Lee Theatre presents ‘A Dollhouse Project’
Photo courtesy of Lee Theatre.
Starting this Friday at 7 p.m., Lee’s Theatre Department will unveil their first showing of “A Dollhouse Project,” directed by Associate Professor of Theatre Dan Buck.
Buck adapted the show from Norweigan playwright Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 play “A Doll’s House.”
“It’s an early play that looks at the idea that sometimes the way we silence voices or marginalize people is by putting them on a pedestal or by adoring them,” Buck said. “And it seems positive, but we’re not treating them like humans who are free agents and can make their own decisions and have their own voice.”
Buck clarified that “A Doll’s House” specifically examines marginalization in “the way husbands treat their wives.”
“It caused riots in the 1880s wherever it would be performed. People would go crazy,” Buck said. “Now it feels a little tamer because we have a better understanding of the ways in which women and men should be equal in their cultural roles.”
Buck adapted the three acts of “A Doll’s House” to fit three different time periods — Act 1 is set in the play’s original setting of the 1880s, Act 2 is set in 1950 and Act 3 has a current-day setting.
Each act will be performed in historic homes that would have been standing in the respective time periods.
The Craigmile House — home to the Historic Branch of the Cleveland Bradley County Public Library — will host Act 1, the Hardwick House will host Act 2 and the Dethero House will host Act 3.
In adapting “A Doll’s House,” Buck combined progressive theatre, where the show changes locations, with immersive theater, where the audience is seated within a play’s setting.
Each act of the play uses a different cast, a creative choice that highlights the differences between the three acts’ settings.
Junior cinema major Baxter Dowell portrays Nils Krogstad, a bank worker employed by male lead Torvald Helmer, in the third act set in 2020.
“It’s very different playing one-third of a character,” Dowell said. “I think it’s a very interesting way to ask what is a marriage and how the idea of marriage has been viewed through different time periods.”
Sophomore psychology and theatre double major Sarah Grace Johnson portrays female lead Nora Helmer in Act 1.
“Nora is a spirited housewife bound by society’s expectations of gender roles, and she ultimately discovers who she is over the course of the play,” Johnson said.
Johnson noted that sharing a role with other actors throughout a production adds a unique sensibility to the show.
“My Nora in Act 1 is still unsure of her own worth,” Johnson said. “[She] tries everything she can to gain value from her husband’s opinion of her, all while secretly hiding some truth from him.”
Johnson is joined in Act 1 by senior theatre major Chaley Honeycutt, who portrays Christine Linde, a supporting character and friend of Nora Helmer.
“Working with the cast and crew in this production has been an exciting experience,” Honeycutt said. “We are scheduled to perform in actual houses, so the physical atmosphere is completely new to me.”
Honeycutt is grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the project, saying the opportunity to portray Linde has been a privilege.
“The energy and joy that each person brings to the show is absolutely infectious and needed,” Honeycutt said. “As Act 1’s Linde, I have gotten to sharpen my skills in period style acting as well as collaborate with others in a smaller styled cast.”
Those interested in seeing the performance should quickly get their tickets, as available seating is quickly shrinking.
“If a show is sold out, I highly recommend [you] show up half an hour before the showing time you want to go to and put your name on a list,” Buck said. “And then anybody who cancels — and we always have cancellations — then you get those spots first.”
Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for children and seniors, though Lee students can obtain a free ticket to the show.
Tickets are sold on weekdays from 3 to 6 p.m. in the Communication Arts box office and can also be purchased on Showclix.
