Few plays ever deserved the accolade of "groundbreaking" like "A Doll's House," written in 1879 and still powerful enough to draw gasps from the audience at the Gaslight Theatre, where a powerful production by the St. Louis Actors Studio opened last night to run through Aprl 25.
Henrik Ibsen's classic tale of Torvald Helmer and his wife, Nora, may have been the first play to open the Pandora's box of relationships between a married couple, the first play to make a hero of a woman speaking her own mind, making her own decisions, breaking out of the cage where women lived as playthings for their husbands in the first days after vows were exchanged, then took up more permanent roles as brood mares or dolls.
Nora was the first stage heroine to break this wall, and the lovely Julie Layton, her face a collection of sharp and striking angles, is magnificent as a spoiled woman who has been a jewel in her husband's tie tack. But when he was ill, she borrowed 4800 kroner to take him to Italy and now must face the lender, who wants the loan repaid, but not in cash (and not in the bedroom, either. This is Norway in the 19th century) and is threatening to pop this marital balloon.
Director Milton Zoth, keeping a tight, narrow focus to emphasize the struggle between Nora and Torvald, played with real passion and deep understanding by R. Travis Estes. Torvald loves Nora in his fashion, but her presence enhances his, convinces him of his own worth, polishes him to a high shine in everyone else's eyes. She's young, and obviously has read the popular romances of the period, and wants "something glorious" to make the marriage what she hoped it would be. And near the end, when she has successfully challenged him, made him doubt not only his power but also his masculinity, Estes dies on the stage. He doesn't fall down, but his eyes go blank and he dies. A superb moment.
Estes and Layton, husband and wife off-stage, get plenty of help from a solid supporting cast. Greg Johnston is excellent as Krogstad, though a little more lust might have made his character more believable and understandable, and it came as a surprise when he accused Nora's friend, Christine, of "dumping" him. Chad Morris, delightful as the doomed–and loving it–Dr. Rank, has enough lust for both but draws away whenever he gets close to even thinking about it. Missy Miller is impressive as Nora's friend, Christine, who returns to her Norwegian homeland with neither family nor prospects.
Cam Vennard and Aliyah Studt are the properly spoiled and bratty Helmer children.
Patrick Huber's set has a proper 19th-century Norwegian look, and his lighting underscores the action nicely. Teresa Doggett designed proper costumes.
"A Doll's House," by the St. Louis Actors Theatre, through April 25 at the Gaslight Theatre.
-Joe