Nora, portrayed by Lori Rohr, has a reason for returning to her family 15 years after she walked out the door. Find out what happened to Nora after she left her family in the Elgin Theatre Company production of “A Doll’s House, Part 2,” which runs Oct. 8-24 in Elgin. (Elgin Theatre Company)
What a difference 140 or so years makes. Or does it?
The sequel to Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 classic “A Doll’s House,” might just raise as many questions as it seeks to answer.
When playwright Lucas Hnath wrote the title “A Doll’s House, Part 2″ on a piece of paper, it was a joke, he said in interviews at the time. But then he decided to explore the idea of what comes next after Ibsen’s Nora walked out the door.
“What was a joke turned into a metaphor for gender politics, relationship politics, how we interact with people,” Director Thomas Neumann said. “And it almost kind of holds up a mirror to the audience and is like, ‘how much has really changed?’ Because there are certain things the actors will be saying and I’m like, ‘wait, I heard someone say that on the news two days ago.’”
Neumann is directing Elgin Theatre Company’s production of “A Doll’s House, Part 2,” which runs Oct. 8-24 at Elgin Art Showcase in Elgin.
Performances are at 8 p.M. Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.M. Sundays. The Sunday performances will include American Sign Language interpretation. All audience members must show proof of vaccination or a negative 72-hour COVID test.
At the end of Ibsen’s play, main character Nora made the then-unimaginable decision of leaving her marriage and entire family.
“A woman leaving her house was not a thing that happened, so there was this big blowup around this part of the show — ‘What? A woman doing something of her own accord?’” Neumann said. “This character has been taken up by a lot of feminist theater directors. She’s the first woman who said ‘I’m unhappy. You’re not giving me what I want. Peace out, I’m gone.’”
In the 2017 sequel, set 15 years after Ibsen’s play ends, Nora returns to face her family for the first time since leaving.
“She comes back wanting something. I’m not spoiling anything, but then she runs into the maid who raised her and then raised the daughter she left behind. Her husband comes in, then she meets the daughter she left behind,” Neumann said. “And then it goes deep into ‘what happens when someone does leave a marriage? What effect does it have on a child?’”
The cast of four explores these questions and more throughout five different scenes. The show, which runs about an hour and a half, runs straight through without an intermission.
“Each scene is like this different debate around something. There’s no blackouts … It’s this basic barrage of constant debating … It’s really, really thought provoking,” Neumann said.
The play will be presented in the round, bringing the audience closer to the characters than a more traditional proscenium staging.
“Unlike most shows, there’s no blocking in the script. There’s no blocking, there’s no hinting at a set design. It’s literally just the text that the actors are saying. I think this show, especially, you get to create your own idea around it,” Neumann said of his decision to stage the play in this way. “The author has said that he sees this as a public forum and in the front of the script he does say he doesn’t mind if it was done in the round.”
“Having the audience close, especially for an intimate show like this … if you’re too far away, you’re not getting the emotional weight of everything,” he said.
With the show staged in the round, it makes it even more imperative audience members show the required proof of vaccination or negative COVID test.
“The actors can get as close as half a foot away from you, and in a show with four actors, if one gets COVID, the show’s over,” Neumann said. “It’s a COVID safety protocol for the actors, but then it also helps so we don’t have to necessarily worry about the specter of COVID.”
Originally, Elgin Theatre Company planned to stage ‘A Doll’s House, Part 2″ in June 2020, but pandemic-related closures that spring forced its cancellation. In late August, the company got the go-ahead from the city to hold its first live performance in more than 18 months, Neumann said.
“We’ve had fingers crossed constantly, ‘please, let’s just make sure we can keep doing this,’” he said.
This is the first main stage show Neumann is directing for Elgin Theatre Company. However, has directed three Fringe Festival performances by the group, as well as the company’s recently filmed “The Importance of Being Earnest,” now streaming on the YouTube channel, Elgin Theatre Company: Unmuted.
Neumann said each time he watches the cast perform “A Doll’s House, Part 2,” he finds a new metaphor or idea to explore.
“You have these characters that are over 100 years old, speaking like someone you would speak to (today),” he said. “It twists your mind, but in a really interesting way because what they’re talking about 100 years in the past, we’re still talking about it now. What didn’t change and what do we need to change further?
