A Doll's House thrust drama firmly into the modern age when it premiered in 1879. Now, nearly a century-and-a-half later, Tony Award nominee Jamie Lloyd and acclaimed playwright Amy Herzog will make freshly relevant a story that shocked audiences and brought forth a new era of theater. One of the most acclaimed actors of her generation, Jessica Chastain will inhabit one of the theater's most iconic roles, re-energizing the play for a whole new generation.
Instead, it’s just, you know, Chastain standing up. The static performance vocabulary, while it focuses attention, errs on the side of neatness and consistency—constipation, to be blunt. Even so, the lively cast infuses a fair amount of humor and warmth into the chilly, restrained minimalism. The world-weary but irreverent Dr. Rank (Michael Patrick Thornton, a sly, dry delight) punctuates a tense moment between Nora and Torvald with the unexpected, “Just do what she’s saying, man.” Nora drops the one and only f-bomb with a yearning to say, “Fuck it all.” Apart from these two cheeky flourishes, Herzog delivers a script in formal but flowing English. The always charming Moayed luxuriates in Torvald’s fussy, oblivious dickishness. Chastain, unfairly piled on for The Heiress a decade ago, is perhaps more safely cast here, using her unique blend of iciness and vulnerability to strong effect.
It’s worth noting that linguists generally translate Ibsen’s title — “Et dukkehjem” — as “A Dollhouse” instead of “A Doll’s House.” The prison isn’t just Nora’s; she and Torvald are equally trapped in it. My only real quibble with this compelling, surgically precise revival is that it doesn’t seem to be interested in preserving that unity: in keeping our sympathy for both characters as balanced as Ibsen evidently intended. When the astonishing curtain coup finally comes, you should feel his loss no less than her liberation.
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2016 | Off-Broadway |
Theatre for a New Audience Repertory Off-Broadway |
2020 | West End |
West End Revival West End |
2023 | Broadway |
New Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Amy Herzog |
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Adaptation | Amy Herzog |
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play | Arian Moayed |
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play | Jessica Chastain |
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Sound Design of a Play | Ben Ringham |
2023 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Jessica Chastain |
2023 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Arian Moayed |
2023 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Play | Jamie Lloyd |
2023 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | A Doll's House |
2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play | Jessica Chastain |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Play | Jessica Chastain |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Jamie Lloyd |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Play | Jon Clark |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play | Arian Moayed |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | A Doll's House |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Play | Ben & Max Ringham |
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