Review Roundup: Actors Theatre Presents A DOLL'S HOUSE, PART 2

Actors Theatre of Louisville presents A Doll's House, Part 2, onstage through November 4, presented as part of the Brown-Forman Series. Obie Award-winning playwright and Humana Festival alumnus Lucas Hnath's work takes the stage in Louisville once again with A Doll's House, Part 2, imagining protagonist Nora's return 15 years after the final, iconic moments of Henrik Ibsen's seminal masterpiece A Doll's House.

Fifteen years have passed since Nora slammed the door on her life as a wife and mother. Now she's back, with an urgent request-one that leads to long-overdue reckonings. With biting wit, award-winning playwright Lucas Hnath (The Christians and Death Tax at the Humana Festival of New American Plays) examines marriage and motherhood, love and law.

A Doll's House, Part 2 is the sequel to Ibsen's 1879 play A Doll's House. The "original" was revolutionary in its time for the depiction of a wife and mother choosing to leave her husband and family in favor of an independent life. Audiences do not have to be familiar with Ibsen's work to enjoy Part 2, as it stands firmly on its own. The work, which The New Yorker called Hnath's "strongest yet," asks questions that are as resonant today as they were when Nora first appeared onstage more than a century ago: what does a woman owe her family? What does she owe herself?

The Acting Company includes Zuleyma Guevara as Nora, Nikhaar Kishnani as Nora's daughter Emmy, Socorro Santiago as the Helmers' loyal housekeeper Anne Marie, and Kim Sullivan as Nora's husband Torvald. Notably, this marks The Actors Theatre debut for Guevara, Kishnani and Santiago.

The production team features scenic design by Reid Thompson, lighting design by Cecilia Durbin, costume design by Valérie Thérèse Bart and sound design by Kate Marvin. Katie Shade will serve as the stage manager and Jessica Reese will be the dramaturg.

Tickets are now on sale to the public and are priced from $25. Tickets can be purchased by calling The Actors Theatre Box Office at 502.584.1205 or online at ActorsTheatre.org. Special ticket rates for groups of 10 or more are available by calling 502.585.1210.

Let's see what the critics have to say!

Marty Rosen, Leo Weekly: This may, or may not, be a play that you will like. But in the intimate Victor Jory Theatre, where Reid Thompson's set seems haunted by the past and Valerie Therese Bart's costumes are perfectly attuned to the characters, it would be fascinating to see this and the Ibsen play on a single bill. But until that happens, this is an engrossing piece of theater. Go with good company, and you will have plenty to discuss afterwards. •

Melissa Chipman, Insider Louisville: The delight of the show was the acting by Actors newcomer (all the women were newcomers) Nikhaar Kishnani as Nora and Torvald's daughter Emmy - passionate, expressive, full of fire and manipulative in a way that's typical of young adults/teens.

Keith Waits, BroadwayWorld: Hnath navigates all of this so delicately so that we are never left to question any of the character's sincerity, and can empathize with each of them equally. By bridging 19th century Europe and 21st century America, the playwright has made A Doll's House Part 2 is a mirror for us all, a funny but scathing reflection of both the progress and failures of the last 100 years of human relationships in western society.