tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post2617647171187578123..comments2023-12-27T05:20:26.800-05:00Comments on BAM blog: In Context: A Doll's HouseUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-64582708048602171312014-03-24T17:29:34.531-04:002014-03-24T17:29:34.531-04:00The show was wonderful but the climb to the galler...The show was wonderful but the climb to the gallery and the totally uncomfortable seats made sitting through it truly difficult. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-47059202695387567212014-03-23T20:10:17.979-04:002014-03-23T20:10:17.979-04:00Though the combined, marathon first and second act...Though the combined, marathon first and second acts amounted to an endurance test for folks in the upper deck -- is there such a thing as a reupholstery SWAT team? -- the British production was exceptional and old man Ibsen's play holds up even in these "post-feminist" days. Why Nora didn't express dismay earlier in a nine-year marriage, who knows? And, now, three kids without a Mom! But she had to do what she had to do -- at last. Thanks BAM for bring the stalwarts of Young Vic to Brooklyn.FJBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-19119353106103840112014-03-23T13:31:39.641-04:002014-03-23T13:31:39.641-04:00March 22nd evening performance.
Excellent!
At begi...March 22nd evening performance.<br />Excellent!<br />At beginning I felt Hattie Morahan was pushing too hard and was prepared to be put off, however, that dissipated very quickly and she absorbed me completely into Nora's world. Her flash of insight at the end, was completely believable. The whole cast worked very well together, the set is marvelous, and the lighting and music set the mood of the house and characters very well. We loved it.<br />As we were close to the stage we were able to hear well.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07632273298268768816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-55439832791076561432014-03-23T11:48:06.625-04:002014-03-23T11:48:06.625-04:00Flawless and professional work. The set design was...Flawless and professional work. The set design was terrific and performances were top-notch. Thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-11690147299567644002014-03-23T06:10:57.507-04:002014-03-23T06:10:57.507-04:00All hail to Hattie Morahan--the finest actress to ...All hail to Hattie Morahan--the finest actress to take the stage in New York this season!<br />Was a joy to see a great production & the work of a great director. Thank you 'Young Vic;'<br />and what a great tribute to Henrik Ibsen--whose voice sounds here once again.<br />Sincerely, Dr. F. B.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-84734696256956586432014-03-23T06:07:22.700-04:002014-03-23T06:07:22.700-04:00All hail to Hattie Morahan--the finest actress to ...All hail to Hattie Morahan--the finest actress to take the stage in New York this year!!!!<br />What excellent direction; what a great production and set-design; what fine ensemble acting.<br />And what a great tribute to Henrik Ibsen!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you. Dr. F. B.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-10989910325578592152014-03-22T23:57:09.775-04:002014-03-22T23:57:09.775-04:00@BAM_Brooklyn. I saw A Doll's House tonight an...@BAM_Brooklyn. I saw A Doll's House tonight and it was just okay. It might've been the Nora character's voice or her screeching sometimes. The humor was great. I disagree that this play stands up to modern sensibilities because it seemed so dated to me and so true to the time it was written in. I would enjoy a modern interpretation for another production. <br /><br />I really enjoyed the friendship between Nora and Dr. Rank. I didn't remember this from the play which I reread about two years ago and their friendship was really rich and lovely. I thought Christine was a truthful character. But because this is such a dated play it didn't work for me that she just had to goad Nora into letting Torvald find out the truth. There were ways for Nora to keep her secret but the ending was necessary, very necessary. <br /><br />I guess I haven't seen many plays at BAM to know that the rotating stage was a thing. I remember they had it for The Masterbuilder as well. Again it worked for this production. <br /><br />I definitely will be back but I'm hoping to see more contemporary plays at BAM soon. aprilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07723650214215080242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-3616063909719743172014-03-22T08:39:16.555-04:002014-03-22T08:39:16.555-04:00Loved it! The staging was truly inspired; the revo...Loved it! The staging was truly inspired; the revolving set created a narrative flow that was dazzling and crystal clear. The musical interludes were haunting, particularly in the third act. Terrific actors—especially the male lead, whose varying levels of emotional intensity were prismatic. I still can't quite believe that Ibsen wrote the words Nora says at the end of the play so long ago. As a woman recently divorced, after 30 years of marriage, I wanted to stand up and shout YES!JoAnnehttp://www.joannemcfarland.