A DOLL'S HOUSE, PART 2 Comes to The Public Theatre

Universally acclaimed as the Best Play of the 2017 Broadway season, A Doll's House, Part 2, is a contemporary sort-of-sequel to Ibsen's A Doll's House, crackling with razor-sharp humor and intelligence relevant to today's audience.

Smart, suspenseful, moving, and funny, A Doll's House, PART 2 begins with a knock on the front door. Fifteen years earlier, unhappy with her husband's failure to regard her as a complex person, Nora famously slammed this door behind her, leaving her family to pursue her own happiness. Now, she returns for reasons unknown. But is everyone happy to see her?

The fun and fascinating thing about the play is how modern and accessible it is. Filled with snappy humor and challenging ideas to chew on about relationships, it is guaranteed to keep you talking all the way home. Even though it takes place in 1894, the questions raised are relevant to today's world. It's also important to note that no knowledge of Ibsen's original story is necessary to enjoy or understand the show; however, study guides written by Bates professor Martin Andrucki are available on The Public Theatre website for those who want a quick plot refresher.

The play is also an excellent vehicle for great acting, creating four compelling and a powerful quartet consisting of Nora, her husband Torvald, her daughter Emmy and the maid Anne Marie.

This powerhouse of professional actors include Janet Mitchko as Nora, Paul Schoeffler as Torvald, Ally Carey as Emmy and Viki Boyle as Anne Marie. Janet Mitchko is the Co-Artistic Director at The Public Theatre and has a long history onstage at the theatre as both an actress and director. Paul Schoeffler has appeared in multiple Broadway productions including Sweet Charity (opposite Christina Applegate), as Captain Hook in Peter Pan opposite Cathy Rigby, as Cecil B DeMille (opposite Glenn Close) in Sunset Boulevard, Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast, as well as leading roles in Nine, Victor/Victoria and Sunday in the Park with George. Aside from his additional television and voiceover credits, he is also a classmate of Janet's from the acting program at Carnegie-Mellon and they are looking forward to performing together again.

Also, new to Public Theatre audiences will be Viki Boyle. Viki is a 40-year veteran of New York and regional theatre, film and TV. She has twice received the Carbonell Award, (South Florida theatre honor) and her movie and TV credits include The Wolf of Wall Street, Person of Interest, and over 200 commercials, where her work has been recognized with the CLIO award. Ally Carey will be playing Nora's daughter Emmy. Ally has appeared in multiple regional theatres and is a graduate of The Guthrie Theatre and Old Globe.

Director Chris Clavelli will be at the helm of this production. He is the resident director of The Florida Repertory Theatre, the recipient of a TCG Alan Schneider Award nomination, a Carbonell for best actor and a Barrymore Award. Broadwayworld.com awarded him a Best Director Award.

Once again, The Public Theatre will continue its exciting pre-show extras starting at 6:30 in the theatre lobby with a complimentary beer sampling for ticket holders on opening night, March 15, and a wine sampling on Thursday, March 22, sponsored by The Vault.

A DOLL'S HOUSE PART 2 is playing at The Public Theatre, Lewiston/Auburn's Professional Theatre, March 15-24. Thurs-Sat at 7:30pm, Sun at 2pm with a Sat matinee on March 23 at 3pm. Tickets: $20 Adults, $17 groups, $5 for 18 and under. For tickets visit thepublictheatre.org or call 782-3200. The Theatre is located at 31 Maple St. Lewiston.