $65. Barrington Stage Box Office: (413) 236-8888 or online at www.barringtonstageco.org.

Let's see what the critics have to say!

Charles Ciuliano, Berkshire Fine Arts: In the austere set designed by Brian Prather the dominant door is at the center of a curving, wainscoted wall in the foyer of Torvald's home. Hovering above is an oval ceiling. The space is utterly bare save for two period chairs which are moved about so forcefully that they become characters in the tense unfolding drama. Anticipating interactions Nora (Laila Robins) makes a great fuss about arranging them.

Amy Durant, The Alt: This cast is superb. Director Joe Calarco had a killer script to work with, and such a fine group of actors; he's created art with these elements. Robins, from the moment she steps into the room, commands the eye; this Nora is no one's "little squirrel." With her back ramrod-straight, sitting legs akimbo, a rakish grin on her face, arranging chairs to her advantage and never letting Torvald get the best of her - this may be set in the late 1800s, but this is a thoroughly modern Nora, and she is not a woman to mess with. Stout adds some comedy with her extremely mobile facial expressions, but does strong work in her serious moments; Innvar's Torvald is so layered we're given a whole new look at an iconic character. Bufkin's Emmy is a delight; clearly the product of both nature and nurture and very much her own woman, she's both surprising and electric.

J. Peter Bergman, The Edge: Joe Calarco has done superb work with this play and with his excellent cast. With Hnath's lovely script, he steps out in the forefront of Barringson Stage directors, surpassing his excellent work on "Ragtime" and "Romance in Hard Times" in previous seasons. Brian Prather's set is curious and so wonderfully contains the protagonists that it is ideal for this play. One window would turn this prison cell of a foyer into a monstrosity; instead, we have the circus ring in which these acts play out.

Jeffrey Borak, Berkshire Eagle: Robins and Hnath's play are at their most persuasive and compelling in Nora's scenes with Innvar's meticulously shaped Torvald. His reaction to Nora when he first sees her in his home is priceless; a catalog of feeling. At first aggressive and defensive, Torvald later tries to assure Nora that he is not the man she married. There is in Innvar's deeply wounded Torvald a courageous vulnerability; resentment; self-protection; anger; an effort to understand who this new Nora is; to make amends; to perhaps persuade her to start over. At times, their scenes approach a little bit of Strindberg; a littler bit of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"

Steve Barnes, Times Union: Hnath's script lays out the various sides, exploring how Nora's decision to leave had devastating effects: The maid gave her own child to others in order to raise the Helmer kids, Torvald was emotionally ruined and embarrassed socially and professionally, and the daughter grew up without a mother. How to reconcile, the play asks, our own needs and desires with our obligations to significant people in our lives? What responsibility do we bear for the damage we cause unintentionally? And where's the line beyond which being true to oneself becomes selfishness?

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