DOLL'S HOUSE PART 2 To Open At Long Beach Playhouse

Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House ends with Nora, stifled by her husband Torvald and domestic life, leaving behind her keys and wedding ring, and the sound of a closing door. In Lucas Hnath’s A Doll House, Part 2, Nora is on the other side of that door, 15 years later, knocking to get back in.

“Nora isn’t returning with hopes of reconciliation. Under a nom de plume, she is a successful feminist novelist,” said Sean Gray, Producing Artistic Director for the Playhouse. “But it’s still 1894 and Nora is still married to Torvald, which leaves her in a legal bind with contracts she has signed as an unmarried woman, which she, technically, is not.”

In the play, we learn that Nora had to erase the voices of Torvald and society that she heard in her head. After two years of silence, she found her voice and began to advocate for women to be more than dolls. And it turned out she wasn’t the only woman who wanted more. Among those who read her books was a judge’s wife whose husband wasn’t keen on the ideas the books put in her head. He discovers Nora’s true identity and blackmails her. The judge insists she either recant her positions on women’s rights or lose the contracts she’s signed under the pretense of being an unmarried woman. And so, Nora returns to seek a divorce.

Madison Mooney, Playhouse Executive Director, said, “The playwright finds the drama, the pathos, and the humor in the situation. With just four people, Torvald, Nora, their former nanny and grown daughter, we hear from all sides on the question of marriage, family, and women’s rights on the cusp of the 20th Century.”  

Phyllis Gitlin is directing her 41st play for the Long Beach Playhouse. She observes that what was scandalous in 1894 wouldn’t raise an eyebrow in 2026. In Nora’s time, a doll’s life was small and constrained. In 2026, even a Barbie doll can have any life she wants.

Of the four-member cast, three are making their Playhouse debut including Shawn Plunkett, Caitlin Durkin, and Kelley Barton. Pagan Urich was recently seen in the Studio production of POTUS.

“Celebrate women and our rights! Come and see A Doll House, Part 2,” said Mooney. “You’ll be glad you did!”

Performances will run July 18 – August 15 and are 8 p.m. Friday, and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. The box office is open Wednesday-Saturday from 3:00-8:00 pm and Sundays from 1:00-2:00 pm on scheduled matinees.

Long Beach Playhouse is located at 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach, CA, 90804, right across from the Long Beach Recreation golf course. The Playhouse is community-supported theatre with programs and events that cut across age, gender, ethnic, and cultural boundaries.

SPECIAL EVENTS FOR THIS PLAY:

· Pay what you can Thursday, July 16 – the community can see this production for whatever they can afford
· Ten Dollar Preview Friday July 17 – all tickets are $10.00
· Opening Night Champagne Reception with cast on July 18 - Tickets are $35.00 Sponsored by The Port of Long Beach

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