Elizabeth Reaser and Kimberly Scott (Photo by Jeff Lorch)
Reviewed by Isadora Swann
Pasadena Playhouse
Through June 8
RECOMMENDED
“Someday, everything will be different, and everyone will be free—freer than they are now.”
A Doll’s House, Part Two, written by Lucas Hnath and currently showing at the Pasadena Playhouse, leaves no stone unturned in its sharp examination of marriage, gender roles, and societal expectations. Packed with laughter and metaphorical punches, the play delivers a familial reckoning that challenges the structures still shaping our lives today. Directed by Jennifer Chang, the production leans into its modernity with unexpected choices — like sneakers or sharp profanity—that jolt the audience out of 1870 and into the present. Steeped in social norms and long-held secrets, the show refuses to take itself too seriously, echoing Bridgerton with its playful 21st-century sensibilities.
Nora, the middle-aged mother and wife who famously slammed the door on her family at the end of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, returns fifteen years later. Now a successful writer, she (Elizabeth Reaser) discovers that, unbeknownst to her, the divorce she thought she had finalized was never legally processed. Determined to officially free herself, she re-enters her former home and confronts Anne Marie (Kimberly Scott), the loyal nursemaid who raised her children. Scott’s physicality and comedic timing are a delight; both actors command the stage as their characters spar over the choices Nora made. Is motherhood incompatible with independence? Does the pursuit of personal happiness excuse the abandonment of responsibility?
Hnath gives space to all sides of the conversation, including Nora’s estranged husband, Torvald. Once an unforgiving, paternalistic figure in Ibsen’s original, Torvald (Jason Butler Harner) now reveals his vulnerability, insecurity, and the quiet agony of never being able to please Nora.
John Nobori’s sound design layers modern arrangements of classical music into startling jump-cut transitions, while Elizabeth Harper’s vibrant lighting enhances the production’s contemporary edge. However, the fusion of period and modern elements in the set and design ultimately creates a dissonance that distracts more than it clarifies. While not every joke lands and a few scenes could benefit from tightening, the play remains thought-provoking and emotionally resonant.
A Doll’s House, Part Two leaves one newly aware of the structures one participates in. At its core, the play is a call for freedom—the freedom to make choices that suit one’s own truth. Autonomy doesn’t require tradition or conformity, and independence may involve interdependence—if that, too, is freely chosen.
Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena; see website for schedule; thru June 8. www.pasadenaplayhouse.org Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission.
