Ibsen revival revs up passion

Director and cast shine in Newport Theater Arts Center production of 1879 play about women’s individuality, ‘A Doll’s House.’If the current revival of Henrik Ibsen’s drama “A Doll’s House” at the Newport Theater Arts Center should strike some modern playgoers as a bit melodramatic, they should realize that the play was written before any of them -- or their parents -- were born.

Ibsen’s 1879 treatise on women’s individuality, here presented in its 1997 adaptation by Frank McGuiness (Tony winner for best revival), is given a thought-provoking, often powerful interpretation by director David Colley and a well chosen cast.

Though the play takes place over a course of only two days, there are eons of growth and self-discovery at work in Ibsen’s central character, Nora Helmer, who begins as a fluttery, self-centered and vacuous housewife and mother. By the famous closing scene, she has gained enormous maturity and independence -- at a timetable that would seem uncanny even today.

Yet her motivations abound, principally her treatment by her loving but patronizing husband, Torvald, who constantly refers to her as his “little songbird” or “stubborn shoes.” He is a creature of his time and environment, yet this attitude gradually grates on Nora’s psyche, exacerbated by Torvald’s particularly ugly response to his wife’s past financial indiscretion.

The role of Nora is one of the most difficult and demanding in the theater, fraught with melodramatic pitfalls as she is required to engage in breathless Hamlet-like monologues alone on stage. However, Stephanie Schulz endows her character with a sense of desperation and reality which effectively overcomes Ibsen’s purple prose, blossoming into a fully formed woman virtually overnight.

Her tenuous relationship with Torvald, splendidly enacted by David Rousseve, provides the tasty red meat of this Scandinavian smorgasbord, around which several other plot lines play themselves out. Rousseve initially comes off the more audience-friendly of the pair, gently controlling the excesses of his impractical wife, only gradually transforming these same virtues into negative form.

Della Lisi, as Nora’s newly discovered, old friend Kristine, delivers a stunning performance as a less-fortunate woman striving for her own comfort zone. She discovers it in the most unlikely of situations, pairing with a character who probably elicited boos and hisses back in the 19th century.

As the young banker, Krogstad, in a desperate effort to maintain his newfound status, Darren Nash offers a chilling and thoroughly nasty individual who, surprisingly, is capable of emotional alteration. Brian J. Page capably fills the role of a terminally ill doctor who confesses his long-standing love for Nora, though his character seems superfluous to the play as written.

Completing the cast are Nakisa Asch and Joy Nussen as the household servants, and a charming pair of sisters, Gabriela and Bianca “Izzy” Leichnitz, as the Helmers’ children.

Vinnie Roca’s antique set design, dressed nicely by Bill Cole, provides a highly effective backdrop, while Suji Brewer’s period costumes create a particularly appealing package. Sound and lighting by Ron Wyand and Mitch Atkins, respectively, further establish the 19th century mood of the piece.

“A Doll’s House” should be appreciated from an 1879 perspective -- some of Torvald’s more serious lines drew chuckles from today’s audience -- as it represents an important and ground-breaking-for-its-time piece of theatrical history.

IF YOU GO

* WHAT: “A Doll’s House”

* WHERE: Newport Theater Arts Center, 2501 Cliff Drive, Newport Beach

* WHEN: Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2:30 until Feb. 26

* COST: $15

* INFO: (949) 631-0288

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews appear Fridays.

20060203iu3anxnc(LA)David Rousseve and Stephanie Schulz star in “A Doll’s House” at the Newport Theater Arts Center.