‘Nora: A Doll’s House’ at the Hedgerow Theatre is a fitting homage to the Ibsen classic

Philadelphia audiences have a unique opportunity to experience the U.S. premiere of Nora: A Doll’s House at the Hedgerow Theatre in Media. Stef Smith’s reinvention of Henrik Ibsen’s classic A Doll House could find no more appropriate home than the Hedgerow.

The sound of the door closing behind Nora in 1879, leaving her husband and children, opened the path to modern theatrical realism. How fitting that Hedgerow, whose founders worked with Eugene O’Neill, the father of American drama and Ibsen champion, is presenting this fascinating reinterpretation of the play.

The adaptation extends the original storyline over the span of a century. Nora, confronted with blackmail for a heroic-but-illegal action in her past, is depicted in three time periods of cultural transformation: 1920 (postwar, women’s suffrage), 1973 (sexual freedom, abortion, the pill) and 2018 (Me Too and social media). Played interchangeably and with deep conviction by three actresses (Mallory Avnet, Kaitlyn Cheng, and Amanda Schoonover), Nora is shown as both an individual and a representation of women facing prevailing challenges of patriarchy and domestic oppression.

Director Emma Gibson provides vivid support, weaving themes and action. Her use of the lead trio is choreographic. All three remain onstage throughout, engaged in each scenario. They even play counter to each other as Christine, Nora’s friend. Monologues are done in rounds and occasionally overlap. The actress from one historic period may interject during a scene from another, underscoring their emotional and psychological unity. In the most urgent of moments, all three participate in pursuing an objective.

This pursuit is inevitably directed at the husband, played by Ahren Potratz. While Nora is performed by three actors, the role of their husbands falls to only one, suggesting an unchanging male mentality. Nevertheless, Potratz finds subtle behavioral distinctions that place him legitimately in each time frame, while hewing to an essentially authoritarian line.

A younger man, played with clarity and depth by Angel Sigala, plays a pharmacist (the elderly Dr. Rank in the original) in the production, making Nora’s tactical flirtation more believable. It also yields a vivid meaning to the “stockings scene,” often misunderstood by both producers and audiences. One famous translation of the play actually excluded the sequence. Here Nora’s guilt and empathy justify her retreat from sexual persuasion. Meanwhile Sigala’s range and spontaneity evoke genuine sympathy.

Michael Stahler as Nathan gives an earnest performance but exhibits more of the dark character’s fear and frustration and less of the resolve needed to threaten a vulnerable woman.

Also the play’s conclusion is murky. After a united pledge to keep fighting, the three women return the playing area to its original domestic status. Does the cycle imply no progress will be made? The play certainly questions how far we’ve come.

The tasteful incorporation of a queer interaction between Christine and a responsive 1973 Nora is a compelling element, as are three monologues featuring a bloody symbolism, likely hearkening to female sacrifices and the unifying experience of menstruation. And kudos to Shannon Zura whose spare, bright scenic design employs a distressed motif, underscoring the play’s haunting nature.

The legacy of A Doll House is indisputable. It remains one of the most frequently produced plays worldwide. This gifted rethinking of the iconic work, provides momentum to this universally acclaimed tale and an exciting new voice to its cultural significance.

(Community/Arts)

Stef Smith’s reinvention of Henrik Ibsen’s classic A Doll House provides momentum to the universally acclaimed tale and an exciting new voice to its cultural significance.

⌚️ Through April 6,📍 64 Rose Valley Rd, Media, 🌐 hedgerowtheatre.org

Theater reviews are produced independently by The Inquirer without editorial input by their sponsor, Visit Philadelphia.