Henrik Ibsen caused a major stir in dramatic theater in 1879 with the premiere of his “A Doll’s House.” The play’s ending was so vehemently rejected by some of its early audiences that Ibsen penned an alternate, less depressing, ending that he later came to abhor.
In the current adaptation of the play at Capital Stage (by the company’s founder, Stephanie Gularte), the original ending is preserved in the updated version of the story. The year is 1948, and the characters are all Americans living in post-World War II suburbia. Nora and Thomas Helmer are the happily married couple about to celebrate Christmas with their three young children. Thomas is about to take up his promotion to bank president; Nora is happily spending money not yet earned, while Thomas cautions her not to be a spendthrift. It is quickly obvious that their relationship consists of his “lord and master” husband and her subservient, obedient wife.
But Nora has a dark secret that she has kept from Thomas, and it soon becomes a major crisis for her when she is visited by Nicholas Krogstad, who suggests in veiled threats that he will destroy Nora’s (and Thomas’s) happiness unless Nora persuades her husband to keep Krogstad in his current position at the bank. Thomas has no intention of doing so, and thus the tension in the story builds over the first, second, and into the third act.
The Capital Stage production, tightly directed by Janis Stevens, is professional in every sense, and Ms. Gularte’s updated adaptation of the script preserves the dramatic tension and social commentary Ibsen most certainly intended. But the original play, revered though it has become, was not without its awkward plot devices and staging difficulties, and those have not been overcome in this production.
Before delving into some of those issues, however, the excellent cast that took so well to Ms. Stevens’ direction must be credited. It is led by Brittni Barger as Nora, and she shines as the dutiful housewife, who knows her role in the marriage and accepts it willingly right up until her fateful epiphany. Ryan Snyder, as Thomas, is almost a caricature of the king-of-his-castle husband, but he is still able to be real in the play’s closing scene. And as the unctuous Nicholas Krogstad, Chad Deverman is nearly perfect, playing the heartless villain until his own heart is warmed and his real passions unleashed. Elena Wright, Scott Coopwood (always excellent) and Sandra Hill round out the first-rate cast.
As for the play’s difficulties, the Krogstad character has always been somewhat problematic. He can seem a contrivance in his early scenes, almost like the necessary bad guy to foil the heroine’s dreams. But his motivations are ultimately revealed to be more believable, thereby giving him a three-dimensional quality. What is less easily accepted is his change of heart that precedes the play’s denouement. That reversal is brought about by another problematic character, Nora’s old friend Christine Linde, who, it conveniently turns out, had a prior relationship with Mr. Krogstad. It is a small world, but in Ibsen’s play, it’s decidedly smaller.
The other difficulty in the original that Ms. Gularte’s adaptation cannot hide is the lengthy closing scene, in which too much happens in too small a way. In other words, there is too much talking that leads to the play’s climactic ending, and despite the fine acting in this production by Ms. Barger and Mr. Snyder, it still feels artificial and contrived when Nora makes her final decision.
Those, at least, are the thoughts we have always had about the play, which we still find ourselves admiring for the boldness of the message it conveys. That message was certainly still relevant in 1948, perhaps even more so in post-war America than in 1879 Sweden, and it is probably still relevant, albeit in different contexts, today.
So this “Doll’s House” should be seen by lovers of good theater, certainly, but also by those who study the human condition and are still striving to find ways for intimate relationships to work for both partners.
Performances of “A Doll’s House” continue at Capital Stage through November 22. Tickets and information are available at the theater box office (2215 J St.), by phone (916-995-5464) or online (capstage.org).