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-44938764943509269482014-03-22T00:08:17.502-04:002014-03-22T00:08:17.502-04:00Saw Doll's House tonight and was spurred to le...Saw Doll's House tonight and was spurred to learn more about its original reception. If anyone else is interested, check out these reviews of the first production. They are quite telling: http://ibsen.nb.no/id/11183651.0<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-19675292003923531632014-03-21T22:44:30.813-04:002014-03-21T22:44:30.813-04:00The following comments were sent to a friend who w...The following comments were sent to a friend who was very enthusiastic about the play as I was:<br /><br />"Let me start with the superlatives. It’s the best Ibsen I’ve ever seen; upsetting my longtime favorite, Diana Rigg in Hedda, many years ago on tv. This even outstripped Cate Blanchett as Hedda at BAM a couple of years ago --- by a lot. <br /><br />When have you seen a set so perfectly calibrated to the story and the stage direction? It’s miniaturization even makes the characters seem pinched, closed in, as the title prescribes. It may not have been the right period but the feeling was Scandinavian and the gramophone was a nice touch. <br /><br />My beef with most Ibsen is the husbands are always made to be dull, inert milquetoasts. Not here. This is a real live man of flesh and blood, even attractive and certainly feeling. A wonderful performance and the better it is portrayed the more you see how difficult the role is. The sexuality in all the roles was well played and sensual, which brings me to Dr. Rank. I’m not so sure it was “color blind” as you stated. Just as the live baby brought an audible ripple to the audience I suspect the consummate confessional scene with Rank and Nora brought an inaudible frisson to the audience as this magnificent blonde is confronted by the heart of darkness. In a Hedda quite some time ago I saw Keith David in one of this first NYC roles play the judge and the racial-sexual counterpoint was steamy and played for it. I couldn’t help but wonder if that were a prototype for this production.<br /><br />In the acting, Christine and Krogstad were the best I have known in those supporting but crucial roles; his Cockney Everyman was beautifully pitched and even made amazingly sympathetic and her naturalism was compelling and so lifelike in a character that is often simply made out as a bag lady. She stood in relief to Nora who for me was just too shrill, at least at the beginning, though by the home stretch when she says why she is leaving she was masterful. You liked her more than I did no doubt, since I couldn’t shake the notion that she was acting but then again her role as wife demanded precisely that as her great speech made clear at the end about having been treated the same way by both father and husband. <br /><br />My admiration for the play increased enormously and this may the triumph of her performance. It was so sensitive to gender and class in ways that seemed both prophetic and profound and she made that palpable. But so did the production flawless in every way; this is a formidable company and I’d love to see them again in whatever. Stingy as I may seem about Monahan, she is the right age and I can’t think of anyone else who could surpass her."<br />Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13203970057482510212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-9935654360770486512014-03-21T19:01:10.850-04:002014-03-21T19:01:10.850-04:00Agreed! Good point!
(BTW I could hear everything ...Agreed! Good point!<br /><br />(BTW I could hear everything fine. [Though I was in the front, so...])Kerrynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-90824715346685171432014-03-21T10:09:49.446-04:002014-03-21T10:09:49.446-04:00I saw "A Doll's House" last night an...I saw "A Doll's House" last night and I LOVED it! The piece still holds up in modern times and Nora's feelings about identity and having it all are still feelings and issues faced by modern women. It would be interesting for someone to do a modern take on "A Doll's House". I digress, I loved everything about this production the acting, the rotating stage, the music, the lighting and the little baby! I'm reading that a lot of people had a hard time hearing Hattie Morahan, I was sitting up in the gallery and I could hear her and all the other actors just fine. This production of "A Doll's House" gets two thumbs up from me. Keep up the good work BAM!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-30125036422112163682014-03-21T10:09:23.373-04:002014-03-21T10:09:23.373-04:00What a great performance @BAM_Brooklyn! Loved the ...What a great performance @BAM_Brooklyn! Loved the set, the actors, the play, everything was grand about it.Charleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02402575139637735363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-39696899035739187762014-03-16T22:01:44.487-04:002014-03-16T22:01:44.487-04:00Personally, I really enjoy watching the theatrical...Personally, I really enjoy watching the theatrical play, A Doll's House, based on Ibsen's novel even though I have never read the novel itself. However, watching the theatrical play has inspired me to read the novel itself. I found the way the theatrical stage was set up was rather innovative in the intricate way the different areas of the house was set up moving in a circular motion to demonstrate the different scenes of the play. I really had to love the stage set up. The acting performances delivered by Hattie Morahan as Nora Helmer, Dominic Rowan as Torvald Helmer, Nick Fletcher as Nils Krogstad, etc. were very well done in terms of the British accent, the physical gestures between the characters, and the portrayal of the different emotions between and among the characters. I have to say the actors did a very good job in the characters they portrayed within the theatrical play. Also, the props, furniture, and costumes used in the presentation of the play accented well the time period in which the play took place, which I think it might have been the Victorian Period. The presentation of the grand finale to A Doll's House was very well dramatized and presented among the two, main characters (Nora Helmer and Torvald Helmer). I felt like I was watching a movie instead of a play because 1) the darkness in the area where the audience was sitting and 2) the easiness and fluid, flawless flow in the interchanging of the scenes and the great acting among the actors, which made it feel quite believable like watching a movie in the movie theater, but in reality, it was a live, theatrical, intricate, stage play with real, live actors.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-6488075106260000522014-03-16T20:25:12.600-04:002014-03-16T20:25:12.600-04:00Captivating! I read A Doll's house many years ...Captivating! I read A Doll's house many years ago as an undergrad and was very pleased that BAM offered this show. The acting was superb! and the set invoked the notion as Nora as a living Doll. My one and only complaint is the terribly hard seats in the Harvey building. