A Doll’s House, Part 2 – Arden Theatre Company

Joilet F. Harris as Anne Marie, Grace Gonglewski as Nora in Arden Theatre Company’s A Doll’s House, Part 2. Photo by Mark Garvin.

By Amanda VanNostrand.

Less than a year ago, the story of Nora and Torvald set the stage in Philadelphia through the show, A Doll’s House. The ending of the show, where Nora dramatically leaves her family also leaves the audience in a state of shock and can certainly be defined as a cliff hanger. Fortunately, A Doll’s House, Part 2 welcomes the audience back to this tale to find some closure in regard to Nora and Torvald’s story. This show is playing on the Arcadia Stage at Arden Theatre Company and it is an additional thought-provoking piece to the couple’s chronicle.

A Doll’s House, Part 2 takes place in conversations: the initial conversation between Nora (Grace Gonglewski) and Anne Marie (Joilet Harris), Nora’s childhood nanny and the very same nanny who graciously raised Nora’s children after she left; the conversation between Nora and her ex (?) husband Torvald (Steven Rishard) as they see one-another for the first time(s) in 15 years since Nora walked out on her family; the conversation between Nora and Emmy (Grace Tarves), Nora’s daughter, who was just a baby when Nora made the life-changing decision to leave; and the final conversation between Torvald and Nora at the close. Nora’s powerlessness has presented itself again, as she wrongly assumed Torvald had filed divorce papers years ago. Her actions and behaviors since were as a married women (though she believed herself to be unmarried) and as an outspoken feminist who has taken various lovers and written books against marriage, it is dangerous for the public (and the government) to find out that she is married. Her actions have also angered someone in power and her concerns lie with her uncertain future: will she be accused of adultery and shunned and punished for speaking out against societal norms as a married woman? Nora comes back to encourage Torvald to save her from society and finalize the divorce. Turns out that people you abandon are not so supportive when requests for favors are made, but this bodes well for the audience as the drama unfolds.

Steven Rishard as Torvald, Grace Gonglewski as Nora in Arden Theatre Company’s A Doll’s House, Part 2. Photo by Mark Garvin.

So many issues are examined in this show; it is chock full of thinkers. Some may find these questions and issues thought-provoking and interesting, while others may simply feel the desire to pull their hair out by the time all questions have been asked. But no matter –  all questions asked are important ones. For example, are societal norms set for good reasons or are they set because they are traditional, and so many throughout history have followed them that at this point we simply go with the flow of society? (For example: marriage! Nora makes the point that when vowing to love someone forever, that person to whom the vow is made is going to change. So she argues, how can one make that promise when that person will not be there in the future, but someone they have grown into will have taken his or her place?) And another question: is Nora’s decision to leave her family worse than it would have been if Torvald had left? As one of the quotes lining the ceiling prior to the start of the show said, “You only think you need it because it’s the only thing you’ve ever been told.” Nora is surprised to find that her daughter is hoping to be married one day, and her daughter’s strong support for marriage is a result of having grown up without a mother. Emmy’s conversation with Nora is incredibly interesting and intense. There is a sad tone of loss in examining what their relationship is and wondering what it could have been. Emmy’s character is unique: for someone so young her perspective is sharp and clear, and she shows a maturity that perhaps only someone who has grown up without a mother could own at such a young age.

The actresses and actors in the show are a different cast than the original production at the Arden, but this does not hinder the production at all. The new cast is excellent and brings the audience right back to the characters and their stories, leaving viewers of the first show to feel indifferent to the change in cast. Of note is Joilet F. Harris as Anne Marie, as she brings the strong yet sweet nature of this character to light during each of her scenes. Grace Tarves plays the young Emmy, perfectly casting light on the flip side of Nora’s positive perspective about her own decision to leave her husband and children. Tarves plays a young woman who has grown up without a mother and though the audience may be surprised by Emmy’s reaction to meeting her mother, Tarves is adept at bringing the best qualities out in this strong young woman.

As a sequel, A Doll’s House, Part 2 ends up being about as good as most sequels are. The truth is, not much happens in this show; aside from Nora hoping for a divorce, there is not a huge plot. Instead, there are conversations and issues being worked out through references to mistakes of the past and consequences lived out in the present. However, it is worth the time to learn about the perspectives of strong women such as Nora, Anne Marie, and Emmy and to think on some issues that certainly deserve the thought. As Nora says to Emmy, “…because 20, 30 years from now, the world isn’t going to be the kind of place I say it’s going to be unless I’m the one to make it that way.”

Advisory: Strong language.
Running Time: 90 minutes with no intermission.
A Doll’s House, Part 2  will be playing on the Arcadia Stage at Arden Theatre Company until December 9, 2018. The theater is located at 40 N. 2nd Street Philadelphia, PA. For tickets, contact the box office at 215-922-1122 or click here.