THE 1041C Theater Reviews

Rife with the unmistakable elements of the naturalist and feminist movements, Eric Kreb’s production of A Doll’s House is able to successfully capture the plight of a disparaged, once “perfect” housewife.

Spellbinding from the play’s inception, Antoinette LaVecchia provides an endearingly authentic portrayal of protagonist Nora, and is able to transition her character from carefree to anxious to suicidal to defiant with surprising ease.

Equally adept is Christopher Burns as husband Helmar. His condescending delivery of dialogue when conversing with Nora, combined with his powerful, hair-raising performance in the third act are components the production couldn’t have done without.

What it could have done without however were the extraneous, between-the-acts solicitations made by Christopher Scott, the play’s narrator. It should be noted that his un-naturalistic role as narrator provided little benefit to the play to begin with, but Scott was able to take it a step further when twice he requested predictions from the audience on the events that would unfold in the play’s following act. It was very unfortunate that these fourth wall-shattering disturbances had to ruin an otherwise naturalistic atmosphere.

Though the play was heavily abridged to fit time constraints, the scene selection was done effectively, and was able to magnificently capture all the imperative emotions.

While the blocking was done effectively, due to the fact that the production was a staged-reading, the actors were burdened with carrying the script at all times. This impediment was especially evident in the scene in which Nora is attempting to recognize her old friend Christine (Dominique Plaisant), and between searching Plaisant’s face, LaVecchia is forced to frequently revert her eyes to the script. And as powerful as LaVecchia and Burns were in the final act, it is hard not to imagine how much better they could have been without this encumbrance.

The costumes, though subtle, were for the most part effective. This was particularly notable in Kragstad’s (Mark Borkowski) case, as his worn-out leather jacket enhanced his slime-ball character while simultaneously leaving the audience slightly sympathetic. However, Burns’s donning of what were clearly twenty-first century blue jeans was distracting and inharmonious.

At the end of the day, when the curtains close and the audience clears, it is evident that Kreb’s A Doll’s House was a success. However, it is equally apparent that this success could have been enhanced if the obvious edges – mainly in the form of an over-zealous narrator – were roughed out.