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-73057516958105919732014-03-16T15:50:03.961-04:002014-03-16T15:50:03.961-04:00I'm deeply grateful to BAM for producing so mu...I'm deeply grateful to BAM for producing so much Ibsen, my favorite ! This production seemed unspoiled by being somewhat updated. It's timeless. That last scene was truly played from the gut. I'm proud to live in Brooklyn !Frank Gnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-64435265678398673952014-03-16T14:12:22.387-04:002014-03-16T14:12:22.387-04:00The production was glorious, and I loved it, but h...The production was glorious, and I loved it, but having read a very positive review in The New Yorker after seeing it, I felt that the critic did not much address the socio-economic side of what's in the play. I was struck by how much the play had to say about the particular stresses on people with a middle-class sensibility. The Norway of that time was apparently very class structured and that family was living<br />with servants and felt a lot of stresses to maintain all that. So, even though Nora is in a sense living a double life, feeling pressure to be seductive toward her husband so he will "excuse" her poor money management--which was actually excellent money management, all done to pay back the loan--that seductive side was itself a kind of double role, because part of Nora wants to have this level of comfortable living and cannot imagine having solved her problem in any other way. Those guys went ahead and had three children after he had decided to free-lance, a decision that he didn't have to make, but did make. All of this speaks to today's middle class exceedingly well. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-3046892788314960152014-03-16T10:18:17.993-04:002014-03-16T10:18:17.993-04:00Incredible production. The set was wonderful. Obvi...Incredible production. The set was wonderful. Obviously made to look like one of those Doll's houses we played with as kids. You know with the little rooms where you could rearrange the furniture and position the dolls. The acting was fantastic. At first I couldn't quite understand the odd posture and movement at times by Nora. Then it struck me. She looked like a Barbie Doll! Very well done.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-27263831080549337992014-03-15T12:36:47.112-04:002014-03-15T12:36:47.112-04:00I loved it. The settings were innovative and Nora ...I loved it. The settings were innovative and Nora was portrayed with deep sensitivity. The entire production was great!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-44882998494039648622014-03-15T00:00:47.810-04:002014-03-15T00:00:47.810-04:00This is literally the only time in my life that I&...This is literally the only time in my life that I've been at an Ibsen play and haven't wished I was at a Chekhov play instead. I don't know what the magic ingredient was, but I was riveted. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-74677817465003034812014-03-13T13:55:41.856-04:002014-03-13T13:55:41.856-04:00I had only read Ibsen's A Doll's House on ...I had only read Ibsen's A Doll's House on my own, without direction, and became a fan of Ibsen, but completely missed, at that time in my life (I was very young) the motivation behind her leaving. This production brought the play completely to life for me, and left me inspired to journal about all the ways in which men and women still struggle with power in a marriage and the polarity between seduction and intimacy/honesty. The set and the choreography of of mother and children playfully weaving between rooms took my breath away. The music was haunting, and the acting impeccable. I could have used one or two moments of more revelatory stillness in Nora in the last scene, as the drama was a little too agitated for my taste, but that choice did fit with the drunken tetchiness and anxiety driving both of them. I'm so grateful to have witnessed this fine production and to have been a part of it for an evening.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09974429432956458661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-41208223479883746422014-03-10T12:32:38.152-04:002014-03-10T12:32:38.152-04:00I've read several different translations and I...I've read several different translations and I think the director serviced the play completely. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-11523359686801961872014-03-10T12:27:34.579-04:002014-03-10T12:27:34.579-04:00Easy to sit back and say there are flaws in the wo...Easy to sit back and say there are flaws in the work. Have you ever written a play and especially one that will speak for the ages? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-75680840888713135732014-03-09T23:47:09.178-04:002014-03-09T23:47:09.178-04:00Have been to almost every BAM production this year...Have been to almost every BAM production this year. This was the best and magnificent. I had a third row seat and felt intimate and of course heard very well. The rotating stage was so integral to the dream like quality of the unfolding narrative.craig stockwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08228943298221523072noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-48385066409515176622014-03-09T23:33:48.589-04:002014-03-09T23:33:48.589-04:00A brilliant production of a wonderful play. Hatti...A brilliant production of a wonderful play. Hattie Morahan was outstanding; she was totally involved in every moment of the play, her actions absolutely revealed the depth and complexity of her emotions, even in the periods when she did not speak. Her vocal range was masterful and enabled her to move from one depth to another. The supporting cast was excellent, and the total production was inspiring.<br />I wish I had tickets for another performance. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15114321355701890258noreply@blogger.com